Jurisprudence

The 1982 World’s Fair brought a celebration to East Tennessee—followed quickly by the fall of the Butcher banks Forty years ago, Disney opened Epcot, the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial was dedicated in Washington D. C., E. T. the…
Read More...

Pigeon Forge pushed through to find its place on the map In 1783, Colonel Samuel Wear served under John Sevier in the Battle of Kings Mountain during the Revolutionary War. He later settled his family in an area of the North Carolina…
Read More...

Paying homage to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and their new business venture Those of us who grew up in this neck of the woods know of Cherokee, North Carolina. Many of us, however, are unaware that there are three federally…
Read More...

Remembering moments with the Daughter of Sevier County and their unexpected connections to my life in law Almost everyone who lives in Sevier County has a story about its favorite daughter—internationally known singer, songwriter, movie…
Read More...

A look back at the life of a fellow presiding justice in the neighboring state of Alabama Of all those remarkable individuals I have met during my 40 years in local politics and the state judiciary, far and away the most interesting is…
Read More...

A fresh cup reminds us of stories from times past On August 21, 1971, Sandra Sue Franklin and I declared our marriage vows. So, this year qualifies as our Golden Anniversary—50 years. In the last decade, most of our mornings together…
Read More...

“The right to trial by jury shall remain inviolate.”- Tennessee Constitution In the 16th century, Shakespeare found that a trial within his plays added drama to his story lines. The Merchant of Venice, Hamlet, and A Winter’s Tale, the…
Read More...

Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it Deep divisions exist in America. The states are no longer united. Morality and economy are in conflict. The year is 1850, and the country is in crisis. What brought a nation…
Read More...

FDR 'lifted the nation from its knees' merica teetered on the brink of disaster. The stock market crashed in 1929. Banks began to fail. During the one-term presidency of Herbert Hoover, industrial production in this country fell by 47…
Read More...

Mountain recollections include a special dinner with the neighbors In 1950, my father traded a new Ford and $400 to Newt Ogle for a lot on the Middle Prong of the Little Pigeon River in the Emerts Cove community of Sevier County. …
Read More...