Tennessee

Former TV judge Joe Brown goes to jail after he is found in contempt; hear the audio

Former TV host Judge Joe Brown was released on his own recognizance Monday evening after being jailed for contempt of court in Memphis on Monday afternoon. Brown, who is running for District Attorney in Tennessee’s Shelby County, claims his jailing was politically motivated. He was sentenced to five days in…

Mar 25, 2014 1:19 PM CDT

Tennessee’s judicial retention elections are upheld by specially appointed court

Tennessee’s retention system of judicial elections does not violate the state constitution, according to a specially appointed state supreme court panel. The court ruled (PDF) in a challenge to the so-called Tennessee plan, in which the governor fills judicial vacancies from a list submitted by a nominating commission, report the…

Mar 18, 2014 1:37 PM CDT

2 lawyers indicted for extortion, accused of using arrest threat to seek purported fees from client

Corrected: Two Tennessee lawyers have been indicted by a grand jury Wednesday in an extortion case. They are accused of pressuring a client several years ago to pay $50,000 in probate case legal fees she had not agreed to pay by threatening her with arrest. Attorneys Carrie Gasaway and Fletcher…

Mar 12, 2014 7:40 PM CDT

Southern regional firm raids Butler Snow for lawyers to establish new Memphis, Tenn., office

A 200-attorney southern regional firm based in Nashville, Tenn., has raided the Memphis, Tenn., office of Butler Snow to open a new outpost there. Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis announced the new office Wednesday. It will be staffed initially by four lawyers from Butler Snow, three of whom focus their…

Feb 19, 2014 7:09 PM CST

Retired lawyer killed by mailbox bomb helped defend son-in-law in earlier arson case

A retired Tennessee lawyer who died last week after picking up a package bomb from his home mailbox and taking it into his house had defended the suspect in the case in an earlier arson prosecution. Jon Setzer did not believe his son-in-law, Richard Parker, now 49, had committed that…

Feb 18, 2014 4:35 PM CST

Homeless man caught in law firm said he had been sneaking in since October

A homeless man arrested over the weekend at a Tennessee law firm told police he had been sneaking into the offices since last October to use the kitchen and Internet. Maryville Police discovered Michael Anthony Benjamin, 47, hiding behind an office door at Costner and Greene, the Daily Times reports.…

Feb 18, 2014 1:37 PM CST

Son-in-law charged with murder in deaths of retired lawyer and spouse killed by mailbox package bomb

The son-in-law of a retired lawyer has been charged with murder in the slayings earlier this week of the elderly attorney and his wife after a package left in a mailbox outside their home exploded. Authorities didn’t explain what led them to charge Richard Parker, 49, as the sole suspect…

Feb 14, 2014 11:45 AM CST

Lawyer’s wife also dies of injuries from mailbox package bomb

The 72-year-old wife of a retired Tennessee lawyer killed Monday when a package from his mailbox blew up has also died of her injuries from the blast. Marion Setzer died at the hospital Wednesday, WZVN reports. Authorities said John Setzer, 74, had gotten the package from a mailbox about 200…

Feb 13, 2014 6:55 PM CST

Married couple face first-degree murder charges in water-intoxication death of girl, 5

The father and stepmother of a 5-year-old Tennessee girl are facing first-degree murder charges over accusations that they caused her death by forcing her to consume an excessive amount of grape soda and water and failing to seek medical attention when she began to show signs of distress and injury.…

Feb 7, 2014 6:25 PM CST

Judge who ordered parents to change baby’s name from Messiah is out of a job

A Tennessee judge who ordered a baby’s name changed from Messiah to Martin has been replaced. Child Support Magistrate Lu Ann Ballew was dismissed on Friday, report Reuters, the Associated Press and the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Ballew had refused to approve the name during an August hearing, saying the Messiah…

Feb 5, 2014 5:44 PM CST

Proposed bill would ax court chief and functions, fine ineffective lawyers in capital cases

The Tennessee Bar Association is asking members to let their lawmakers know what they think about a bill introduced last week by the chairman of the Tennessee state senate finance committee. Introduced by Sen. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, Senate Bill 2322 would eliminate the state court administrator and judicial conduct…

Jan 28, 2014 5:55 PM CST

Doctor’s wife is charged in his shooting outside law office after mediation session

A mediation session at a Tennessee lawyer’s office Wednesday “apparently didn’t go well,” a Manchester police investigator says. As Dr. Henry Bartee and his estranged wife, Brenda Bartee, both 47, were being walked by an attorney to the door of Rogers, Duncan and North at about 1 p.m., Brenda Bartee…

Dec 5, 2013 4:29 PM CST

After four years without an execution, Tennessee seeks dates for 10 lethal injections

Tennessee has executed only six inmates since 1960 and none since 2009. Now its attorney general wants execution dates set for 10 condemned killers. Attorney General Robert Cooper asked the state supreme court to set the dates in “an unprecedented push to carry out the death penalty,” the Tennessean reports.…

Dec 5, 2013 1:33 PM CST

Prosecutor calls defense an ‘unindicted co-conspirator’ in rape case; says atty destroyed evidence

A Tennessee prosecutor is contesting whether two California attorneys can represent a defendant in a high-profile rape case, accusing one of destroying evidence and saying that the other is illegally practicing law outside of the jurisdiction in which he is admitted. In a Friday motion, the Davidson County District Attorney’s…

Nov 26, 2013 5:50 PM CST

Probate attorney takes plea, gets 18 years in $1.3M theft case as investigation continues

A suspended Tennessee probate lawyer has been sentenced to 18 years in prison after admitting that he stole $1.3 million from three conservatorship clients. John E. Clemmons, 66, pleaded guilty to perjury, theft and defrauding the state’s Medicare managed-care program, known as TennCare, according to the Tennessean. Meanwhile, an investigation…

Nov 15, 2013 6:30 PM CST