Chambliss, Bahner and Stophel has announced that shareholder Cal Marshall is the new chair of its Health Care Practice Group. He succeeds Doug Griswold. Marshall advises health care and business clients on regulatory compliance and transactional matters. A former aide to several U.S. House of Representatives members, he has a background in health care policy and government oversight, offering strategic guidance to clients nationwide, according to Chattanoogan.com. Marshall earned his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. He is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation and a member of the Chattanooga, Tennessee and American Bar Associations. "I am honored to step into this leadership position and build upon our team's strong foundation," Marshall said. "I look forward to facilitating the continued growth of our practice and the exceptional service our clients expect."

A Memphis physician has been indicted for theft and insurance fraud, marking the second time the doctor has faced similar charges in the last two decades. Dr. Rande Lazar, an ear, nose and throat specialist, has been charged with one count each of TennCare fraud and theft of property. Lazar was indicted March 6, taken into custody March 13 and released on a $35,000 bond. He is due back in court in May. Legal trouble began for Lazar in 2004, when he was federally indicted on 115 counts of insurance fraud after allegedly filing false insurance claims for surgeries he did not perform, the Daily Memphian reports. Lazar was accused of falsely billing for frontal sinus surgery for more than 100 children. The indictment accused Lazar of requiring others in his practice to falsify both TennCare and Medicaid records to indicate that he had performed the surgeries. Those charges were later dropped after a judge found the search warrant served in the case was problematic.

The Tennessee General Assembly has confirmed Judge Valerie L. Smith and Judge Steven W. Sword to their respective appellate courts. Both were appointed by Gov. Bill Lee on Feb. 28. Smith will join the Tennessee Court of Appeals, Western Division, to fill a vacancy left by the retirement of Judge Arnold B. Goldin. She previously served as a circuit court judge for the 30th Judicial District and worked as an attorney at Nahon, Saharovich & Trotz and the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office. She received her law degree from the University of Memphis. Sword was confirmed to the Court of Criminal Appeals, Eastern Division, to fill a vacancy created by the death of Judge James C. Witt Jr. Sword served as a Knox County criminal court judge since 2011, and was an assistant district attorney for 15 years. He is also a judge advocate general in the U.S. Army Reserves. Sword received his law degree from the University of Tennessee School of Law.

The TBA Administrative Law Section directory is a great place to find colleagues with a similar focus. The directory provides a list of section members with contact information, as well as listing any other sections or TBA groups to which they belong. This resource provides a great way to connect with like-minded lawyers and find administrative law attorneys who are well-versed in other practice areas as well. View the section directory here.

The Trump administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow the firing of thousands of workers at six federal agencies after a judge ordered that they be reinstated. Bloomberg Law reports that the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) filed an emergency application today. The case involves 16,000 fired workers who had probationary status, meaning they had been in their roles for no more than two years. Departments impacted include Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Interior, Treasury and Veterans Affairs. DOJ also asked the court for permission to keep the reinstated employees on paid administrative leave instead of taking steps to restore them to full active duty while the litigation process proceeds.

Knoxville attorney J. Lewis Kinnard has died at age 92. Kinnard earned his law degree at the University of Tennessee College of Law after serving two years of active duty at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. After graduation, he practiced law in Sweetwater, where he also served as Monroe County judge and Sweetwater municipal attorney. Kinnard later practiced law in Madisonville for 62 years and served as board chair for Wood Home in Sweetwater and as a board member for the Tellico Reservoir Development Agency. Visitation will be held April 6 at Resurrection Presbyterian Church, 6900 Nubbin Ridge Dr., Knoxville from 3 to 4:30 p.m. EDT. A funeral service will follow at 4:30 p.m. EDT. A second service will be held April 7 at the Monroe County Courthouse in Madisonville from 3 to 6 p.m. EDT. Donations may be made to Sweetwater Boy Scout Troop 98, P.O. Box 450, Sweetwater, TN 37384; Monroe County Courthouse, 105 College St. S., Madisonville, TN 37354; or Resurrection Presbyterian Church at the above address.

Petitioner, Isaih Tatum, pleaded guilty to possession of more than 0.5 grams of methamphetamine with intent to sell or deliver and unlawful possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and received an agreed sentence of ten years. He subsequently filed a petition for post-conviction relief, which the McMinn County Criminal Court denied after a hearing. On appeal, Petitioner contends that the post-conviction court erred when it denied relief on his claims that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel and that his guilty plea was not knowingly and voluntarily entered. Following a thorough review, we affirm.

A Rutherford County jury convicted the Defendant, Luis Mendoza-Sanchez, of multiple offenses against two victims, a child and her mother, including aggravated assault of the mother, rape of a child and four counts of aggravated sexual assault of the child. He was additionally convicted of violating the Child Protection Act. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to fifty-nine years of incarceration. On appeal, the Defendant contends that: (1) the trial court erred when it denied his motion to sever the trials for charges against the victim and her mother; (2) the trial court erred when it allowed the State to ask leading questions of their own witness; (3) the trial court erred when it limited the Defendant’s cross-examination of an expert about the victim’s sexual orientation; and (4) the cumulative effect of these errors entitled him to a new trial. After review, we affirm the trial court’s judgments.

The Petitioner, Jacquet Moore, appeals the Shelby County Criminal Court’s summary denial of his post-conviction petition, seeking relief from his conviction of aggravated rape and resulting sentence of sixty years to be served at one hundred percent. On appeal, the Petitioner claims, and the State concedes, that the post-conviction court erred by denying his amended petition without conducting an evidentiary hearing on his claim of ineffective assistance of trial counsel. Based on our review, we conclude that the post-conviction court properly denied relief as to one of the Petitioner’s grounds for relief but that the case must be remanded for an evidentiary hearing on his remaining grounds. Therefore, the judgment of the post-conviction court is affirmed in part and reversed in part, and the case is remanded to the post-conviction court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

A Shelby County jury convicted the Petitioner, Jimmie Martin, of second degree murder of Martha J. Bownes, and the trial court sentenced him to serve twenty years. On appeal, this court affirmed the judgment. State v. Martin, No. W2013-00889-CCA-R3-CD, 2014 WL 2566490, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App. June 5, 2014), no perm. app. filed. The Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief, claiming that he had received the ineffective assistance of counsel at trial. After a hearing, the post-conviction court denied relief. On appeal, the Petitioner maintains that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel because his attorney had a conflict of interest at the time he represented the Petitioner and because Counsel failed to call an eye witness, Christopher Martin, to testify at his trial. After review, we affirm the post-conviction court’s judgment.