Tennessee

Call me Captain Justice: Lawyer requests euphemisms after prosecutor seeks ban on ‘government’ word

A Tennessee lawyer is making no secret of what he thinks of a motion to ban references to prosecutors as “the government” during trial. If the court allows the parties to pick their own designations, says Franklin, Tenn., defense lawyer Drew Justice, then he should be addressed by the name…

Nov 4, 2013 11:10 AM CST

Judge who ordered parents to change baby’s name from Messiah to Martin faces discipline case

A Tennessee judge who told the parents of a baby boy that they had to name their son Martin instead of Messiah because only Jesus Christ had “earned” the latter “title” is now facing a disciplinary case. Child Support Magistrate Lu Ann Ballew is charged with violating legal ethics rules…

Oct 28, 2013 3:40 PM CDT

Baby Messiah regains moniker

A Tennessee court on Wednesday reversed a magistrate’s change of name for an 8-month-old baby named Messiah by his parents, finding that it was not the lower court’s job to overrule the name on which his parents had agreed. However, the latest ruling in the Cocke County Chancery Court case…

Sep 18, 2013 6:10 PM CDT

Facebook exchange threatens murder conviction

A juror’s Facebook message to a prosecution witness during trial threatens to derail a Tennessee man’s first-degree murder conviction. The Tennessee Supreme Court, in a unanimous ruling (PDF) Tuesday, ordered the trial court to conduct a hearing into whether the communication warrants a new trial, CNN reports. “If, for any…

Sep 12, 2013 10:11 PM CDT

Retiree can pursue nuisance suit for farmer’s loud music concerts, Tennessee Supreme Court rules

Music festivals found to be part of a farmer’s “right clever marketing operation” aren’t protected from nuisance suits under Tennessee’s right-to-farm law, the state supreme court has ruled. Tennessee law protects farmers from nuisance suits for growing or raising farm products, but not for marketing intended to further the income…

Aug 26, 2013 10:45 AM CDT

Judge explains why she ordered name change for baby ‘Messiah’: Only Jesus has that title

Parents who were feuding over the last name for their 7-month-old son, Messiah, took their dispute to a Tennessee court and wound up with a new first name for the boy. Child Support Magistrate Lu Ann Ballew ordered Messiah’s name changed to Martin last week, report the Associated Press and…

Aug 12, 2013 12:05 PM CDT

Apple’s lack of porn filter caused my addiction, lawyer says in product liability suit

A Tennessee lawyer has filed a federal products liability lawsuit against Apple Inc., contending that the company is strictly liable for selling “unreasonably dangerous or defective” electronic devices that lack pornography filters and do not adequately warn consumers about the dangers of surfing the Internet. Chris Sevier says in the…

Jul 16, 2013 4:40 PM CDT

Lawyer acknowledges tax conviction but not guilt, gets 51-month term

Disbarred lawyer John Threadgill of Knoxville, Tenn., conceded on Monday that a federal jury had found him guilty of tax evasion last year, but he maintained he was not actually guilty. Threadgill, 70, said he was merely the victim of a bad investment and an inability to repay a debt…

Jun 26, 2013 11:30 AM CDT

Need a lawyer? Tennessee places of worship are ready to help

Places of worship in Tennessee are helping indigent people find pro bono lawyers in a program developed by a commission of the state supreme court. The faith-based initiative began in February with Methodist churches in Middle Tennessee, the Associated Press and the Chattanoogan report. The program, developed by the Tennessee…

Jun 21, 2013 10:50 AM CDT

Judge creates a stir by developing a dress code for female attorneys

A Tennessee judge has caused a commotion by developing a dress code for female attorneys in Rutherford County. The rumor that it will require pantyhose is false, Circuit Court Judge Royce Taylor told the Tennessean. However, suggestive, revealing or otherwise inappropriate clothing worn by some women lawyers is an issue,…

Jun 13, 2013 5:40 PM CDT

Judge faces ethics case, is accused of making independent investigation before ruling

A Tennessee judge is facing a legal ethics case for allegedly making a personal fact-gathering visit to a party’s home before ruling in a post-divorce child-custody case. Circuit Judge Kay Spalding Robilio, who sits in Shelby County in the 30th Judicial District, is accused by the Tennessee State Board of…

May 28, 2013 4:15 PM CDT

Ex-judge gets 6 months for lying to cover up prescription drug conspiracy

A former Tennessee criminal court judge who was convicted last year of lying to cover up a prescription drug conspiracy that involved some defendants in the court system has been sentenced to six months in federal prison. Richard Baumgartner, 65, benefited from the Knox County scheme, which provided him with…

Apr 10, 2013 7:58 PM CDT

Will federal judge kill suit over costumed ‘zombie’ protest of ‘corpse of a power plant’?

A federal judge in Knoxville, Tenn., is scheduled to hear next week a motion to dismiss a complaint filed by government meeting protesters over a no-costume policy that they say prevented them from exercising their First Amendment right to speak. The subject of their protest was a plan to complete…

Mar 6, 2013 9:01 PM CST

Grand jury chair is a felon; 800 indictments now in question

Indictments from nearly 900 cases in the Nashville area are under review after officials discovered a man who served as grand jury chair in 2011 is a convicted felon. Eugene Grayer was appointed to lead the grand jury, even though the Davidson County district attorney’s office had been notified of…

Feb 4, 2013 1:30 PM CST

Lawyer Suspended 60 Days for Rude Remarks to Judge Not Sorry, Says He’ll Be on Beach If Appeal Loses

A lawyer suspended 60 days for the rude remarks he made to a Tennessee judge during a 2008 medical malpractice trial plans to appeal the legal ethics penalty. But regardless of what happens, attorney R. Sadler Bailey told the Commercial Appeal, he isn’t sorry he spoke to Circuit Court Judge…

Jan 7, 2013 10:45 PM CST