Tennessee

For the second month in a row, Polsinelli hires a health-care team to open a new office

For the second time in a month, a nearly 750-attorney law firm has announced that it is opening a new office. This time, Polsinelli is landing in Nashville, where a former partner and senior associate from Frost Brown Todd who specialize in health care will be opening the doors to…

Apr 14, 2015 3:45 PM CDT

Tennessee halts all scheduled executions

Tennessee’s top court has effectively called a halt to all executions in the state following legal challenges to the methodology to be used. On Friday, the Tennessee Supreme Court postponed the death-sentence date for a fourth inmate. That means none of the more than 70 inmates currently on death row…

Apr 14, 2015 9:35 AM CDT

Making the Bible the official book of Tennessee would violate Constitution, state AG says

Updated: A legal opinion by Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery says a proposal to make the Bible the official book of Tennessee would violate the state and federal constitutions. Slatery said making the Bible the official Tennessee book “must presumptively be understood as an endorsement of religion.” He cited the…

Apr 14, 2015 8:02 AM CDT

Hospital filing accuses its former lawyer of blind-copying negotiation opponent on confidential docs

A federal court filing by a hospital litigating a failed management agreement with another medical facility says its former lawyer was secretly communicating with the opposing party during negotiations of that management agreement. The blind copies of confidential documents allegedly sent to Erlanger Health System by partner Ward Nelson of…

Apr 7, 2015 12:25 PM CDT

Sterilization of defendants in connection with plea deals is unacceptable, says DA

Pressuring a defendant in a criminal case to get sterilized is quite unusual. But it does happen, reports the Tennessean in a lengthy article about the case of one mentally ill woman in Nashville. In Jasmine Randers’ case, her public defender went to the Davidson County district attorney. The result…

Mar 30, 2015 2:40 PM CDT

After boy’s death from allergic reaction to cookie, family sues; says store violated labeling laws

The family of an 11-year-old who died after eating a chocolate chip cookie that may have contained nuts has sued the supermarket chain that sold it. Filed in federal court in Nashville, Tenn., the suit contends that an employee at a Publix store outside the city misinformed the mother of…

Mar 25, 2015 4:25 PM CDT

Appeals court says magistrate had power to hold former TV judge Joe Brown in contempt and jail him

It appears that a former TV-show judge may be headed back to the slammer over a Tennessee juvenile-court outburst last year, in which he talked himself into an escalated five-day jail sentence after initially getting 24 hours for contempt of court. Although Joe Brown characterized his post-ruling debate with the…

Mar 24, 2015 12:40 PM CDT

Butler Snow adds 13 lawyers to rapidly growing Nashville office by acquiring litigation boutique

For the second time in less than three years, a growing Mississippi-based law firm with national and international offices has expanded its footprint in Nashville, Tennessee. After bringing in 37 lawyers from the Nashville office of Miller & Martin in 2012, Butler Snow is adding 13 more attorneys by acquiring…

Feb 9, 2015 9:05 AM CST

Former college football players guilty of rape; ‘culture excuse’ defense fails

Two former football players at Vanderbilt University were found guilty of rape on Tuesday in the sexual assault of an unconscious woman that was recorded on a cellphone. Jurors in Nashville convicted former players Cory Batey and Brandon Vandenburg of aggravated rape, aggravated sexual battery, and attempted aggravated rape. The…

Jan 28, 2015 9:00 AM CST

Defense blames campus culture in rape trial of college football players

A defense lawyer in the rape trial of two former Vanderbilt University football players is blaming college culture for encouraging binge drinking and promiscuity. Prosecutors say the sexual assault took place in the dorm room of the two men on trial, former wide receiver Cory Batey and star recruit Brandon…

Jan 27, 2015 10:07 AM CST

Supreme Court agrees to hear same-sex marriage cases

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to decide whether states can prohibit same-sex marriage without violating the constitutional rights of gays and lesbians. The court granted review of same-sex marriage bans in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee that have been upheld by the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals.…

Jan 16, 2015 3:52 PM CST

Dad and stepmom get 35 years in water-intoxication death of girl, 5

The father and stepmother of a 5-year-old girl who died of water intoxication injuries in 2012 have been sentenced to 35 years in prison by a Tennessee judge. Randall Lee Vaughn, 41, and Mary Lavonne Vaughn, 58, pleaded guilty Monday to second-degree murder and aggravated child neglect, the Rogersville Review…

Dec 10, 2014 6:15 AM CST

Meet the oldest student at Nashville School of Law

Jim Edwards decided to go to law school because of a desire to help others. At age 73, he’s following that dream as a third-year law student in the night program at Nashville School of Law, the Tennessean reports in a story published by USA Today. He is the oldest…

Dec 2, 2014 11:58 AM CST

6th Circuit upholds same-sex marriage bans in 4 states; will issue now go to US Supreme Court?

For the first time, a federal appeals court has refused to recognize a constitution-based right of same-sex couples to marry, creating a circuit split and setting the issue up for likely U.S. Supreme Court review. In a 2-1 decision (PDF) on Thursday, the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals…

Nov 6, 2014 4:45 PM CST

Lawyer censured for divorce conduct; prior suit claimed she installed spyware on husband’s computer

A Tennessee lawyer has been publicly censured for using improper methods to obtain evidence in her divorce. The Tennessee Supreme Court’s Oct. 17 order (PDF) accepting a conditional guilty plea in the ethics case against Crystal Michelle Goan does not have details, but the Legal Profession Blog links to more…

Oct 27, 2014 6:15 AM CDT