Six of the seven candidates for Hamilton County General Sessions Court judge answered questions at a Wednesday public forum co-sponsored by the Times Free Press and Chattanooga Bar Association. The seat was left vacant after Judge Bob Moon's death. Joe DeGaetano, Valerie Epstein, Yolanda Mitchell, Ron Powers, Gary Starnes and Patricia Best Vital took part in the forum. Interim Sessions Judge David Norton, who is also a candidate, did not attend due to illness. With minor variations each of the candidates said they approved of recording proceedings and would closely scrutinize requests for a court-appointed attorney. All also said they would be accessible after hours to attorneys within the court rules for discussing cases. Read the details and see a picture
News from the Appellate Practice, Criminal Justice and Health Care Law Sections
Recipients of the 2012 Section Cup were announced recently at the Section Chairs Roundtable, kicking off the TBA Convention in Memphis. TBA President Danny Van Horn created the Section Cup to encourage service to section members. Over the past year, sections accumulated points for holding meetings and CLEs or providing new services to members. Sections of like size competed against each other for the honor.
The House of Delegates reviewed a number of policy issues during its session today in Memphis as part of the TBA Annual Convention. In addition, House Speaker Claudia Jack passed the gavel to Charlie Trotter, who will lead the body in the coming year.
Tennessee attorneys who are taking on leadership positions in the Tennessee Bar Association this coming year took part in an orientation program this afternoon. TBA President-Elect Jackie Dixon outlined some of her goals for the coming year, and TBA staff members joined Real Estate Section Chair Brooks Smith and former Labor and Employment Law Section Chair Stan Graham in presentations about the TBA and the resources available to its members.
At its January meeting, the Tennessee Bar Association Board of Governors approved a bylaws change that adds additional seats and rezones districts. Since the 1980s when the districts were drawn, there has been a tremendous growth of the number of lawyers and concentration of lawyers in certain areas, which resulted in some districts in the association containing as few as 150 members and other districts containing as many as 2,700 members.
