On July 15, 2014, the Tennessee Supreme Court issued a new ruling that on the surface appears as just a re-assertion of the requirements of Rule 56.04 regarding the need for trial judges to "state the legal grounds" upon which they base their ruling on a summary judgment motion. But through the Court's discussion of the concept of the issuing of rulings as a "high judicial function" and its references to secondary authorities discussing the concept of judicial "plagiarism" and the problems it presents, the Court's ruling may have much broader repercussions for Tennessee lawyers. This program will bring you up to speed on the impact of Smith v. UHS on summary judgment rulings under Rule 56.04 and explore the ethical issues presented by the problem of judicial "plagiarism" more generally.

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