Tennessee Court Talk

April is Help4TN month! 

In this episode, the hosts of Lady Justice: Women of the court take over Tennessee Court Talk to discuss the Tennessee Justice Bus. Justice Elizabeth D. Walker of West Virginia and Justice Rhonda K. Wood of Arkansas sit down with Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Jeff Bivins and Anne-Lousie Wirthlin, Director of Access to Justice and Strategic Development for the Administrative Office of the Tennessee Courts s...

Public trust and confidence in the courts is becoming a major concern in the media and among the public, as surveys conducted by the National Center for State Courts have shown declines in public trust over the last decade. Here to discuss this issue--and what can be done about it--are your host, Judge Neal McBrayer of the Tennessee Court of Appeals, and special guests Chief Justice Elizabeth Walker of West Virginia, Chief Judge An...

This episode will highlight indigent representation and review how several states meet their constitutional obligations to provide attorneys for indigent, or poor, defendants.  The host for this episode is Appointed Counsel's own Joe Byrd, who is the lead attorney managing Tennessee’s indigent representation fund. He is joined by Chief Justice Laurance VanMeter of Kentucky, Chief Justice Valerie Stanfill of Maine and Chief Jus...

From the time he was four years old, John McClarty desired of becoming a lawyer. Even in a time when the civil rights movement was evolving and significant Supreme Court decisions were changing the world of education in which he was determined to practice law. In this episode, host Nick Morgan sits down with Tennessee Court of Appeals Judge John McClarty to discuss his autobiography, The Dreamer: John W. McClarty, Judge. Their conv...

At the end of the judicial process, a judge is tasked with sentencing the convicted person to a penalty or sanction. The process of sentencing can be complex and have many layers that a judge must work through and research before making a decision on final punishment. In this episode, Judge Steve Sword of the sixth judicial district, Judge Jim Goodwin of the second judicial district and Judge Zack Walden of the eighth judicial dist...

In this episode, host Dave Stripling introduces a new instructional series for attorneys called Appointed Counsel, Dave sits down with its host Joe Byrd, Lead Attorney for the Indigent Services Team. If someone cannot afford an attorney in the U.S. they still have a right to one, and thus our American system and our Constitution ensure an attorney is appointed to them. Here, Joe answers questions about how counsel is appointed in T...

Prisons are filled with non-violent offenders who normally spend most of their lives incarcerated and have high rates of recidivism, often due to addiction. Recovery courts are opportunities for qualified inmates to overcome adversity through rehabilitative alternatives to prison. Circuit Court Judge Tammy Herrington of the 5th Judicial District, Criminal Court Judge Jim Goodwin of the 2nd Judicial District, Circuit Court Judge Bet...

General Sessions courts are often referred to as “the court of first resort,” “the people’s court,” or “small claims court.” In Tennessee, General Sessions courts have broad jurisdiction over civil claims and play a key role in almost every criminal prosecution in the state. Join Judges Lee Bussart (Marshall County), Lynda Jones (Davidson County), Alex McVeagh (Hamilton County) and Kee Bryant-McCormick (Sumner County) as they discu...

On this episode, Judge Vicki Snyder of Henry County, Judge Dan Michael of Shelby County, Judge Tim Irwin of Knox County, and Judge Christy Little of Madison County discuss the mission of juvenile courts in Tennessee and the various dockets that they see every day. From rehabilitation, to reuniting families and keeping children safe, the judges also discuss privacy within juvenile court and advice to new lawyers entering a juvenile ...