Justice Programs Faculty

John A. Day

John A. Day is a founding shareholder of Branham & Day, P.C., Nashville. He is Board Certified as a Civil Trial Specialist and has more than 23 years experience in courtroom litigation. John is the Founder and Editor of the Tennessee Tort Law Letter , a monthly newsletter about recent developments in Tennessee tort law and co-author of Tennessee Law of Comparative Fault . He was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2002 and has served as President of the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association, Chair of the Council of State Presidents of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, and President of the National Board of Trial Advocacy. John currently serves on the Tennessee Supreme Court's Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization. He is an Order of the Coif graduate of the University of North Carolina School of Law.

Penny J. White

Penny J. White is the Interim Director for the University of Tennessee College of Law Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution. As director, White coordinates the law school's advocacy curriculum, which includes courses in Trial Practice, Pretrial Litigation, Negotiations and Dispute Resolution, Interviewing and Counseling, and Advanced Appellate Advocacy. In addition, she teaches Evidence, Ethics, Trial Practice, and Pretrial Litigation. Before joining the UT faculty, Penny served as a Circuit Court Judge, a judge on the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, and an Associate Justice on the Tennessee Supreme Court. She has taught at law schools in North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and Colorado. Penny is a member of the faculty and has served as Chair of the Faculty Council at the National Judicial College, teaching judges from every state and from several foreign countries. Recently, she has been involved in the Capital Litigation Improvement Initiative, helping judges more fairly try capital cases. Penny has authored benchbooks for Tennessee Circuit, General Sessions, and Municipal judges and has published numerous articles on ethics, evidence, capital punishment, and trial practice. She was an Order of the Coif graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law and a Prettyman Fellow at Georgetown University Law Center, where she received her LLM.

Joe G. Riley

Joe G. Riley is a Rule 31 listed mediator with Settlement Solutions. He recently retired as independent Disciplinary Counsel for the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary, a body that investigates and prosecutes allegations of ethical improprieties against Tennessee judges. Joe retired in July 2004 from the bench, having served seven years on the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals and eighteen years as Circuit Court Judge, with civil and criminal jurisdiction, in Lake and Dyer counties. Joe is Past-President of the Tennessee Judicial Conference and a Fellow of the Tennessee Bar Foundation. He has authored numerous legal publications, served as an adjunct professor at the University of Memphis School of Law, and taught seminars for judges, lawyers, and lay groups. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Tennessee and an Order of the Coif graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law.