Bruce Edward Poston – 50th Reunion Essay

Bruce Edward Poston

Date of Death: 21-Oct-2014

College: Calhoun

(This obituary appeared in the Knoxville News Sentinel and was reprinted on the Class Website.)

Bruce Poston graduated from Case Western Reserve School of Law, and was a highly regarded trial attorney for criminal defense in Knoxville. Like his Irish ancestors, he was a born storyteller, and he excelled in the courtroom with his quick-witted sense of humor and his ability to connect with people from all walks of life. He was a wonderful mentor to any new or young attorney that needed help, and loved practicing with his daughter, Jamie. Bruce enjoyed reading, movies, musicals, and spending time with his family, particularly his four grandchildren. His intelligence, humor, generosity, and kindness were an inspiration to all who knew him.

“He was one of the best we’ve had around here in a long time,” said his lawyer, Mike Whalen. “I think he’ll be remembered as a hell of a trial lawyer, one who took on difficult cases and got results.” Poston had practiced law in Tennessee since 1996. He tried more than 150 cases, including more than 35 first-degree murder cases.

Poston’s best-known case was that of Eric McLean, who stood trial on a murder charge in the March 2007 shooting that killed Sean Powell, the 18-year-old former student and lover of McLean’s wife, Erin, a teacher. The case included a televised confession by McLean to Today Show anchor Matt Lauer and gavel-to-gavel TV coverage of the trial. A jury ultimately found McLean guilty of reckless homicide, a reduced offense, and McLean walked away with probation and a jail term of less than two months.

Poston also represented Kimberly Cunningham, a Blount County mother charged with gunning down a man she accused of raping her daughter in 2003. Cunningham stood trial twice, with a jury ultimately finding her guilty on a reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter.

Other cases included brief spells as attorney for Campbell County school shooter Kenny Bartley and for Letalvis Cobbins, one of the five defendants in the 2007 deaths of Channon Christian and Chris Newsom.

Poston’s courtroom hallmarks included aggressive clashes with prosecutors and personal appeals to jurors that favored simple terms over legal jargon and plain language over verbal acrobatics. “Juries loved him,” Whalen said. “He never had a PowerPoint or a dog-and-pony show. He just told his story and told it effectively. He was a good one, and he’ll be missed.”