| NEWS & INFORMATION Supreme Court Justice Birch to undergo medical treatment, retired judges to help in his absence Retired judges will be designated by Chief Justice Frank F. Drowota to sit when necessary for Justice Adolpho A. Birch Jr., while he undergoes chemotherapy and radiation treatments. “This therapy will, no doubt, affect my ability to discharge all of the duties of my office,” Birch said Wednesday. “Accordingly, I have asked the chief justice and my colleagues on the court for relief from the daily and scheduled responsibilities of the court pending completion of this therapy. I expect to return to full-active status thereafter.” Birch, who underwent successful surgery in July, has continued to “fully perform his obligations to the court,” the chief justice said. “I appreciate his commitment to the duties of his office and to the citizens of Tennessee,” Drowota said. “I will be prepared to designate a judge to sit for Justice Birch when he is unable to attend court. He will continue to discharge the duties when he is able to perform. We look forward to his full recovery and to his resuming full duties with the court upon completion of therapy. He remains in the thoughts and prayers of all members of the judiciary.” TBALink interview features President Swanson Find out how mystery novels played a role in TBA President Charles Swanson’s decision to become a lawyer, what he learned from wife Pam Reeves’ stint as TBA president, and what his major plans for the TBA are this year, in a series of video interviews now available on TBALink. Prez days in the office Swanson will be at the TBA office in Nashville one day a month to meet with members, take phone calls and tend to the business of the association. He began this series of “president’s days at the TBA” in July. Dates through the rest of the year are scheduled for Sept. 15, Oct. 13, Nov. 15 and Dec. 6. To schedule a phone or personal appointment contact Michelle O’Neill at (800) 899-6993 or moneill@tnbar.org. Swanson’s email address for these days is president@tnbar.org. Deadline extended for BPR Advisory Committee Report comment The deadline for comment in response to the Report and Recommendations of the Board of Professional Responsibility Advisory Committee has been extended to Jan. 21, 2005. The Tennessee and Nashville bar associations filed motions requesting the extension, which was granted. The comment period was set to expire Aug. 2. Sept 17 deadline for nominations for Public Service Awards The deadline for nominations for the Tennessee Bar Association’s 2004 Public Service Awards is Sept. 17. The awards will be given at the Public Service Luncheon in January 2005 and winners will be featured in the January Tennessee Bar Journal. The categories are Public Service Attorney of the Year Award; Harris Gilbert Pro Bono Volunteer of the Year Award; and Law Student Volunteer Award. The full award category criteria and nomination forms are available on TBALink at http://www.tba.org/news/probonoawards2004.html. Court Costs To Be Studied The Tennessee Judicial Council, in response to legislation directing the council to study court costs, has established a new subcommittee that will meet every two weeks for the next three months in an attempt to establish greater simplicity and uniformity in the assessment of court costs and the litigation of taxes. The subcommittee is chaired by District Public Defender’s Conference Executive Director Andy Hardin and includes court clerk and bar representatives. Allan Ramsaur, Tennessee Bar Association executive director, will serve as a member of the subcommittee. Ramsaur said the group hopes to address what seems to be a hopelessly arbitrary system that is very ineffective, inefficient and is increasingly being used to finance programs and projects that are not part of the justice system. TBA Is Big Winner In TSAE Awards The TBA walked away with three awards last week — more than any other association — from the Tennessee Society of Association Executives at its annual awards banquet. Awards for Program Excellence received were: Membership Recruitment or Retention Campaign for the “Membership on Trial” campaign, which has netted 373 new members to date; Single Seminar Package, for “The Paperless Office” seminar; and Seminar Series Package, for Tennessee Bar Leadership Law, a leadership development program for emerging leaders. Task force to study sentencing in Tennessee after ‘Blakely’ Gov. Phil Bredesen has named a panel of criminal justice officials to assess the impact on Tennessee’s criminal sentencing laws, in light of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling. In Blakely v. Washington, the nation’s highest court struck down part of the sentencing structure used by the state of Washington, a system that — like Tennessee’s — is based on presumptive sentences and the determination of enhancement and mitigating factors by judges. The Governor’s Task Force on the Use of Enhancement Factors in Criminal Sentencing has 13 members, nine of whom are Tennessee Bar Association members. Task force members are Speaker of the House Jimmy Naifeh or his designee; Commissioner of Correction Quenton I. White; Chairman of the Board of Probation and Parole Charles Traughber and Gordon Smith of the attorney general’s office. Those on the task force who are TBA members are Barbara Haynes, Circuit Court judge, Nashville, chair; speaker of the Senate John S. Wilder or his designee; Victor S. (Torry) Johnson III, district attorney general, Nashville; Claudia S. Jack, public defender, Columbia; William B. Acree Jr., Circuit Court judge, Union City; Gary R. Wade, Court of Criminal Appeals judge, Eastern Section, Knoxville; Loyce Lambert Ryan, General Sessions Court judge, Shelby County; James F. Logan Jr., Cleveland; and Joseph N. Barker, Nashville.
|