Shelby County General Sessions Civil Court Judge John Donald has announced he will retire effective July 7, the Daily Memphian reports. Donald took office in 1986 and was last re-elected in 2014 for a term that was set to expire on Aug. 31, 2022. The Board of Judicial Conduct publicly censured Donald in 2014 for violating the code of judicial conduct for retaliating against an attorney who had filed a complaint against him. Donald received a public censure and paid court costs, but remained on the bench. The Shelby County Board of Commissioners may or may not appoint a new judge to the position at its next meeting this week.

Leon Gray, special assistant to Juvenile Court Judge Dan Michael and legislative assistant for the Shelby County Commission, died on Friday, the Commercial Appeal reports. He was 62. In addition to his role with Shelby County courts, Gray was a news broadcaster for Memphis-area radio station WLOK. "Leon, as many of us knew, was a man of faith and dedicated his life as a champion for many causes,” Michael said on Facebook. “The Court has indeed lost a hero.” Visitation will be held on Thursday from 3 to 8 p.m. CDT at Serenity Funeral Home, 1638 Sycamore View Rd., Memphis, TN 38134. A second visitation will be held on Friday from 11 a.m. until noon CDT, followed by the funeral and burial, all taking place at New Sardis Baptist Church, 7739 E. Holmes Rd., Memphis, TN 38125. Read more on funeral arrangements for Gray.

A new report from the U.S. Sentencing Commission shows that federal courts in Tennessee granted 18% of the compassionate release requests they received from federal prisoners seeking early release in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tennessean reports. Most of the 336 motions for compassionate release were filed by the defendants themselves and only 61 were granted. Of the three districts in the state, Middle Tennessee released 28% of those who petitioned the court, East Tennessee released 16.6% and West Tennessee released 7.7%. Another report from the Vera Institute of Justice shows that incarceration rates in the state’s jails and prisons were down 18% in mid-2020 from where they were in late 2019. That figure dropped another 2% by spring of this year, signaling a slowing downward trend.

The Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville (ABC) will host two legal clinics this month. The Black-Owned Small Business and Nonprofit Legal Clinic occurs every third Thursday of the month and is a joint effort from ABC and the Bradley Law Firm to provide free legal services for Black-owned small businesses and nonprofits. It is held virtually and the next clinic will be held on June 17. Ask the Experts: Pro Bono Business & Legal Clinic will be held on June 30 and offers 30-minutes of one-on-one time with an industry expert on topics including legal issues, marketing and accounting. Interested attorneys can register to volunteer with ABC here.

The TBA’s travel, hotel and car rental discount provider has expanded its offerings to now include entertainment. Members are now able to receive discounts for theme parks, movie theaters, events, shows, sporting events, water parks and concerts. Other savings include Sam’s Club, ADT Security and Calm, a sleep and meditation app. Start saving today. 

The Tennessee Supreme Court today suspended Sumner County lawyer John T. Harding from the practice of law for one year, with 30 days being on active suspension and the remainder served on probation. Harding executed a conditional guilty plea to the Board of Professional Responsibility’s filing that he failed to reasonably communicate with his client regarding the status of a case and failed to act in a diligent manner and expedite the client’s litigation. He must pay fees to the BPR and comply with the Supreme Court’s rules for suspended attorneys and the procedure for reinstatement.  

Nashville attorney James Crumlin has finished eight full and seven half Ironman races—a triathlon competition with a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride an a 26.22-mile run. Crumlin, an attorney at Bone McAllester Norton, details his journey to becoming a triathlete for a recent article in the Tennessean, telling the paper his road to becoming an Ironman competitor actually began with a bet he made with a good friend. Crumlin eventually became known as a Nashville fitness guru after launching the Capitol Steps Workouts, where he leads two free, hour-long workouts each week, running up and down the Capitol steps among other exercises. Crumlin practices in labor and employment and business and corporate law at Bone McAllester, as well as litigation and dispute resolution, and entertainment and media law. He is a TBA member and a 2006 graduate of the TBA’s Leadership Law program.

Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk released a letter yesterday confirming his decision to not enforce a new state law that requires businesses to post signs outside of bathrooms that are transgender-friendly, the Tennessean reports.  "My office is devoted to public safety, prosecuting violent crimes and supporting victims,” Funk said in the letter. “However, this law does not accomplish those goals.” The response came after state Rep. John Ragan, R-Oak Ridge, issued a second request on Monday for Funk to explain his position. Though Ragan acknowledged district attorneys can exercise prosecutorial discretion in criminal cases in his letter to Funk, he wrote that “such discretion is not totally without limits.” Funk disagreed, noting the power each branch of government has to ‘check’ the other branches and “act as a ‘balance’ to prevent any one branch of government from having too much power over the people or over another governmental branch.”

Attorneys for Metro Nashville and the Davidson County Election Commission were back in court yesterday, debating whether the commission acted in bad faith in its decision to block a Metro-supported proposal from being placed on the same ballot as the property tax referendum, the Tennessean reports. The property tax referendum seeks to limit the city’s power over property tax increases and recall elections, among other things, while the Metro-backed proposal would preserve the current Metro Charter. The commission voted 3-2 last month to let the court decide on the proposal, a decision that Metro attorneys yesterday deemed “action by inaction.” Metro attorney Cate Pham claimed the commission “slow walked” its decision, deliberately delaying approval so that the measure wouldn’t appear on the July 27 ballot. Representing the commission, attorney Jim Blumstein of Vanderbilt and Austin McMullen of Bradley Law Firm, defended the decision to send the resolution to the court due to the lack of clarity on Metro’s proposal and the “self-destructive” provision written into it that demanded it be put on the July 27 ballot.

Brandon O. Gibson, chief operating officer for the state, will give a keynote address during the 2021 Bench Bar Luncheon. She will join Gov. Bill Lee’s deputy chief counsel, Lang Wiseman, for the presentation. Gibson was appointed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals by former Gov. Bill Haslam where she served for more than four years before joining Lee’s team as senior advisor, focusing primarily on rural and criminal justice initiatives. She was named COO of the state in May 2020. Gibson has served as the chair of the Board of Judicial Conduct and is a former co-chair of the TBA’s Public Service Academy and Leadership Law programs. The Bench Bar Luncheon will take place live in Memphis during the TBA’s annual convention and can be livestreamed for virtual convention registrants. Virtual registration is still open.