Tenn. Outlaws Subscribers to Services Like Netflix, Rhapsody from Sharing Their Logins

Lawmakers in Tennessee have passed a measure that makes it illegal for members of entertainment subscription services such as Netflix and Rhapsody to share their logins and passwords with others. The purpose of the law is to go after hackers who sell these services’ logins and passwords in bulk, but…

Jun 3, 2011 8:29 PM CDT

Ex-Prosecutor Indicted in Sex-for-Leniency Case, Charged with Official Misconduct

A former longtime Tennessee prosecutor has been criminally indicted on a felony charge of official misconduct, after being accused of flirting with female defendants and stating or implying that they would be treated more leniently if they had sex with him. However, Doug Godbee, 57, who formerly served as a…

May 4, 2011 7:24 PM CDT

Jail Recorded Almost 300 Law Firm-Client Phone Calls, Then Passed Them on to Others in Discovery

A federal judge in Tennessee has ordered attorneys involved in a sex-trafficking case not to listen to recordings of almost 300 phone calls between Bell Tennent & Frogge and the law firm’s jailed clients while he figures out how to handle the fact that they were provided to others in…

Apr 28, 2011 6:01 PM CDT

3 Law Firms Open New Offices in Southern States

Three law firms have announced that they are opening new offices in southern states: Cleveland-based McDonald Hopkins is bringing in a onetime general counsel to a former Florida governor to head its new Miami office, reports Crain’s Cleveland Business. Raquel “Rocky” Rodriguez, who served in the administration of ex-Gov. Jeb…

Apr 26, 2011 9:06 PM CDT

Tennessee Supreme Court Says Expert Testimony Needed When Determining IQ

Besides an IQ test score, testimony from mental health experts should be considered when determining if a prisoner is intellectually disabled, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled today. The decision, according to the Memphis Daily News, deals with the appeal of Michael Angelo Coleman, who is on the state’s death row…

Apr 11, 2011 10:23 PM CDT

Tennessee Man Keeps His Pot to Plant In, Thanks to Judge’s Ruling

A Tennessee man who uses a toilet as a flower pot in his front yard is praising a judge’s “awesome” decision to toss a city citation for the display. William Terry had been cited for violating the city’s maintenance code with his green use of the toilet, the Knoxville News…

Apr 1, 2011 4:25 PM CDT

Lawyer Charged with Rape Allegedly Asked Potential Med-Mal Client to Disrobe to See Her Scars

A Memphis, Tenn., personal injury lawyer has been charged with rape by Dyersburg police, who say he asked a potential medical-malpractice client to partially disrobe so that he could see her scars and then touched her inappropriately. It isn’t clear exactly where the alleged Jan. 25, 2011 meeting between Milton…

Mar 30, 2011 5:18 PM CDT

Were Divorce Lawyer’s Reasons for Seeking Recusal of 3 Judges in One Case Frivolous?

Cyndi Cheatham says she was simply seeking to see that her client, who is married to a man in a well-known Franklin County, Tenn., family, got a fair divorce trial. The client, Marla Byrum says she couldn’t find a lawyer in Franklin County willing to represent her, and Cheatham says…

Mar 11, 2011 1:16 AM CST

Detective Posing as Inmate’s Attorney Interfered with Right to Counsel, Required Conviction Reversal

When John Edward Dawson told his lawyer in a state court burglary and drug case that he was also being represented by a federal defender, she thought he was delusional and requested a psychiatric evaluation. But it was, in fact, true that someone pretending to be a federal defender had…

Mar 8, 2011 11:20 PM CST

Lawyer’s Attempt to Keep His Head Above Water Landed a Client on Death Row

Mar 1, 2011 11:49 AM CST

Inmate Protests His Release from Jail, Says He Has Nothing to Wear

A Memphis, Tenn., drug defendant was reluctant to accept a judge’s offer of freedom on Monday, citing concerns that he has nothing to wear. The judge ordered defendant Thorne Peters released on his own recognizance after prosecutors dropped a felony drug charge against the nightclub owner, leaving in place only…

Feb 10, 2011 3:13 PM CST

Five Women Seek Compensation for Prosecutor’s Alleged Sex-for-Leniency Requests

Five women who say a Tennessee prosecutor offered them leniency in exchange for sexual favors are seeking compensation from a governmental commission. The women claim former Hawkins County Assistant Attorney General Doug Godbee exploited his position of authority in making sexual requests, according to the Kingsport Times-News and KnoxNews.com. Four…

Feb 2, 2011 2:19 PM CST

Law Firm that Sought Reinhardt’s Ouster Is More Successful in a Second Case

A federal appeals court has booted a Tennessee federal judge from a case involving state health care for children, citing his “accusatory language” and “unproductive turmoil” in the legal dispute. The order by the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the accusatory language by Judge William Haynes Jr.…

Dec 3, 2010 1:09 PM CST

Barrier-Breaking US District Court Judge Is Nominated for Seat on 6th Circuit Court of Appeals

An award-winning, barrier-breaking federal district court judge has been nominated by President Barack Obama for a seat on the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Bernice Bouie Donald, who became the first female African-American bankruptcy judge in the country in 1988, and has been a federal district court judge…

Dec 2, 2010 1:16 AM CST

Circuit Court Judge Waits 11 Years to Rule on Case

A Shelbyville, Tenn. judge was reprimanded by state disciplinary authorities for “excessive delay” this week because he waited nearly 11 years to rule on a case. Circuit Court Judge F. Lee Russell took the case involving a complaint against Tennessee Farmers Mutual Insurance Co. under advisement in 1999 and didn’t…

Nov 30, 2010 11:13 PM CST