TBA staff enjoyed their annual holiday party earlier this month and wish all TBA members a happy holiday season! The TBA will be closed Wednesday and Thursday in observance of the Christmas holiday. Offices will reopen Friday at 8 a.m. CST. Online CLE programming will remain available throughout the holidays.

A jury convicted Defendant, Stanley William Havens, of driving under the influence of an intoxicant (DUI) and of driving with a blood alcohol concentration of .08% or higher (DUI per se), and it found that this was Defendant’s third DUI offense for enhanced sentencing. The offenses were merged, and Defendant was assessed a fine and sentenced to serve 11 months and 29 days in confinement, with a release eligibility of 75%. Defendant appeals, challenging: (1) the sufficiency of the evidence; (2) the redacted video of the traffic stop; (3) the trial court’s failure to excuse a juror for cause; (4) a statement during voir dire that he asserts constitutes prosecutorial misconduct; and (5) his sentence. We affirm and remand for entry of a corrected judgments in Counts 2 and 3.

A Knox County Jury convicted Defendant, Tyler Christian, of two counts of carjacking and one count of driving on a revoked license. The trial court merged the carjacking convictions and imposed an effective sentence of sixteen years’ confinement as a Range II offender. On appeal, Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his convictions, the trial court’s decision to supplement the pattern jury instructions with definitions of “force” and “violence,” and the trial court’s denial of Defendant’s motion for new trial. After review, we affirm.

The parties obtained a divorce in the Chancery Court for Montgomery County (“the Trial Court”). On appeal, the wife disputes the Trial Court’s calculation of her portion of the husband’s military retirement pay. Upon our review, we determine that the Trial Court miscalculated the wife’s portion given that it calculated her portion based on the parties’ date of informal separation, rather than the date of the husband’s retirement from the military. In doing so, the Trial Court misclassified marital property as separate property. We, accordingly, vacate the Trial Court’s classification of the husband’s military retirement pay as partially separate property acquired during the marriage and the Trial Court’s division of the entire marital estate, insofar as the Trial Court’s improper classification of this marital asset affects the equitable division of the marital estate as a whole. We remand this cause to the Trial Court for it to properly classify the husband’s military retirement pay as marital property acquired during the months of the marriage, recalculate its division of this marital asset, and re-access its division of the entire marital estate in light of its reclassification and recalculation of its division of this marital asset.

After discovering that the roof of her new car leaked, the owner returned to the dealership several times for repairs, but the leaks persisted. Later, when she began feeling sick, the owner suspected that mold growing in the car was the cause. The owner sued the dealership claiming, among other things, that negligent repairs led to the mold growth and caused her health issues. The dealership moved for summary judgment, asserting that the owner could not prove causation. The trial court agreed and granted summary judgment. We affirm.

This appeal concerns the trial court’s findings of six counts of criminal contempt against Mother following a contentious, years-long custody battle. Due to the lack of a final judgment, we dismiss the appeal.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Nov. 21 suspended 16 attorneys for failure to pay the annual registration fee, 11 of whom also failed to file proof that client funds are held in an IOLTA-compliant account. View the fee suspension order and IOLTA suspension order. Lawyers reinstated in the last month include eight suspended this year, one suspended in 2024 and one suspended in 2018. Access all administrative suspensions dating back to 2005.

The legal profession demands excellence under pressure, but over time, unrelenting stress can erode clarity, focus and well-being. Left unchecked, chronic tension undermines productivity, clouds judgment, strains relationships and increases the risk of ethical missteps. Join your colleagues to develop mindful law practice management skills and tools that strengthen focus, organization and long-term success in your law practice and beyond. This webcast on Dec. 29 at 9 a.m. CST explores how intentional awareness can transform how you organize your workload, manage communications and navigate conflict. Visit the TBA website for more information.

The American Bar Association’s (ABA) Task Force on Law and Artificial Intelligence (AI) recently released its final report. The “Year 2 Report on the Impact of AI on the Practice of Law” focuses on the future of AI and the law. The task force, created in August 2023, brought together lawyers and judges from across the ABA to address the impact of AI on the legal profession and the practice of law. The report addresses these areas and provides insights and resources that will help equip the legal community to address these developments. It also lists AI-related programs and events recommended by the task force and from across the ABA, many of which are available to lawyers, judges and members of the public at ambar.org/aiLaw. Read more in a press release from the ABA.

The Justice Frank F. Drowota Trust, a charitable fund dedicated to providing supplemental financial support to direct providers of civil legal services, has announced five grant recipients for 2025. This year’s awards highlight organizations that continue to advance justice for low-income Tennesseans through advocacy, representation and community outreach. Recipients are: Legal Aid of East Tennessee, Legal Aid of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, West Tennessee Legal Services, Community Legal Center (CLC) and the Tennessee Justice Center. The trust also announced the launch of its website, DrowotaTrust.com. The site serves as a comprehensive resource, offering information about the mission, history and purpose of the trust, as well as profiles of Trustees Buck Lewis, Sharon Lee and Claire Drowota, news updates, and a secure link for donations. To discuss donations from a bequest, RMD from retirement accounts or other form of gift contact Lewis at blewis@bakerdonelson.com.