According to the Annual Report of the Tennessee Judiciary for 2008-2009, the Tennessee Supreme Court disposed of 792 Rule 11 applications for permission to appeal during the period covered by the report. Of that number, 57 applications, or approximately 7% of the cases, were accepted by the court. The percentage of applications accepted has remained fairly constant over the last few years. This reinforces the importance giving full consideration the whether there is a reasonable chance of a case being accepted under the Rule 11 criteria.
Remember, error by a lower court is not one of the Rule 11 criteria. Although not exclusive, the factors used by the Tennessee Supreme Court in determining whether to grant permission to appeal are: (1) the need to secure uniformity of decision, (2) the need to secure settlement of important questions of law, (3) the need to secure settlement of questions of public interest, and (4) the need for the exercise of the Supreme Court's supervisory authority.
If you are going to seek permission to appeal, give it your best shot since the court is selective.
Dan Berexa
Nashville, Tennessee
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