Retired Rutherford County lawyer Allen D. Hale died Aug. 23 at age 73. A lifelong resident of the county, he worked as paramedic, police detective, assistant district attorney and private practice attorney. Condolences for the family may be shared online at www.jenningsandayers.com.

Georgia lawyer Stephen William Mooney was reinstated to the practice of law in Tennessee on Aug. 27. The Tennessee Supreme Court reports that Mooney has been on inactive status since May 11, 2018. The Board of Professional Responsibility found that Mooney’s petition for reinstatement was satisfactory, and he had met all requirements for reinstatement.

The pro se Petitioner, Marcus Wilson, appeals from the habeas corpus court’s summary dismissal of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. We affirm the summary dismissal of the petition.

Defendant, Marty Ray Rouse, appeals the trial court’s judgment revoking his probation and ordering him to serve his full sentence in confinement after Defendant admitted to violating his probation. Defendant asserts the trial court abused its discretion by focusing on Defendant’s past criminal history and failing to apply the correct legal standard in determining the consequence of Defendant’s probation violation. After review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The appellants, Justin Tyler Hobbs, Kasey Hobbs, Janice Toth, and Tony Toth (“Appellants”), filed a notice of appeal with this Court on June 4, 2025, which states that Appellants are appealing the May 5, 2025 order of the Hamilton County Circuit Court (“Trial Court”). Appellants subsequently filed in this Court a notice of premature appeal due to a pending issue regarding attorney’s fees and legal expenses after the dismissal of Appellants’ claims upon a directed verdict under Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 50.01. According to the notice, the pending issue of attorney’s fees was scheduled to be resolved during a hearing on August 7, 2025. Therefore, this Court provided the parties with an extension of time to obtain a final judgment until August 21, 2025 or else this appeal would be subject to dismissal for lack of a final judgment.

Because no final order has been entered in the underlying trial court proceedings, this Court lacks jurisdiction to consider this appeal.

A mother appeals the trial court’s entry of a parenting plan that designates her and her former spouse joint primary residential parents and grants them equal residential parenting time. Because the parties did not agree to be joint primary residential parents, we modify the parenting plan to name the mother primary residential parent. Otherwise, we affirm.

This appeal concerns Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 8, Rule of Professional Conduct 1.5(e), an ethics rule requiring that a division of fees between lawyers who are not in the same firm be agreed to by the client in writing. Trinity Clark (“Clark”) entered into a retainer agreement with attorney Troy Jones (“Jones”) on a 1/3 contingency fee. Jones brought Clark’s matter to attorney Lance Baker (“Baker”), who was not in a firm with Jones. Clark later entered an agreement with Baker on a 45% contingency fee. The Clark-Baker agreement provided, in writing, that Baker could associate other attorneys on the case, but that Clark’s overall fee obligation would not increase. The agreement neither identified any other attorneys nor specified how fees would be divided between them. After Clark’s case settled, Clark sued Baker in the Circuit Court for Knox County (“the Trial Court”), alleging Baker’s fee was unreasonable. Jones joined the lawsuit, arguing he was entitled to a share of the fees (“Plaintiffs,” Jones and Clark collectively). Baker filed a motion for summary judgment. The Trial Court denied Baker’s motion, finding that both the Clark-Jones agreement and the Clark-Baker agreement were invalid for noncompliance with Rule 1.5(e). This interlocutory appeal followed. We find the Clark-Jones agreement invalid. However, with respect to the Clark-Baker agreement, we find that the entire arrangement and Clark’s assent thereto satisfied Rule 1.5(e). We reverse on this issue and find that the Clark-Baker agreement is not invalid for failure of compliance with Rule 1.5(e). We affirm, in part, and reverse, in part.

For the week of August 25, 2025 - August 29, 2025

State Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Eads, and state Rep. John Gillespie, R-Memphis, have asked the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) to conduct an unannounced audit of the Memphis Police Department’s (MPD) crime statistics. In an Aug. 15 letter to TBI Director David Rausch, the lawmakers cited concerns that some felony crimes may have been downgraded to misdemeanors or recorded only as memos, keeping them out of official reports. Both legislators stressed they have no direct evidence but said an audit could restore public trust in crime data and help depoliticize the issue. MPD leaders strongly denied any manipulation, saying the department follows strict state and federal reporting standards and that errors are corrected through review and quality assurance. The TBI said it audits agencies every three years, with additional reviews possible if anomalies arise. It declined to confirm whether Memphis is currently under review. The Daily Memphian has the story.