Miles Mason, Sr. with Sen. Brent Taylor Senator Brent Taylor is helping our Memphis Bar.  I was able to catch up with our Senator this Friday at The Capital Grille.  He shared, I thought I would provide an update on the two judgeships in Shelby County being moved elsewhere in Tennessee. I worked the committee ahead of time and there simply were not enough votes in the Judiciary Committee to save the judges. However, given our current crime crisis in Memphis, I did produce an amendment that would have saved the criminal court judge while allowing the circuit judgeship to go. I was ..read more

The trial court held that the wife had contributed substantially to the residence, more than $100,000 to this property. Tennessee case summary on property classification in divorce. Sarah Elizabeth Parker v. Kenton Stone Parker The husband and wife in this Sullivan County, Tennessee, case began residing together in 2005 and were married in 2009. They had two children before filing for divorce in 2020. While living together, but before their marriage, the parties purchased a home in Kingsport, TN. The wife had heavy student loan debt, and for that reason, the property was titled solely in the ..read more

The reduction of parenting time was in the child’s best interest. The statute focuses on the acts of abuse, and not merely on the affect on the child. Tennessee child custody modification case summary. Maryclair McDonald v. Kaleb Coffel A Tennessee statute allows for parenting time to be restricted if the parent is found to have committed domestic abuse.  That statute was at issue in this Bradley County, Tennessee, case.  In 2018, the mother of a five year old girl file a petition to modify the father’s parenting time based upon allegations that the father had been arrested an ..read more

Even though the wife took possession of the property, the trial court held that the stipulation did not affect the classification of the property. Tennessee case summary on classification of inherited real property in divorce. Karen Elizabeth Phillips Lowe v. Robert Melvin Lowe The husband and wife in this Unicoi County, Tennessee, case were married in 1993.  It was the wife’s third marriage and the husband’s second.  They had no children, and in 2022, they separated.  The wife filed for divorce later that year.  They stipulated that “each would keep” certain inherited in ..read more

The business was a sole proprietorship, and he had a bank account that was “sort of a personal account” and “sort of a business account.” Tennessee case summary on property division classification in divorce. Kelly R. Harris v. Lonnie C. Harris The husband in this Knox County, Tennessee, case purchased about 15 acres of property in 1987, and paid $97,000, about eight years before his marriage.  Prior to the marriage, the wife worked for the husband as secretary.  About six months after the wedding, the built an apartment over the barn on that property and used that as their marital ..read more

Tennessee case summary on property division classification, valuation, and dissipation in divorce. Eric Wayne Barton v. Mechelle Scholmer Barton The husband and wife in this Blount County, Tennessee, case were married for 18 years.  They met when the husband was stationed at Camp Lejeune, NC,  where the wife was employed at the base PX.    They moved to Tennessee in 2006, shortly after the husband began doing private contract work with the U.S. Army in Iraq.  He started a company that contracted with an Afghan trucking company to transport goods in Iraq.  The ..read more

Tennessee case summary on property division classification in divorce. Wanda Sue Averwater v. James Paul Averwater The husband and wife in this Rutherford  County, Tennessee, case were married in 1992, while both worked for a construction company.  Three years later, they started their own company. The wife filed for divorce after 27 years.  The parties were engaged in pretrial wrangling for a few years, and at one point, the wife discovered that $380 had been deposited into a bank account of their company, which had previously been closed.  The bank informed her that there ..read more

Public confidence requires not only actual impartiality, but the perception of impartiality. Tennessee case summary: judicial recusal denied. Arthur A. Allen v. Heather S. Allen This custody matter was scheduled for a hearing in Washington County, Tennessee.  It was to be heard by Chancellor John C. Rambo, but due to a scheduling conflict, the case was instead heard before Judge Suzanne Cook. At the start of the hearing, Judge Cook notified the parties that she had met the mother while participating in “theater things.”  She noted, however, that she had never represented the mother ..read more

Steven Peskind presents strategies to help lawyers not bore the judge, trim down courtroom arguments, don’t drone, don’t beg, use tactical pauses, implement rhetorical tropes to keep their argument compelling for the judge, alliteration, trilogies, antithesis, rhetorical questions, and demonstrative exhibits. https://youtu.be/vYluNiNvxus?si=O7mdKivIohhtmv80Video can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: Keeping the Judge Engaged During Oral Arguments (https://youtu.be/vYluNiNvxus?si=O7mdKivIohhtmv80) Steven’s courtroom advocacy skills are unmatched; so much so that he is trusted by the N ..read more

Steven Peskind discusses the importance of the primacy & recency principle before walking through the structure of a motion: cognitive bias, pathos, finish with the ask, what’s a “kill,” tell the story, and point/counterpoint. https://youtu.be/RSek_2xPkYs?si=U7gS-cIe5BDRI_DhVideo can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: Peskind's Structure of an Oral Argument for Lawyers (https://youtu.be/RSek_2xPkYs?si=U7gS-cIe5BDRI_Dh) Steven’s courtroom advocacy skills are unmatched; so much so that he is trusted by the National Institute of Trial Advocacy to teach its students, who are also lawy ..read more