In an opinion released Wednesday, the Tennessee Supreme Court held that a trial court acted within its discretion in excluding from trial a defendant’s videotaped statements given in a post-polygraph interview. In so doing, the Court reversed the decision of the Court of Criminal Appeals. The defendant, Quintis McCaleb, was indicted on one count of aggravated sexual battery ... (click for more)

Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III Thursday announced that as a result of a bipartisan, public/private coalition of 51 attorneys general and 12 phone companies, the phone companies have agreed to adopt eight principles to fight illegal robocalls. “Robocalls are uninvited, a breach of privacy, distracting and generally a menace,” said General Slatery. “This agreement should ... (click for more)

The City Treasurer is now set to collect the first-year assessments for the downtown Business Improvement District (BID) after the County Commission decided not to let Trustee Bill Hullander do it. The City Council is set to consider a resolution on Sept. 3 authorizing the treasurer to do the collections. The resolution is sponsored by Chairman Erskine Oglesby, a staunch supporter ... (click for more)

Criminal Court Judge Tom Greenholtz, in a 27-page opinion, has dismissed count 1 of an indictment brought against most of the 55 members of the Athens Park Bloods gang by the District Attorney's Office. The ruling did not affect a few of the defendants. Judge Greenholtz said, "Count I fails to allege the existence of two predicate acts occurring within two years of each other, ... (click for more)

Two recent articles reveal a great deal about the present state of local public education. Mixing and matching information and reading between the lines reveals even more. First, there is that loooonnnngg list of Top Hamilton County Schools Salaries 2019. That nearly incredible list covers only salaries from $70,000 and up, and includes 290 different individuals -- approaching ... (click for more)

One of the greatest scenes in all of moviedom is at that moment in the movie “Patton” where only George C. Scott could provide the harsh cackle. Starring in the role of the famed World War II general, Scott stands in the turret of his command vehicle and yells in the wind, “Rommel, you magnificent bastard … I read your book!” What too few of those who caused the 1970 film to ... (click for more)