The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts has launched a new podcast called Tennessee Court Talk, which brings together the very best law experts to discuss topics affecting judges, attorneys, law students, and the people of Tennessee. The intended audience is announced at the beginning of each episode.
“The TNcourts.gov website receives nearly six million hits each year, and those hits are very focused on legal research regarding how the courts work, court rules and procedures, and recent cases,” said Barbara Peck, communications director for the Tennessee Supreme Court and Administrative Office of the Courts.
“The need for information is there
, and the podcast gives us another tool for meeting that need.”
The podcast can be heard directly on the tncourts.gov website or can be downloaded from Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Buzzsprout, or Stitcher.
The first episode focuses on Civil Pattern Jury Instructions. Judge Butch Childers (Ret.) and Nashville attorney John Day, two members of the Tennessee Judicial Conference Pattern Jury Instructions Civil Committee, discuss the importance of jury instructions and how critical they can be to the outcome of a case, the evolution of the committee, and advice to judges on delivering instructions to a jury.
The second episode focuses on appellate practice in Tennessee from start to finish. Guests include Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Tim Easter, Court of Appeals Judge Neal McBrayer, and Clerk of the Appellate Courts Jim Hivner. Topics include everything from tips on filing a notice to appeal, to brief writing, to preparing for oral argument.
“In addition to focusing on the work of the courts, we are also partnering with other agencies and groups to cover broader topics,” Peck said. “For example, we recorded several episodes recently with the Tennessee Judicial Opioid Initiative featuring guests from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the Tennessee Department of Health, and the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services. There is a lot of collaboration and work being done by the courts, state agencies, nonprofits, and other organizations that judges, lawyers, and the general public need to learn about.”
The podcasts are available here. This page also includes links to download each episode from all major podcasting platforms listed above.