The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee is accepting comments on the reappointment of Magistrate Judge Barbara D. Holmes, whose current term will expire on July 31, 2023. A panel of citizens will be appointed by the court to consider reappointment of Holmes to a new eight-year term. All comments will be kept confidential and be examined only by members of the Merit Selection Panel and the district court judges. Comments should be e-mailed to MJComments@tnmd.uscourts.gov by Jan. 31, 2023. Read the full announcement from the court.

The U.S. Senate has passed legislation codifying federal protections for same-sex and interracial marriages, The Hill reports. The “Respect for Marriage Act” was approved 61-36, with 12 Republicans joining forces with all Democrats present to send the bill back to the House of Representatives. The House previously had passed similar legislation, but the Senate added language to protect nonprofit religious organizations from having to provide services in support of same-sex marriages. The new language also ensures the federal government does not recognize polygamous marriage. Both of Tennessee's senators voted against the bill, the Times Free Press reports.

Retiring Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee will be remembered as a bold dissenter, former Knoxville News Sentinel associate editor Georgia Vines writes in a recent column. Lee wrote so many dissenting opinions in 2017 that the Knoxville Bar Association wrote a story about it, Vines says. Some of those involved majority opinions that Lee believed provided inadequate constitutional protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, deprived parents facing termination of their rights the effective assistance of counsel, and erected barriers for inmates’ access to the courts. Vines also looks at a paper written in 2020 by a Nashville School of Law student who examined the overarching themes of Lee’s dissents. Lee, the longest-serving judge on the Tennessee Supreme Court, will retire on Aug. 31, 2023.

The Tennessee District Attorney’s General Conference (TNDAGC) has named 21st Judicial District Assistant District Attorney Dale Evans as its DUI Prosecutor of Year. Evans was recognized for his work ensuring that vehicular homicide/assault cases move forward in a timely manner and that victims and their families are provided with case updates. Presidential Awards were presented to three others in the 21st Judicial District Attorneys office. Assistant District Attorney Carlin Hess and Assistant Victim/Witness Coordinators Shannon Welch and Anne Margaret Weishaar were recognized for their efforts bringing the killer of a Brentwood police officer to justice and supporting the officer's family. Williamson Herald has more on the story.

Nashville lawyer Emmitt Clifton Knowles died Nov. 21 at the age of 71 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. A 1977 graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law, Knowles began his legal career clerking for U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge George Edwards. He later joined and was named a partner at Bass, Berry & Sims. He completed his career as a federal magistrate judge for the U.S. Middle District of Tennessee, serving from 2000 to 2016. Knowles was a past president of the Nashville Bar Foundation and chair of the Tennessee Bar Association’s Litigation Section. He taught for many years as an adjunct professor at Vanderbilt Law School and volunteered with the University School of Nashville Mock Trial Team. A celebration of life will be held at a later date. Memorial gifts may be given to the Legal Aid Society, 1321 Murfreesboro Pike, Ste. 400, Nashville TN 37217 or Tennessee Justice Center, 211 7th Ave. N., Nashville TN 37219.

Hamilton County lawyer Justin Grey Woodward was reprimanded by the Tennessee Supreme Court today. The court said that it took the action based on a reprimand imposed on Woodward by the Supreme Court of Georgia. The Tennessee court reports that it notified Woodward of the pending reciprocal discipline but received no response from him.

A petition for reinstatement filed by Knox County lawyer Keri Elizabeth Rule has been referred to a hearing panel of the Board of Professional Responsibility. The board asked for the referral for a hearing on the merits of the petition. The Tennessee Supreme Court agreed and ordered the referral on Nov. 15. Rule will bear the burden of proof to show by clear and convincing evidence that her disability has been removed and that she is no longer incapable of responding to or defending against pending disciplinary complaints. Her license had been transferred to disability status on April 20.

Oklahoma lawyer Alecia Mariana Ingram was reinstated to the practice of law in Tennessee on Nov. 7 after being on inactive status since 2015. In addition, Washington, D.C., lawyer Jason Douglas Kane was reinstated to the practice of law on Nov. 3 being on inactive status since 2003. The Board of Professional Responsibility reported to the court that the two petitions for reinstatement were satisfactory. The Tennessee Supreme Court issued both orders on Nov. 18.

Tennessee Rep. Yusuf Hakeem, D-Chattanooga, says he is working on a bill that would allow exemptions to the state’s ban on abortion for rape, incest and the health and life of the mother. The state’s so-called “trigger law,” which took effect after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade, only addresses the life of the mother — providing an affirmative defense to criminal charges that requires doctors to prove that an abortion was necessary to save the life of the mother. WDEF reports on Hakeem’s plans.

In addition to sleeping in office buildings, children in the custody of the Department of Children’s Services (DCS) are spending upwards of eight months in hospital beds across the state, Tennessee Lookout reports. Some of the children have medical and behavioral health needs that require inpatient hospital care but others do. Michele Johnson, executive director of the Tennessee Justice Center, says hospitalizing kids when they do not require hospital care is a violation of the Americans with Disability Act. A group of Democratic state lawmakers recently asked the governor to provide emergency funding to resolve the situation. Lee told WKRN that he will not dip into the state’s rainy day fund to address the issue but instead will work through the regular budget process.