The Tennessee Supreme Court announced Tuesday that the trial court had appropriately declined to require a defendant physician to opine on the defendant nurse-midwife’s performance outside of the physician’s presence. In 2014, a child was born via cesarean section and suffered permanent brain damage. Through her mother, Brittany Borngne, the child sued the doctor who delivered her and the certified nurse midwife who was initially in charge of the birthing process. The doctor, in a pre-trial deposition, refused to opine on the nurse midwife’s performance outside of his presence, and the trial court declined to require him to do so. Read the full decision.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today held oral arguments in two cases before the American Legion Boys State at Tennessee Technological University. The event was part of the court’s award-winning SCALES program, which is designed to educate students about the judicial branch of government. Read about the cases or watch the arguments on the court’s YouTube page.

Judge Camille R. McMullen has been reappointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court to another term as a member of the Board of Judicial Conduct, commencing on July 1 and expiring on June 30, 2026.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has reversed the termination of the parental rights of two parents whose infant son suffered multiple rib fractures while in their custody. In the opinion released Friday, the court held that under Tennessee law, the evidence did not support a trial court’s finding that the parents’ failure to protect their child from injury was “knowing.” The court emphasized that its decision to reverse the termination of parental rights did not mean that the parents automatically regain custody of the child. 

In an opinion released last week, the Tennessee Supreme Court unanimously held that a trial court's voluntary dismissal order in a governmental tort liability action could not be altered or amended because the plaintiff’s amended complaint rendered it of no legal effect. The decision came in the case of George Gary Ingram, who filed a lawsuit against a physician, a hospital and two other defendants after suffering complications following a medical procedure. Ingram later filed an amended complaint that named only the physician as a defendant. The physician argued the lawsuit should be dismissed under the Governmental Tort Liability Act because the hospital, which was his employer and a governmental entity, was required to be named a party to the suit. Read more from the AOC.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has appointed former Judge W. Mark Ward as a senior judge for a term of four years. He will take senior status on June 1. Ward previously served as a criminal court judge in the 30th Judicial District from 2004-2022. He is the author of “Tennessee Criminal Trial Practice,” which is used by judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys and is known as the authoritative treatise on criminal trial practice in Tennessee. In making the announcement, Chief Justice Roger A. Page said the new appointment will help reduce docket backlogs in the state and fill openings when conflicts of interest require a judge to recuse from a case. The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts has more on the appointment.

The Tennessee Supreme Court said Monday it would uphold the forgery convictions and sentences of five defendants who filed more than 100 fraudulent financing statements on the Secretary of State’s website, the Chattanoogan reports. The financing statements falsely claimed liens for the defendants’ alleged security interest in the victims’ property as collateral for millions of dollars in fictitious debt. The defendants were named in a multi-count indictment that charged them with 102 counts of filing a lien without a reasonable basis, a Class E felony, and 102 counts of forgery of at least $250,000, a Class A felony. The Court of Criminal Appeals had affirmed their convictions and sentences ranging from 20 to 50 years.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today upheld the conviction of Kemontea Dovon McKinney on first-degree murder and aggravated robbery charges, finding that his statements to detectives and waiver of Miranda rights were voluntary. The court also concluded that the evidence was sufficient to support the convictions. During his trial, McKinney unsuccessfully challenged the admission of statements made to detectives, arguing that he did not knowingly and voluntarily waive his Miranda rights. McKinney appealed to the Court of Criminal Appeals, which found that the trial court erred when it denied the motion to suppress. The appellate court found that an involuntary-confession claim is “inextricably linked” to a Miranda-waiver claim. It also found the evidence was insufficient to support the murder conviction. The Supreme Court reversed that decision finding that the voluntariness test is distinct from the Miranda test and that after separately applying both tests, the statements and the waiver were found to be voluntary.

Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon G. Lee will be honored next month with the Tennessee Bar Association’s prestigious Justice Frank F. Drowota III Outstanding Judicial Service Award, the association’s highest award for service to the judiciary. The award will be presented at the TBA’s Bench Bar Luncheon set for June 15 as part of the association’s Annual Convention in Knoxville. Lee was selected for this award for her many years of service to the bench and the legal profession. As chief justice of the court from 2014-2016, Lee worked tirelessly to improve the state’s legal system and its administration of justice. She emphasized access to justice efforts, established the state’s first Business Court pilot project, implemented electronic filing with the appellate courts, and undertook a review of the state’s indigent representation system. Often described as a “Justice for the People,” Lee has shown humility, respect for those appearing before the courts, and a recognition that cases involve not only legal issues and concepts, but real problems that impact real people’s lives. Read more about her career and accomplishments.

The Tennessee Supreme Court in a ruling released Friday extended the favorable termination standard to claims for malicious prosecution only if an objective examination, limited to the documents disposing of the proceeding or the applicable procedural rules, indicates the termination of the underlying criminal proceeding reflects on the merits of the case and was due to the innocence of the accused. Read the full ruling.