Tennessee panel accepting applications for vacancy in state Supreme Court

A Tennessee panel is accepting applications to fill the vacancy that will be left by Justice Sharon Lee’s planned retirement next summer.

The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments says applicants must be at least 35 years old, a state resident for at least five years and a resident of the Eastern Tennessee Grand Division.

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Applications are due by midday on Dec. 12. Instructions on how to apply can be found at www.tncourts.gov/administration/judicial-resources.

Applicants will be interviewed on Jan. 4 at the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy in Knoxville.

Lee is the only remaining justice on the five-member court to be appointed by a Democrat. She has announced that her last day will be Aug. 31, 2023.

Indiana woman sentenced to 35 years in prison for fatally beating her 9-year-old stepson

A Fort Wayne woman who pleaded guilty to three felony charges in the beating death of her 9-year-old stepson has been sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Alesha Lynn Miller, 31, pleaded guilty in October to aggravated battery and two counts of neglect of a dependent. A third neglect of a dependent count was dropped under her plea agreement.

On Tuesday, an Allen County judge accepted Miller's plea deal and sentenced her to the 35-year prison sentence that it called for, The Journal Gazette reported.

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Miller and her wife, Jenna Miller, 37, brought Elijah Thomas Ross to a Fort Wayne hospital early on Dec. 18, 2021, but he was pronounced dead within an hour despite lifesaving measures.

Allen County's coroner ruled Elijah’s death a homicide and determined that the boy died from multiple blunt-force injuries, including a traumatic brain injury caused by a buildup of blood.

Alesha and Jenna Miller initially told police in separate interviews that they were at a company Christmas party when they received a call about a fight between Elijah and an older brother. But Jenna Miller later told police that her wife beat Elijah with a wooden paddle while holding him down with her legs.

Jenna Miller pleaded guilty Monday to three counts of neglect of a dependent in her son's death. Her plea agreement calls for a 20-year prison sentence. Her sentencing is set for Jan. 6.