The decedent left a will in which he directed the majority of his property into a trust. The trust named his wife as the trustee. The trust made several specific distributions to wife effective upon the decedent’s death, including the grant of life estate interests in certain assets. Several other beneficiaries were designated to receive distributions from the life estate assets upon wife’s death. The trust directed its remaining assets into a separate marital trust which provided that all income generated by its property would be distributed to wife. It also provided that the trustee would be required to distribute as much of the principal of the marital trust to wife as she requested in writing and granted her a power of appointment. Several of the remaining trust beneficiaries filed a petition to construe the trust in the Shelby County probate court. They sought an order declaring that the remainder interests of assets in which wife had been granted life estates did not pass into the marital trust. The probate court held that the remainder interests did not pass into the marital trust and wife could not alter or destroy them. Wife appeals. We affirm in part and reverse in part.

Defendant, Joshua Daniel Gibbons, appeals his Sullivan County Criminal Court jury conviction of disorderly conduct, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction and that the trial court erred in its instructions to the jury. We find that the trial court erred by instructing the jury on a mode of disorderly conduct not included in the charging instrument and that, in any event, the evidence was insufficient to support Defendant’s conviction under either mode of liability charged to the jury. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and dismiss the charge.

Defendant, Todd Allen Burrows, Jr., appeals the Sullivan County Criminal Court’s revocation of his probation, arguing that the trial court erred by ordering that he serve the balance of his sentence in confinement. Because we conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion, we affirm.

A Henderson County jury convicted the Defendant, Cordero Klein Blake, of driving while under the influence (“DUI”) of marijuana, first offense, possession of a handgun while under the influence, driving on a suspended license, speeding, violation of registration law, and violation of financial responsibility law. The trial court imposed a total effective sentence of eleven months and twenty-nine days, suspended to community corrections supervision following service of seven days in confinement. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the evidence is insufficient to sustain his convictions for DUI and possession of a handgun while under the influence. After review, we affirm the trial court’s judgments.

This interlocutory appeal involves an employee’s request for medical and temporary disability benefits after he injured fingers on his right hand while working as a welder for the employer. Following the accident, he was provided authorized medical treatment and was able to return to work. Although he was laid off from the welding position at the end of the contract period, he was allowed to work with another team on the same project until a new welding project started with a different employer. In its expedited hearing order, the trial court determined the employee’s testimony regarding his alleged inability to work after the accident was not credible, noting, in part, that the record contained no evidence of work restrictions related to his injuries. The court therefore denied the employee’s request for temporary disability benefits but found the employee remained entitled to ongoing medical treatment for his compensable injuries with the authorized provider. The employee has appealed. Having carefully reviewed the record, we affirm the trial court’s order and remand the case.

Metropolitan Nashville-Davidson County General Sessions Court has announced the hiring of its first court social worker, Laura Frazier, a move court leaders say will help connect individuals with critical services while navigating legal proceedings. Fox17 reports that Frazier's responsibilities include helping connect individuals with resources such as housing assistance, food programs, health care, mental health services, employment support and other community-based services. Presiding Judge Robin Kimbrough Hayes said in a statement, "Social workers bring vital human context to the adversarial court system. ... By bridging the gap between legal proceedings and human needs, they advocate for clients, provide holistic assessments, and guide vulnerable individuals through the complexities of the justice system." Frazier previously worked with Nashville's Shelter Court, where she helped people experiencing homelessness access services and community programs.

OpenAI has hired Ironclad co-founder and former CEO Jason Boehmig to lead a new legal vertical, marking the AI company's direct entry into the market for legal-specific tools. Boehmig, a former corporate attorney who co-founded contract management platform Ironclad in 2014 and recently transitioned to executive chairman there, said he sees the legal industry as more dynamic than ever as firms, in-house teams and law schools all grapple with generative AI. The move follows similar pushes into legal tech by Anthropic, which launched a suite of legal plug-ins for Claude earlier this year, and Microsoft, which released an AI legal agent within Word in April. Law.com has more on the story.

Retired U.S. District Judge Jon McCalla died May 15 at age 79. A visitation will be held on June 13 from 10 to 10:45 a.m. CDT at Grace-St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 1720 Peabody Ave., Memphis 38104 in Trezevant Hall. At 11 a.m., a funeral service will celebrate the lives of McCalla and his wife, Mary, who died in April. A reception will follow at the University Club of Memphis, 1346 Central Ave., Memphis 38104. Memorial gifts may be made to the University of Tennessee Health Science Center Otolaryngology Advancement Fund; Historic Archives of Rosemark and Environs Inc. by mail to 8671 Rosemark Rd., Millington, TN 38053; or Grace-St. Luke's Episcopal Church online or by mail at the address above.

According to a statement released on May 21, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, has introduced six articles of impeachment against U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. Local Memphis reports that Cohen claims Roberts has committed high crimes and misdemeanors by "violating the Constitution, disregarding his statutory obligations as Chief Justice, and breaching his oaths of office." Specifically, the articles assert that Roberts has allowed the court to become a partisan force and has "systematically preferred the powerful over the people" and delivered "arbitrary, unexplained, and inconsistent decisions that violate the Constitutional protection of the parties." No co-sponsors have come forward so far but Newsweek reports that the effort reflects widespread Democratic frustration with recent rulings. In previous remarks Roberts has pushed back against characterizations of the court as politically motivated.

Can't join us for the full TBA Convention this month? Or maybe you need to add a guest ticket for a specific event? Individual tickets now are available for purchase for the following events: Wednesday's opening reception; Thursday's Public Service Breakfast, University of Tennessee Winston College of Law Breakfast, TBA's Tech Showcase and the evening reception at Smokies stadium; and Friday's breakfast and Lawyers Luncheon. Buy tickets here.