The petitioner, Charles Lane, appeals the denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus by the Sevier County Circuit Court, arguing the habeas court erred in dismissing the petition. The petitioner asserts that his pretrial jail credits were not applied properly and that his request for transcripts was erroneously denied. Following our review, we affirm the habeas court’s dismissal of the petition as the petitioner has failed to show he is entitled to relief.

The defendant, Timothy Sedman, pled guilty to attempted aggravated sexual battery, and the trial court imposed a sentence of six years’ incarceration in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the defendant argues the trial court erred in denying his request for alternative sentencing. After reviewing the record and considering the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. However, we remand the case for corrected judgment forms in counts one through five and counts seven through twenty.

In this post-divorce action, the trial court conducted a two-day hearing regarding the mother’s petition to modify the parties’ permanent parenting plan. At the conclusion of the hearing, the father moved for involuntary dismissal pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 41. The trial court granted the motion, determining that modification of the parenting plan was not warranted because the mother had not met her burden to prove that there had been a material change of circumstance affecting the minor child’s well-being. The trial court accordingly dismissed the mother’s petition with prejudice and awarded the father his reasonable attorney’s fees pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated § 36-5-103(c). Discerning no reversible error, we affirm. We further determine that Father is entitled to his reasonable attorney’s fees on appeal

This appeal arises from a breach of contract claim. The trial court granted Appellee’s motion for summary judgment after Appellant’s counsel failed to respond or otherwise appear to oppose the motion. Discerning no error, we affirm.

The Nashville Bar Association (NBA) recently released the results of a member poll for candidates running this year for judicial seats in Davidson County. Members evaluated three candidates for Criminal Court Division III, three candidates for Circuit Court Division III and two candidates for General Sessions Court Division VI. The group reports that 309 responses were received by the deadline of April 5. Results are reported as raw ballot results with no attempt to extrapolate results. The NBA says it conducts these polls from time-to-time to provide “valuable insight” so voters can make informed choices with the resulting goal of creating a “Nashville judiciary that is highly qualified and dedicated to a fair and equitable legal system.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently approved a $125 million settlement resolving claims that the federal judiciary overcharged users of its PACER electronic court records system for downloading documents. The appeals court determined that the settlement, approved by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in March 2024, was fair and adequate. Under the agreement, each PACER user will be reimbursed up to $350. The U.S. government agreed to settle the case in October 2023. Read the latest from Law.com or learn more about the settlement terms on the class action website.

Morristown attorney Aaron Chapman is suspending his campaign for 3rd Judicial District Circuit Court judge and withdrawing from the appointment process to fill the seat in the interim, the Citizen Tribune reports. Chapman qualified to run in the Aug. 6 Republican primary to replace Judge William Erwin Phillips II of Rogersville, who was appointed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals. He also applied to be appointed to the seat by the Tennessee Trial Court Vacancy Commission. In a statement announcing the decision, Chapman said, “Upon much reconsideration I have found that I simply cannot be in a position to accept a potential appointment to the vacancy, pause my active practice, take further immediate efforts to wind down my practice, and effectively campaign for the August 6 election.” Two other candidates — Mark Stapleton of Rogersville and Crystal Jessee of Greeneville — also qualified to run for election. Because the vacancy commission was not able to forward three qualified applicants to the governor, Gov. Bill Lee may appoint any qualified individual to fill the vacancy until the election.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has temporarily blocked a lower court's order allowing media to view more parts of state-run executions, the Associated Press reports. In January, a Nashville chancellor issued an injunction favoring a coalition of news organizations suing for greater access to execution proceedings. The high court’s ruling restores the previous process, which will remain in place during the appeals process. The state, which is opposed to the expansion, argues there is no constitutional right to observe executions and that additional access would risk exposing the identities of execution team members. Media organizations argue they have a constitutional and statutory right to observe executions in their entirety.

The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has delivered a blow to efforts by state lawmakers and Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti to force companies to open their employee pharmacy benefit manager plans (PMB) to other providers, the Tennessee Journal reports. On April 7, a three-judge panel held in McKee Foods Corp. v. BFP Inc. that the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) preempts the “any willing provider” and anti-steering provisions in state law. The decision upheld a ruling from the district court and blocks the state from mandating network structures for self-funded worker health plans.

Vanderbilt University Law School has moved up two spots from 14 to 12 in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings released April 7. The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law also rose from 146 in 2025 to 140. Two Tennessee schools slipped slightly. The University of Tennessee Winston College of Law ranked 57 this year (down from 55 last year) while Belmont University College of Law ranked 85 (down from 84 last year). Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law, which ranked 169 last year, slipped to the 175-194 category for schools in the bottom 10%, but came in 68 out of 78 for part-time schools. Nashville School of Law was not reviewed by the publication. Outside of Tennessee, Stanford Law School bumped Yale Law School from the top spot for the first time since the magazine began its rankings in 1990. Yale is now in second place, tied with the University of Chicago, according to Bloomberg Law. View the full rankings or rankings based on practice area.