LMU honors Duncan School of Law Alumni under 40

Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) has recognized six graduates from the Duncan School of Law as part of its 40 Under Forty program, which celebrates young alumni who demonstrate strong leadership, career success and meaningful contributions to their communities.

Honorees are selected based on professional achievement, leadership ability, service and the positive influence they bring to their organizations and industries. The recognition also reflects each recipient’s continued connection to LMU and their reputation as leaders in their field. Details here.

  • Oscar A. Butler J.D. ‘19 is the owner of Butler Law LLC, where he focuses on DUI and criminal defense cases as well as civil litigation matters, representing clients across General Sessions, Circuit and Criminal Courts throughout East Tennessee.
  • Kayla Swiney J.D. ‘17 serves as director of bar preparation and assistant professor of law at the LMU Duncan School of Law, where she leads bar preparation initiatives and supports students and graduates through the bar exam and admissions process.
  • Jordan T. Newport J.D. ‘19 is an associate attorney at Egerton, McAfee, Armistead and Davis P.C., where his practice focuses on business law and litigation, including banking and commercial transactions, business formation, real estate, mergers and acquisitions, and other civil matters.
  • David Gratz J.D. ‘14 is the principal attorney and owner of The Gratz Law Firm PLLC, where he focuses on criminal law, estate planning and civil litigation, with extensive jury and bench trial experience. Gratz previously was a special agent with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
  • Courtney Walker J.D. ‘18 is a legal entrepreneur and founder/ president of Court Approved PLLC, a legal education and consulting firm that supports founders in private-pay medicine, including aesthetics, wellness, hormone therapy and regenerative medicine practices.
  • Jacob Baggett J.D. ‘15 is a public policy advisor at Baker Donelson and executive director of the Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature Foundation, where he advises clients on political and legislative matters and works closely with legislators to support policy development and passage.

Bailey Patton provided information for this report

From left are: Lisa Frazier, Haley Collins, Karen Holloway, Stacey Olfe, Mayor Jacobs, Commissioner Gina Oster, Clerk Hammond, Kasey Stone, Amanda Stiles, Daniel Balo and Veronica Moss.

$1 million in excess fees to Knox County

Just before adoption of the Knox County budget, Criminal Court Clerk Mike Hammond and his staff met with Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs and Commission chair Gina Oster to acknowledge $1 million in excess fees from the clerk’s office to the county’s general fund.

Hammond, a former commissioner, knows how important these fees are to the overall county budget. We asked his record to date, and he responded:

“During my term in office we have turned over $9.8 million. There was one year during Covid when we did not turn over any excess fees since the courts were basically closed and our revenues were down almost $3 million.”

Back in the day, then-Circuit Court Clerk Lillian Bean made a big deal out of her excess fees. Seems she always finished ahead of the others. And they would say, “We can’t get fees out of criminals. They don’t pay.”

This reporter now understands the game: Fees are set by the legislature or imposed by a judge. Excess fees are generated by offices that run efficiently. They don’t lease souped-up SUVs or hire folks who “work from home.” If probable incoming mayor Betsy Henderson is serious about not raising taxes, she should bring a stepladder with her. Announce to all the officeholders who do not report to her that she plans to climb the ladder annually to announce the excess fees or lack of same coming from each office.

Who says county government is boring?

Blotter

Charme Allen

DA Charme Allen’s team is not on summer break. Here are some of their cases with links to the full stories:

Prosecutors in the DUI Unit obtained a 120-day sentence against a 24-year-old man who was drunk driving on Cumberland Avenue. Judge Hector Sanchez ordered him to serve 120 days in custody, well above the 48-hour mandatory minimum. Details.

Prosecutors in the Career Gang Unit obtained lengthy sentences against two individuals caught with multiple drugs and guns. A 39-year-old male and a 26-year-old female were convicted of Possession with Intent to Sell Cocaine, Fentanyl and Marijuana, Possession of a Firearm during the Commission of a Dangerous Felony, Maintaining a Drug Dwelling, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Judge Hector Sanchez sentenced the male to serve 72 years in prison because of his 13 prior felony convictions. The woman was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Details.

Prosecutors in the Child Abuse Unit obtained convictions against a 57-year-old man who asked to be brought a 14-year-old for sex. After guilty pleas to five felonies, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison without the possibility of parole. He will then spend the rest of his life on the TN Sex Offender Registry. Details.

In a case from April 2026, prosecutors in the DUI Unit obtained conviction against a 22-year-old male driver who killed three individuals in a wreck on Raccoon Valley Road. He was convicted of 11 charges and sentenced to 20 years in prison without the possibility of parole. His blood contained hydrocodone, oxycodone, alprazolam, diazepam, nordiazepam, oxazepam and tetrahydrocannabinol. Details.

Sean McDermott, deputy DA, provided information for this report

Notes & Quotes

Big case today: Former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville’s motion to dismiss a case saying he isn’t qualified to run to be Alabama’s governor gets a hearing in state court in Montgomery. Tuberville is being sued because he failed to meet the residency requirements to run for governor. His answer is that the state court lacks jurisdiction since the Alabama Republican Party has said he’s good to run. Details in this report from the Alabama Reflector.

174 former judges have filed an amicus brief in a pending case before Judge James Boasberg, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The case is styled J.G.G. v. Donald J. Trump and involves whether the administration is in contempt for violating a restraining order involving deportation of five Venezuelan men by I.C.E.

Quote: The key principle in (the above mentioned case) is that if litigants don’t like a court’s order, they are free to appeal it at the appropriate time. They are not free to disobey it. Absent compliance with that bedrock legal principle, the entire system would fail. – Joyce Vance, who has details in this post.

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