News
July 16, 2004
Governor Phil Bredesen today announced that Murfreesboro attorney J. Mark Rogers will fill the Circuit Court vacancy in the 16th Judicial District, Part I, created by the retirement of Judge Steve Daniel. The 16th Judicial District covers Rutherford and Cannon counties.“I am pleased to appoint Mark…
July 26, 2004
Williamsburg, VA (July 26, 2004) – In response to ongoing uncertainty on how the recent Supreme Court sentencing decision, Blakely v. Washington, affects the state courts, the National Center for State Courts prepared a document that analyzes this decision’s impact. It is available at www.…
August 2, 2004
A ceremony honoring former Tennessee Court of Appeals Presiding Judge Houston M. Goddard, who died April 2 after nearly 30 years on the bench, will include the presentation of a resolution by the General Assembly recognizing his service to the state.
Court will convene Aug. 9 at 9:30 a.m. for the…
August 11, 2004
Retired judges will be designated by Chief Justice Frank F. Drowota to sit when necessary for Justice Adolpho A. Birch, Jr., while he undergoes chemotherapy and radiation treatments."This therapy will, no doubt, affect my ability to discharge all of the duties of my office," Birch said Wednesday. "…
August 12, 2004
Connie Clark, administrative director of Tennessee courts, has been named to the American Bar Association’s Blue Ribbon Commission on the American Jury. Clark was appointed by incoming ABA President Robert J. Grey, Jr., who announced an initiative aimed at bolstering interest in jury service and…
August 23, 2004
Issues raised in an appeal by death row inmate Gdongalay P. Berry have no merit, the Tennessee Supreme Court said Monday in a decision affirming the two death sentences he received for his role in killing two acquaintances to prevent them from identifying him."After a careful and exhaustive review…
August 25, 2004
The Tennessee Supreme Court has upheld two death sentences a Davidson County jury imposed on Christopher A. Davis for the 1996 deaths of two men who were bound and shot multiple times as one victim cried and begged for his life.Davis was sentenced to death for his role in the murders of Gregory…
August 26, 2004
Chancellor Steven Stafford of the 29 th Judicial District, including Dyer and Lake counties, has been elected presiding judge of the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary. The 15-member panel, created by the General Assembly, is charged by state law with receiving complaints against judges and imposing…
September 8, 2004
Circuit Court Judge Robert L. Childers of Memphis has been appointed to a second term on an American Bar Association advisory commission created to assist lawyers and other legal professionals with addictions, mental health issues and other personal problems.ABA President Robert Grey, Jr., asked…
September 8, 2004
Supreme Court Upholds Death Sentences for Murders of Two Elderly WomenThe Tennessee Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of convicted killer Robert L. Leach Jr. and upheld the death sentences jurors imposed on him for strangling to death two elderly Nashville women who befriended him.Justice…
September 9, 2004
Governor Phil Bredesen today announced that 30th Judicial District Criminal Court Judge J.C. McLin will fill a vacancy in the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, Western Division, created by the retirement of Judge Joe Riley."I am pleased to appoint Judge J.C. McLin to the Tennessee Court of…
September 28, 2004
Students from 10 public and private high schools in Williamson, Perry, Lewis and Hickman counties will participate Oct. 8 in a state Supreme Court program designed to educate young Tennesseans about the judicial branch of government.The 500 students and their teachers will attend a special Supreme…
September 28, 2004
The Tennessee Supreme Court has reversed a Court of Criminal Appeals opinion and reinstated the convictions and death sentence Memphis gang member Gregory Robinson received for his role in a kidnapping and premeditated first degree murder."Upon review, we hold that the Court of Criminal Appeals…
October 1, 2004
A student from each of Tennessee's four law schools has been chosen to receive a scholarship from the Tennessee Judicial Conference FoundationMary Hamm, a student at the University of Tennessee College of Law, is recipient of the first annual $1,000 Houston M. Goddard Scholarship. Goddard, who died…
October 4, 2004
Cocke County General Sessions Judge John A. Bell has been awarded the Bronze Star for his work in Iraq as the chief of the Northern Iraq Office of Judicial Operations (NIOJO).Bell is a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, serving in the 3397th Garrison Support Unit in Chattanooga. He was called…
October 5, 2004
When Circuit Court Judge William Acree, Jr., of Union City took the lead to establish a drug court in his rural 27th Judicial District, marijuana and cocaine users were the impetus. Now, less than two years later, he said meth is the leading drug of choice for defendants accepted into the program."…
October 19, 2004
Sullivan County Juvenile Court Judge Steven Jones of Kingsport and Shelby County District Attorney Bill Gibbons of Memphis have been appointed to the federal Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.The 18-member council coordinates federal juvenile delinquency programs,…
November 15, 2004
The names of more than 200 Tennessee appellate court judges who have served since 1796 when the state was founded are etched on imported black marble plaques to be unveiled at a 2 p.m. public ceremony, Wednesday, Nov. 17, at the Historic U.S. Post Office and Courthouse Building on Main Street in…
November 26, 2004
About 30 children clutching teddy bears, along with their new families, will be the focus of legal proceedings in Memphis Saturday, Nov. 20, presided over by Chancellor Arnold Goldin, who will open the courthouse doors to legalize their adoptions.As part of National Adoption Day, the chancellor…
December 10, 2004
Governor Phil Bredesen named two appointments to the 30 th Judicial District’s Criminal Courts, announcing Shelby County attorney Paula Skahan to fill a position in the Division 1 Criminal Court, and Assistant Shelby County Public Defender W. Mark Ward to fill a position in the Division 9 Criminal…