The Tennessee Supreme Court today reversed a decision of the Court of Criminal Appeals that granted relief to a defendant on an unpreserved and unpresented issue. The court found that the appeals court abused its discretion by granting the relief without giving the parties fair notice and an opportunity to be heard on the matter. The court said that while appellate courts have limited discretionary authority to review unpresented and unpreserved issues, they must provide fair notice and an opportunity to be heard before deciding such an issue. The decision came in the case of Lynn Frank Bristol, who was convicted on two counts of aggravated sexual battery in Coffee County and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Bristol had claimed his conviction should be overturned because of alleged discrepancies between the written jury instructions and the trial court’s oral jury charge.

The Tennessee Supreme Court, with the support of legal professionals and jurists in the area, will hold its SCALES Project at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) on Dec. 6. The justices will hear two oral arguments in the school’s Martin Center for the Arts. High school students from the area are invited to participate. The SCALES project is designed to educate high school students about the judicial branch of government. SCALES, which stands for Supreme Court Advancing Legal Education for Students, gives students a unique opportunity to hear oral arguments for an actual court case in their own region. The Washington County Bar Association announced the news.

Five cases are set for the Tennessee Supreme Court’s October docket. The high court will hear four cases in Nashville beginning at 9 a.m. CDT, with the final case to be submitted on briefs. Oral arguments will be livestreamed on the TNCourts YouTube page. Cases will include Kenneth J. Mynatt v. National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 39 et al.; Emergency Medical Care Facilities, P.C. v. Division of TennCare et al.; Ernest Falls et al. v. Mark Goins et al.; Robert Crotty, et al. v. Mark Flora, M.D.; and Brian Philip Manookian v. Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more details on each case.

The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear one case tomorrow using Zoom. Per court order, the case will not be livestreamed, but will be shown publicly in the courtroom of the Nashville Supreme Court building at 9 a.m. CDT. The case, In re Markus E., is an appeal to consider whether parental rights were properly terminated.  

The Tennessee Supreme Court last week denied a petition from the Tennessee Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection (TLFCP) to increase the annual attorney registration fee from $170 to $185 and to raise the portion of the fee it receives to $25. The court, however, said the petition “highlighted the need for a comprehensive review of the sufficiency of the annual registration fee and the allocation of funds” and that it would conduct such a review itself. At the completion of the review, the court said it would reconsider the request on its own motion. The court did grant two other TLFCP requests: (1) to modify the limitations on payments it may make by increasing the per-attorney cap and making the aggregate cap discretionary; and (2) to require it to publicize information about claims that are paid. These changes were made in Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 25, section 6.01(c), and Rule 9, section 28.11, and are spelled out in the attached order.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has ordered that Violaine Panasci, a Canadian attorney who passed the Uniform Bar Exam and is licensed to practice in New York, should not be precluded from the practice of law in Tennessee. Panasci, who moved to Nashville in in 2021, petitioned the court for admission after the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners (TBLE) denied her application, concluding that she did not meet the requirements for foreign-educated applicants. The high court ruled that “based on Ms. Panasci’s legal education and UBE score, the requirements of section 7.01(a) should not preclude her admission to practice law in Tennessee by transferred UBE score.” Costs of the appeal will be assessed to the BLE. Read the order here.

The Tennessee Supreme Court earlier this week named Jennifer Austin Mitchell to the hearing committee for Disciplinary District III. She will serve from Sept. 12 to March 16, 2025. Read the court’s order.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today clarified uncertainties concerning the appropriate standard of review to apply to claims of alleged prosecutorial misconduct during closing argument when no objection was lodged at the time of the alleged misconduct but the claim is raised in a motion for new trial. After reviewing State v. Tyler Ward Enix, the high court clarified that failure to object to a prosecutor’s statements during closing arguments results in waiver on appeal and that the plain error standard of review applies to claims that are treated as waived. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more on the case and the Supreme Court’s decision.

The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear two cases in Knoxville for its September docket. State of Tennessee v. Johnny Summers Cavin will begin at 9 a.m. EDT and will be followed by State of Tennessee v. Joseph Gevedon. Both cases will be livestreamed on the Administrative Office of the Courts YouTube page. More information on both cases can be found on the AOC’s website.  

The Tennessee Supreme Court issued an order soliciting comments on proposed amendments to the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure and Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure. The court notes that the Advisory Commission on the Rules of Practice & Procedure recommended these changes during its 2021-2022 term, which ended on June 10. Comments on the amendments are due by Dec. 2 and should be emailed to appellatecourtclerk@tncourts.gov or mailed to James Hivner, Clerk, Re: 2023 Rules Package, 100 Supreme Court Building, 401 7th Ave. N., Nashville, TN 37219-1407. Comments also should reference docket number ADM2022-01198.