Tennessee

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

A Tennessee County Agrees to Grant New Protections to Accused Juveniles in Template for Reform

Tennessee’s Shelby County has agreed to reform its justice system in a ground-breaking pact with the U.S. Justice Department. A federal investigation had highlighted the problems there, the New York Times reports. Black teens in the county, which includes Memphis, were twice as likely as white teens to be detained,…

Dec 21, 2012 11:30 AM CST

An Atomic Bomb in Courthouse? Multiple Threats in Tennessee Follow Incidents in Other States

Government workers at 24 courthouses in Tennessee were ordered out of their buildings on Tuesday as a result of bomb threats received by 31 government buildings in the state. No bombs were found. Employees at the Knox County Courthouse kept on working after receiving three bomb threats in a 10-minute…

Nov 28, 2012 12:30 PM CST

Ex-Prosecutor Convicted of Official Misconduct in Sex-for-Leniency Case Is Disbarred

Convicted earlier this year on a criminal official misconduct charge and sentenced to probation, a former Tennessee prosecutor has now been disbarred. John Douglas Godbee was accused by a female defendant and the woman’s mother of seeking a sexual relationship with the younger woman in exchange for favorable treatment in…

Nov 21, 2012 6:36 PM CST

Federal Judge Replaces Jury Foreman Accused of Bullying, Tells Jury to Begin Deliberations Anew

A federal judge in Nashville has dismissed a jury foreman accused of bullying other jurors, replacing him with an alternate and telling the jury to begin deliberating anew in a drug conspiracy case. U.S. District Court Judge Aleta Trauger said she had received multiple notes from the jury and noted…

Nov 16, 2012 5:51 PM CST

Jury Convicts Former Tenn. Judge of Lying to Cover Up Prescription Drug Conspiracy

A federal jury in Knoxville, Tenn., on Friday convicted a former criminal court judge there of lying to cover up a prescription drug conspiracy that reportedly involved some defendants in the court system. After deliberating for four days, the jury convicted Richard Baumgartner on five counts of misprision of a…

Nov 2, 2012 8:05 PM CDT

Duncan School of Law Drops Lawsuit Against ABA Over Accreditation Denial

Lincoln Memorial University’s Duncan School of Law has dropped its federal antitrust suit against the ABA over the denial of its bid for provisional accreditation. The school, which has also withdrawn its appeal of a decision before an ABA appeals panel affirming the denial of its application, will file a…

Oct 30, 2012 8:51 PM CDT

Federal Judge Axes 1 Count in Drug Cover-up Case of Ex-Tenn. Jurist, Calls Proof In Others ‘Slim’

Things began to look up a little bit Monday for a disgraced former Tennessee judge accused of lying to three other judges and a prosecutor to try to conceal a prescription drug-trafficking conspiracy related to a woman with whom he was having an affair. U.S. District Judge Ronnie Greer axed…

Oct 29, 2012 6:35 PM CDT

Kentucky’s Wyatt Absorbs 9-Member Memphis Firm, Expands Estate-Planning Practice

Louisville-based Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs announced this week that it’s merging with a 45-year-old firm in Memphis. Wyatt’s merger with Williams McDaniel means a significant expansion of Wyatt’s estate-planning practice, according to the firm and Business First. “Our strategic plan calls for growth, and when we looked around in the…

Aug 16, 2012 12:48 PM CDT

Tennessee Appellate Court Dismisses Judge’s Defamation Claims; Allows False Light Issue to Proceed

Corrected: A Tennessee judge, the subject of television news broadcasts that the judge said suggested he may have lied to the Justice Department in regards to a Mental Health Court grant and suggested he could be facing an ethics investigation, was not defamed by the pieces, the state appellate court…

Aug 7, 2012 6:55 PM CDT

Top Tenn. Court OKs 4-Year Suspension for Longtime Partner Who Took Legal Fees Owed to His Law Firm

A four-year suspension was an appropriate punishment for a longtime partner who misappropriated legal fees that should have gone to his Tennessee law firm, the state’s highest court has determined. However, it took issue in a Tuesday written opinion (PDF) with the way the attorney disciplinary case against William S.…

Jul 6, 2012 6:49 PM CDT

Judge Reprimanded for Posting Order on Court Website That Accused Lawyers of Unethical Conduct

A Tennessee judge has been publicly reprimanded (PDF) for publishing an order on a Montgomery County court website that referred to claimed facts outside the record and accused attorneys of unethical conduct. The order concerned recusal motions made by lawyers who had recently left a law firm at which the…

Jul 5, 2012 5:35 PM CDT

Known as Site of Famous 1925 Scopes Prosecution, Dayton, Tenn., Prepares for Annual Trial Festival

Looking for some summer fun? There’s still time to plan to attend this year’s annual festival in a small Tennessee town celebrating one of the nation’s most famous trials. Although Clarence Darrow lost the so-called Monkey Trial, his client, high school teacher John Scopes, eventually saw his guilty verdict and…

Jul 3, 2012 6:39 PM CDT

Lawyer’s Suit Claims He Was Denied Indigent Defense Work Because of His Race

A Tennessee lawyer has filed a lawsuit alleging he was denied indigent defense work because he is East Indian. The suit filed in federal court in Knoxville names Knox County and its general sessions court as defendants, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. Lawyer Arun Rattan writes in his pro se…

Jul 2, 2012 10:30 AM CDT

Collection Law Firm Sends $26,573 Check to Client City; Taxpayer’s Money Was Taken by Ex-Employee

A law firm that collects taxes for a Tennessee city has sent its client a check for $26,573. The money will be applied to pay taxes of an elderly resident who wrote checks directly to a former employee of Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, reports the Memphis Commercial Appeal. “The…

Jun 26, 2012 10:58 PM CDT