Joe Townsend, Judge
Reports of Cases Reviewed by Appellate Courts – Beginning Jan. 1, 2022
Text is the appellate court’s summary of the opinion.
Scroll down for important information.
Malone v. Malone, No. W2023-00843-COA-T10B-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 6, 2023). This is an interlocutory appeal as of right, pursuant to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 10B, filed by the appellants seeking to recuse the trial judge, Judge Joe Townsend (the “trial judge”) in the underlying post-divorce contempt action. Having reviewed the petition for recusal appeal filed by the appellants and the answer thereto, and finding that the appellants have failed to demonstrate that a person of ordinary prudence in Judge Townsend’s position, possessing the same knowledge as Judge Townsend, would find a reasonable basis to question Judge Townsend’s impartiality, we affirm the trial judge’s denial of the recusal petition. Dissent: I respectfully dissent from the majority’s holding that recusal of the trial judge is not warranted in this case. The majority discusses each of Appellants’ allegations concerning the trial court’s bias. However, the majority fails to consider the cumulative effects of the trial court’s actions, and wholly fails to consider the fact that the ultimate result of these actions is usurpation of the autonomous decisions Ms. Malone made for her own care when she was competent to do so. Although the trial court negated Ms. Malone’s well-established attorney-client relationship with Mr. Autry, Ms. Bleavins [together with Mr. Autry, “Attorneys”], and the Williams McDaniel firm, my dissent does not focus on Judge Townsend’s rulings. Rather, in the context of recusal, I focus my dissent on the disparate treatment the trial judge showed to the Attorneys and the Williams McDaniel firm in reaching those decisions.
In Re Conservatorship of Susan Davis Malone, No. W2023-00841-COA-T10B-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Dec. 6, 2023). This is an interlocutory appeal as of right, pursuant to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 10B, filed by the appellants seeking to recuse the trial judge, Judge Joe Townsend (the “trial judge”) in the underlying conservatorship action. Having reviewed the petition for recusal appeal filed by the appellants and the answer thereto, and finding that the appellants have failed to demonstrate that a person of ordinary prudence in Judge Townsend’s position, possessing the same knowledge as Judge Townsend, would find a reasonable basis to question Judge Townsend’s impartiality, we affirm the trial judge’s denial of the recusal petition. Dissent: I respectfully dissent from the majority’s holding that recusal of the trial judge is not warranted in this case. The majority discusses each of Appellants’ allegations concerning the trial court’s bias. However, the majority fails to consider the cumulative effects of the trial court’s actions, and wholly fails to consider the fact that the ultimate result of these actions is usurpation of the autonomous decisions Ms. Malone made for her own care when she was competent to do so. Although the trial court negated Ms. Malone’s well-established attorney-client relationship with Mr. Autry, Ms. Bleavins [together with Mr. Autry, “Attorneys”], and the Williams McDaniel firm, my dissent does not focus on Judge Townsend’s rulings. Rather, in the context of recusal, I focus my dissent on the disparate treatment the trial judge showed to the Attorneys and the Williams McDaniel firm in reaching those decisions.
Burkhart v. Burkhart, No. M2023-01390-COA-T10B-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Oct. 17, 2023). In this accelerated interlocutory appeal, Appellant seeks to appeal from the denial of three separate motions to recuse the trial judge. As to the first motion, we affirm the trial court’s denial of that motion on the basis of Appellant’s failure to comply with Rule 10B of the Rules of the Supreme Court of the State of Tennessee. As the second and third recusal motion, we dismiss this appeal, as no effective order denying those motions has yet been entered by the trial court.
Adams v. Dunavant, No. W2023-00304-COA-T10B-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. July 21, 2023). Before his election to the bench, the probate judge in this interpleader action served as an expert witness in a 2017 case involving one of the defendants, Watson Burns, PLLC. In the current case, Watson Burns, PLLC and another law firm defendant moved for the probate judge’s recusal based on the expert opinions the judge expressed in the 2017 case. The probate judge denied the motion, and the law firms filed an accelerated interlocutory appeal as of right to the Court of Appeals pursuant to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 10B. The Court of Appeals reversed, ordered the probate judge’s recusal, and remanded for assignment of another judge. Two other parties to the interpleader action then filed an accelerated application for permission to appeal in this Court pursuant to Rule 10B, section 2.07. We ordered the parties prevailing in the Court of Appeals to file a response to the application. Having thoroughly reviewed the Rule 10B application for permission to appeal, the response, all appendices, and the applicable law, we grant the Rule 10B application, dispense with additional briefing and oral argument, and hold that the probate judge’s denial of the recusal motion was appropriate in this case. Therefore, we reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeals and remand for further proceedings consistent with this decision. Editor’s Note: This has been a contentious proceeding. See the two decisions described below.
Adams v. Dunavant, No. W2023-00304-COA-T10B-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Apr. 25, 2023). Two law firms seek accelerated interlocutory review of the denial of their motion to disqualify the trial judge. Because there is a reasonable basis for questioning the judge’s impartiality, we reverse and remand for reassignment. Editor’s Note: This has been a contentious proceeding. See the decision described below.
