Tennessee

Restrictive DUI Lawyer Advertising Bill Advances in Tenn.

Legislation that would prohibit lawyers from advertising that they offer discounts for anyone charged with DUI has passed through the Tennessee Senate’s Finance, Ways and Means Committee. Lawmakers are apparently reacting to ads in which lawyers claim to specialize in DUI. “What kind of message does that send? Clearly and…

Apr 23, 2008 11:32 AM CDT

Magistrate Recommends Discipline for Talkative Defense Lawyer

A federal magistrate has recommended discipline for a Knoxville defense lawyer who continued to talk after a federal judge ordered him to keep quiet. Magistrate Susan Kerr Lee recommended “appropriate discipline” for lawyer Herbert Moncier because of his conduct in November 2006, the Chattanoogan.com reports. She said he has had…

Apr 10, 2008 1:23 PM CDT

Defendant to Judge: God is My Counsel

A seemingly routine arraignment in a case alleging that the defendant had been operating a business without a license apparently became something of an ordeal earlier this week for a Tennessee judge. When he asked William Albert Roseburgh, 57, whether he needed a lawyer, the defendant responded “Yahweh is my…

Mar 13, 2008 5:05 PM CDT

New Proposals Surface to Help Debt-Laden Homeowners

Several proposals are being touted that would help troubled borrowers and the lenders that gave them loans for their homes, often worth less now than the outstanding loan balance. Falling home prices and higher interest rates on adjustable rate mortgages have led to increasing foreclosures and a struggle for those…

Feb 22, 2008 5:24 PM CST

Burglar Breaks in to Tennessee Supreme Court

A burglar who broke into the basement of the Tennessee Supreme Court stole an employee’s debit card but apparently took no court files or computers. The burglar also overturned a video security monitor, damaged an X-ray machine and stole the video recorder from the security system, the Jackson Sun reports.…

Jan 28, 2008 2:14 PM CST

AIG Unit Agrees to Pay $42.5M for Environmental Cleanup

A subsidiary of American International Group Inc. has agreed to pay $42.5 million to clean up environmental contamination at four industrial facilities that had been owned by Fruit of the Loom. The money will be used to clean up four sites in Michigan, New Jersey and Tennessee, the Associated Press…

Jan 10, 2008 6:51 PM CST

Ex-Judge Fights Release of Lurid Audiotape

A former Tennessee judge is fighting the release of an audiotape that contains his lurid fantasies that sounded like someone being tortured. Judge John Hagler resigned last month after the Chattanooga Times Free Press learned about the recording, the Associated Press reports. A fired secretary had turned it over to…

Jan 3, 2008 11:53 AM CST

Veteran Prosecutor Takes On City’s Worst Juvy Offenders

A veteran prosecutor in Tennessee known nationally for her victims’ rights advocacy is shifting her energy to prosecuting Nashville’s worst juvenile offenders. For 51-year-old Kathy Morante, the new direction in her prosecutorial career has been a challenge, the Tennessean reports. “It’s already been very frustrating,” Morante tells the paper. “There’s…

Jan 2, 2008 7:50 PM CST

Lawyer Claims Jury Pool Tainted by ‘Urban Legend’ Blog Posts

The lawyer for a man accused of hiding a suspect in the murder of a carjacked couple claims in a motion for a change of venue that blogs helped “outrage and taint any jury pool.” Lawyer Philip Lomonaco of Knoxville, Tenn., claims blogs printed false allegations that the murder victims…

Dec 4, 2007 12:08 PM CST

Time Served, Preacher’s Widow Gets Supervised Visitation

Although her request for custody was not granted, the Tennessee preacher’s widow who served less than a year in prison for killing her husband may have supervised visitation with her three daughters, a judge has ruled. Mary Winkler may visit the children on a schedule to be worked out by…

Sep 20, 2007 7:46 PM CDT

Judge Halts TN Lethal Injection

A federal judge has halted an upcoming execution in Tennessee, ruling that the state’s lethal injection procedure presents “a substantial risk of unnecessary pain.” Judge Aleta A. Trauger of Nashville said the three-drug procedure does not ensure that inmates are unconscious when they are executed, the New York Times reports.…

Sep 20, 2007 4:06 PM CDT

TN Lawyer Helps Rescue Pilot

A Chattanooga, Tenn., lawyer was among the rescuers who helped pull survivors from a small plane that crashed in a shopping center parking lot Wednesday. The plane had crashed as it approached the runway at the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport. The pilot and three passengers were taken to a hospital for…

Sep 20, 2007 12:41 PM CDT

Thompson’s Dual Role as Gov’t Counsel

During decades as a government lawyer serving a prominent advisory role in scandalous situations, Fred D. Thompson has forged a reputation as a hard-driving prosecutor. (In between, he has also had a well-known acting career, which was jump-started when he played himself in Marie, a movie about his client, the…

Aug 28, 2007 8:55 PM CDT

TN Divorce Lawyer With Wife—and Law Firm—30 Years

A Tennessee divorce lawyer who has been married to the same woman–and working at the same law firm–for 30 years credits luck and a strong family life for his good fortune. A partner at a Memphis law firm established by his father in 1951, George Lawrence “Larry” Rice III now…

Aug 23, 2007 6:31 PM CDT

Bloomberg: Insurers Aren’t Paying Claims

Despite having had to cover Hurricane Katrina, the worst U.S. disaster in the history of insurance, carriers are earning record profits. One reason why is that many don’t pay claims to the extent promised in insurance policies, a news agency says. “Insurers often pay 30-60 percent of the cost of…

Aug 3, 2007 8:47 PM CDT