Tennessee

Judge faces scrutiny over anti-immigrant articles he shared on Facebook, including one by Holocaust denier

A criminal court judge in Memphis has said he can be fair and impartial in court despite sharing anti-immigrant articles on Facebook, including an article by a Holocaust denier that called Muslim immigrants “foreign mud.” Judge Jim Lammey told the Memphis Commercial Appeal that his posts became public in early…

May 1, 2019 3:45 PM CDT

Alleged phony lawyer arrested for creating fake website with Cravath bios

A Tennessee man was charged Tuesday for allegedly creating a fake website for a six-lawyer New York City law firm, so he could dupe people into paying him for legal services. John Lambert, 23, was arrested Tuesday and charged with wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy, according to a press…

Apr 18, 2019 3:56 PM CDT

Plaintiffs seeking more school funding are using states’ own performance requirements to win

Parents and school districts have been suing over school funding, using state-mandated performance standards to argue that states aren’t living up to their end of the bargain—and they’re winning.

Apr 1, 2019 1:40 AM CDT

Book chronicles how coach Pat Summitt supported teen’s Title IX quest to shoot baskets

In the 1970s, Tennessee was among about a half-dozen states that restricted the way high school girls could play basketball. Instead of playing “five-on-five” basketball, girls played on six-player teams in which the three players in the forward position stayed on half the court, and the three guards stayed on…

Mar 20, 2019 1:41 PM CDT

Judge compares KKK violence and shootings by black youths; did he overstep?

Some black leaders are pointing to nuances missed by a Tennessee judge who compared shootings by black youths to violence by the Ku Klux Klan. Judge Wayne Shelton of Montgomery County made the comment during a Jan. 3 preliminary hearing for a 26-year-old man charged with murder, the Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle…

Jan 15, 2019 7:30 AM CST

Man whose story helped sell lawmakers on First Step Act wins release under its provisions

After a federal appeals court ordered Matthew Charles back to prison to finish a lengthy sentence for selling crack cocaine, supporters of the First Step Act used his case as an example.

Jan 7, 2019 8:53 AM CST

Liquor store war: Should giant wine and spirits retailer be subject to state residency requirements?

Tennessee Wine and Spirits Retailers Association v. Blair is scheduled for Supreme Court argument Jan. 16. The state requires that licensees satisfy a two-year residency requirement. A panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati affirmed a district court order to strike down the requirement, allowing the Total Wine store in Knoxville to open.

Jan 1, 2019 2:25 AM CST

Several states pass laws authorizing ‘In God We Trust’ motto in schools and other public buildings

Public schools could provide a new legal battleground on religion in public venues as more states pass laws authorizing the posting of “In God We Trust” in public schools. Seven states passed laws this year requiring or permitting schools and other public buildings to post “In God We Trust, the…

Dec 5, 2018 7:15 AM CST

Tennessee’s Duncan Law back in ‘substantial compliance’ with admissions standard

Duncan School of Law at Lincoln Memorial University in Knoxville, Tennessee, is now in “substantial compliance” with admissions requirements that fall under Standard 501, according to a recent decision from the council of the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. The law school, which has provisional…

Nov 28, 2018 2:50 PM CST

Inmate executed in electric chair after Supreme Court rejects stay; Sotomayor dissents

On Thursday, Edmund Zagorski became the first person in five years to die by the electric chair in the United States. Zagorski was executed for the murders of two men who planned to buy marijuana from him, report the Washington Post and the Tennessean. The U.S. Supreme Court denied a…

Nov 2, 2018 9:52 AM CDT

2 schools seek approval to move Valpo Law to Middle Tennessee

A proposed agreement in which the Indiana-based Valparaiso University would gift its law school infrastructure to Middle Tennessee State University, which would offer a reimbursement for interim expenses, has been reached by the governing boards at both institutions. The potential agreement must be approved by both the Tennessee Higher Education…

Oct 11, 2018 2:35 PM CDT

Lawyer’s statements about judges ‘rigging the game’ require suspension, top Tennessee court says

Update: A Memphis, Tennessee, lawyer has been suspended for filing motions accusing appellate judges of “rigging the game” and describing an opinion as a “purposeful fabrication.”

Aug 21, 2018 6:05 AM CDT

DOJ is challenging Tennessee ethics opinion on prosecutors’ obligations to disclose evidence

The Justice Department has picked a fight with an obscure ethics agency in Tennessee about how much evidence—called “discovery”—federal prosecutors should have to hand over to defense attorneys there. It’s the kind of little-noticed move the department makes all the time but could have a lasting impact on the criminal…

Aug 16, 2018 2:00 PM CDT

Study: Mental illness exemption to death penalty would save Tennessee more than $1 million a year

Banning the death penalty for defendants with severe mental illness would save the state of Tennessee an estimated $1.4 to $1.9 million a year, a new ABA study says.

Jun 22, 2018 7:00 AM CDT

School lawyer asks about birds-and-bees talk, mom’s terminated pregnancy in teen’s bullying suit

A lawyer representing Nashville, Tennessee, schools wants to know how a teen suing the school has “developed sexually” and whether she is aware of her mother’s sexual history.

May 15, 2018 7:30 AM CDT