The Tennessee Supreme Court today clarified uncertainties concerning the appropriate standard of review to apply to claims of alleged prosecutorial misconduct during closing argument when no objection was lodged at the time of the alleged misconduct but the claim is raised in a motion for new trial. After reviewing State v. Tyler Ward Enix, the high court clarified that failure to object to a prosecutor’s statements during closing arguments results in waiver on appeal and that the plain error standard of review applies to claims that are treated as waived. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more on the case and the Supreme Court’s decision.

Former Govs. Phil Bredesen and Bill Haslam have joined forces to launch a new podcast that will delve into hot-button political issues like gun violence, climate change and affordable housing, Axios Nashville reports. The new show, “You Might Be Right,” launches tomorrow and hopes to elevate bipartisan problem-solving and civil conversations that include different parts of the political spectrum. The podcast comes from the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy at the University of Tennessee and will feature an eight-episode season with guests like former Vice President Al Gore, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Paul Ryan and former U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander. Listen to the trailer for “You Might Be Right.”

Senate Speaker Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, and House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, are assembling a special committee to study sentencing and violent crime following several instances of violent deaths in Memphis, the Nashville Post reports. The committee will review the “supervision, investigation, and release of individuals who commit crimes in this state” and “recommend whether there is a need for legislative action to provide additional safeguards to protect the public from those who repeatedly violate criminal laws.” The committee will include co-chairs Sen. Ed Jackson and Rep. Bud Hulsey, plus Sens. Richard Briggs, Todd Gardenhire, Bill Powers and Jeff Yarbro, and Reps. Clay Doggett, Andrew Farmer, William Lamberth, Lowell Russell and Antonio Parkinson.

Fulfill all your annual CLE requirements with the TBA’s Tennessee FastTrack program! This annual staple is a 15-hour CLE, offering tips and updates in diverse areas of law, designed to be relevant to a wide range of practice areas. The program will provide a combination of live credit and prepaid credits to complete online anytime — at home or on mobile — allowing you to customize learning to your schedule. Catch the program in Nashville this Friday from 9 a.m. until 2:15 p.m. CDT at Belmont College of Law or attend the Knoxville program on Sept. 23 from 9 a.m. until 2:15 EDT the UT Conference Center.

Stop by and tour the Tennessee Bar Association’s new office space this Thursday from 2-5 p.m. CDT. TBA will open its doors to members interested in touring the new space, located at 3310 West End Ave., Ste. 590 in Nashville. Visitor parking is available. Please register here so we know how many guests to expect.

The Shelby County Commission will soon fill three judicial commissioner positions that are vacant after attorneys holding them won August elections to become judges, the Daily Memphian reports. “We cannot afford to be light on judicial commissioners,” General Sessions Criminal Court Judge Bill Anderson told the commission yesterday. “And we cannot afford to bring in judicial commissioners who don’t know their job when they walk through the door.” Anderson, who oversees the judicial commissioners, has offered to screen the applicants for the three positions. He says the vacancies leave the court system “woefully inadequate.” Applications for the positions are due Friday and will be followed by interviews on Sept. 21 and a final commission vote on Sept. 26. The judicial commissioners as a whole are part of a new bail court that starts operation in February.

Bass, Berry & Sims and Gullett Sanford Robinson & Martin PLLC (GSRM Law) have teamed up with the Nashville State Community College Foundation to hold a monthly Legal Help Clinic. The clinics will begin on Sept. 13 and will allow students to meet in-person at the NSCC White Bridge campus in Nashville and virtually across the school’s seven Tennessee campuses for guidance on a variety of civil legal matters, such as landlord-tenant issues, vehicle purchase and repair, child support, expungement and more. The initiative coincides with Bass Berry’s “100 Acts of Service” in celebration of its 100th anniversary. GSRM Law is also celebrating 80 years of business in Nashville. Read more about the clinics here.

The Knoxville Bar Association last night hosted a Bench-Bar Celebration at the Knoxville Convention Center. The event was held to celebrate the unity and fellowship of the local legal community. The KBA honored the justices of the Tennessee Supreme Court and celebrated members of the judiciary at all levels for their dedication to the administration of justice. TBA President Tasha Blakney and Executive Director Joycelyn Stevenson attended the event along with other TBA members. See pictures from the event here.

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge John Everett Williams will lie in state from noon until 3 p.m. CDT on Monday in the Nashville Supreme Court Building, 401 7th Ave. N. Attorneys and the public are welcome to pay their respects in the courtroom. Williams died unexpectedly on Sept. 2. He was 68. Visitation will take place on Sept. 13 from 2 to 8 p.m. CDT at the Dilday-Carter Funeral Home, 650 High Street in Huntingdon. Services will be held on Sept. 14 at 1 p.m. CDT at the Huntingdon First United Methodist Church, 201 Asbury Circle, Huntingdon. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more on Williams’ legacy, including stories and remembrances from the judiciary.

Metro Nashville City Council has passed an ordinance that will prevent law enforcement from using license plate reader (LPR) technology to enforce any laws criminalizing abortion, the Tennessean reports. The measure passed unanimously on consent Tuesday and will block the use of LPRs in "assisting with enforcing laws outlawing abortion or outlawing interstate travel to obtain abortion." Nashville has yet to implement LPR technology, but a six-month pilot program was approved by council earlier this year. Last month, councilmembers also passed an ordinance to restrict LPR use for assistance with immigration enforcement.