Adams v. Dunavant, No. W2022-01747-COA-T10B-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Feb. 3, 2023). In these related appeals, two law firms seek an order to recuse a judge. Finding that they waited too long to seek relief under Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 10B, we dismiss the petition as to the four related probate cases. As to the interpleader action, we vacate the orders entered since the Rule 10B motion was filed and order the judge to respond to the Rule 10B motion. Editor’s Note: As the summary indicates, the opinion also resolves three additional cases on the same grounds. The link to the opinion will permit you to see all four case styles.
Understanding the Limitations and Use of the Information Found in This Book
Tennessee’s trial judges resolve hundreds of thousands of legal and factual issues in tens of thousands of cases every single year. No appeal is filed in the vast percentage of those cases, indicating that while the “losing” party may not like a ruling on a particular issue, that party understands there was an appropriate reason for the judge’s decision or, at a minimum, the judge was acting within his or her discretion.
Of course, a small number of decisions of trial judges do result in an appeal. Experienced trial lawyers know that the number of cases appealed out of a particular trial judge’s court does not, in and of itself, reveal much about the trial judge. For example, some judges hear more complex cases than others, and those cases are more likely to be appealed. Convictions in child sex abuse cases are frequently appealed, as are many criminal cases resulting in long sentences. There are a large number of parental rights termination cases that find their way to the appellate courts. Judges who routinely try those types of cases will, other things being equal, see more of their cases reviewed by appellate courts than judges who do not see such cases.
Second, certain litigants (and certain lawyers) are more likely to appeal a case than others. Thus, judges who have those litigants or lawyers regularly appear in their courtrooms will find more cases reviewed by the appellate courts.
For these and other reasons, the reader is cautioned not to read too much into the number of cases appealed from a court. Stated differently, there is no reason to believe that a judge who has ten cases reviewed by an appellate court in a single year is a “worse” judge than one who has one case appealed, or that a judge who has three cases appealed is a “better” judge than one who has nine cases appealed.
Next, the number of times a judge’s ruling is reversed by an appellate court is not necessarily indicative of the quality of his or her work. For example, experienced lawyers know that there are “holes in the law,” i.e., cases where there is no law directly on point and the judge is forced to predict what an appellate court would rule on the issue. The fact that a judge decided an open legal issue one way and an appellate court decided it another way does not mean that the trial judge was “wrong” or does not understand the law. It simply means that the trial judge had a different view of what the law should be than the appellate court that decided the issue. A trial judge is not blessed with a crystal ball that can with 100 percent accuracy forecast how an appellate court will rule on an undecided legal issue.
In addition, the trial court is sometimes not provided with the same in-depth legal arguments and law that is supplied to the appellate court by the parties, or which is provided by law clerks at the appellate level (many trial courts do not have law clerks). The trial judge may have reached the same conclusion as the appellate court if he or she had been supplied with additional law or argument.
Finally, the law changes constantly, and the trial judge may rule on a case based on today’s law, which may evolve between the time of that ruling and the issuance of an opinion of the appellate court. In such cases, the reversal of the case by the appellate court is a question of timing of the original court decision as compared to changes in the law, not one of error by the trial court.
So, what is the value of this book? How can the trial lawyer use it to help his or her clients given the limitations expressed above? Permit me to digress slightly.
You have seen the coffee cups or t-shirts that proclaim, “A good lawyer knows the law, but a great lawyer knows the judge.”
Some read this phrase as suggesting that the “great lawyer” is one who has an improper relationship with the judge – that he or she can use a personal relationship to improperly influence the judge. But most lawyers know better. Most lawyers understand that “knowing the judge” means knowing the judge’s background, preferences concerning the presentation of evidence (including exhibits), arguments of motions, drafting of proposed orders, and given that experience, how he or she is likely to rule on a particular issue. “Knowing the judge” also means knowing the local rules, local forms, local customs, and what things irritate the judge (and every judge is irritated by at least one thing that lawyers or litigants may do).
Many lawyers, particularly those in more rural areas of the state or who limit their practice to one area of law, understand the personality and preferences of the judges they see on a regular basis. Many of these lawyers may have a fair advantage appearing before that judge. (The advantage is “fair” because it results from experience and knowledge.) That advantage – knowing how the judge thinks and his or her preferences – is not outcome-determinative, but it still may be an advantage, similar to a sports team playing on their home field.
Why did I say it “may” be an advantage, given what I said earlier about the benefits of “knowing the judge?” Because simply knowing the judge’s thought processes and preferences is not enough. You still need to have the law and the facts on your client’s side. And you need to be prepared to be able to give the judge what he or she needs to know to make a ruling.
So, the purpose of “The Book” is to give Tennessee lawyers case-related information to help them understand the trial judge who will rule on their client’s case or preside over a jury trial. By looking at past appellate court rulings arising from cases decided by the trial judge, anyone unfamiliar with a judge can get a “feel” for the judge. The case data contained herein does not compare with daily or weekly appearances in front of the judge on issues like a given case, but it is readily available information that give you an idea of how the judge has ruled in the past on a variety of matters.
The cases included are those originally decided by the trial judge that were in appellate court opinions released on or after January 1, 2022. Note that there are a substantial number of judges who first took office in 2022 and thus it is reasonable to assume that there will be no appellate decisions for such judges until late 2023 or 2024.
