U.S. News & World Report has extended its survey deadline to Jan. 27 following announcements from a multitude of top law school deans that they would be boycotting the annual survey and law school rankings. The ABA Journal reports that it asked all ABA-accredited law schools whether they planned to submit the survey. Out of 110 schools that responded, 25 said they would not participate and 22 were undecided. U.S. News announced changes to its metrics earlier this month and last week informed deans about further modifications, including eliminating employment rates, average debt at graduation and spending on instruction from rankings criteria. Many deans opting out claimed U.S. News relied too much on reputation rankings and spending per student and classified graduates with school-funded fellowships as unemployed.

The Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) has parted ways with its top lawyer and inspector general following an independent probe that uncovered errors and poor oversight of the state’s lethal injection protocol, the Tennessean reports. Former TDOC general counsel and deputy commissioner Debra Inglis and former Inspector General Kelly Young were excused on Dec. 27. Bryce Coatney, a deputy general counsel, had previously submitted a notice of resignation in late summer and retired on Dec. 1. Coatney did not work on execution issues during his TDOC tenure, per the TDOC documents. The independent investigation, led by Memphis attorney Edward Stanton, found the state was aware of issues with following its own lethal injection protocol and still chose to move forward with the April execution of Oscar Franklin Smith. Lee intervened at the last minute to stop Smith’s execution. Lee has tasked new department leadership to revise Tennessee's lethal injection protocol.

A new report says the Supreme Court may not be able to determine who leaked the draft opinion which struck down Roe v. Wade, The Hill reports. The public report revealed that, beyond the Supreme Court justices, 82 court employees had access to the draft opinion. All those interviewed signed sworn affidavits denying they disclosed the opinion, except for a few who admitted telling their spouses. Investigators collected court-issued laptops and mobile devices from all those with access to the draft, but “found no relevant information from these devices.” Also examined were connections between court employees and reporters, especially contacts made with Politico. Although the source of the leak is still unknown, the report did conclude that it was likely not a result of a hack. It also listed seven steps the court could take to prevent a future leak. Read the report.

Tennessee Senate committee assignments for the 113th General Assembly have been released. See the full list and find out which committee your local senator has been assigned to over on the Tennessee Journal.  

Madison County Mayor AJ Massey has appointed Jackson attorney and TBA Board of Governors Secretary Terica Smith to serve as deputy mayor and director of human resources for Madison County. Smith will lead human resource management, activities and staff development for the second most populated county in West Tennessee. “My entire career has been dedicated to public service and improving the lives of residents of this community,” Smith said. “I am honored to serve the citizens of Madison County in this role and grateful to Mayor Massey for this opportunity.” Smith is a graduate of the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law and was most recently assistant district attorney with the 26th Judicial District. Prior to her time as assistant district attorney, she was a staff attorney with West Tennessee Legal Services. In addition to her work on the TBA board, Smith is co-chair of the TBA Leadership Law (TBALL) program and was appointed to the Board of Judicial Conduct by Gov. Bill Lee. Read the press release.

Applications are now being accepted for the 2023 Reporters Workshop. Sponsored by the TBA’s Communications Law Section, the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters and the Tennessee Press Association Foundation, the program will be held in person April 28-29 in Nashville. Organizers will select 15 print, online, television and/or radio journalists who want to develop a deeper understanding of media law issues that may affect their everyday work, including access to government information, defamation and privacy concerns in reporting, and other timely topics. Journalists interested in attending should apply before 5 p.m. CST on March 15. Read more about the program.   

Williamson County lawyer J. Russell Helman was today publicly censured by the Board of Professional Responsibility. Heldman filed two motions to recuse the trial judge in a contentious divorce case, both of which were denied. Meanwhile, the opposing party was awarded attorney fees and later filed a motion to satisfy that award by disbursing funds held by the court from a sale of a piece of marital property. Heldman opposed that motion. The court orally granted the opposing party’s motion, but before the order was entered, Heldman filed a third motion to recuse the trial judge. The motion included arguments that had not been raised in the trial court and arguments that addressed issues previously raised in the earlier motions for recusal. The court of appeals denied the third motion to recuse and held that the motion was frivolous.

While the number of trials in Shelby County increased from 2021 to 2022, it is still far less than during pre-COVID times, causing the backlog of trials to grow and concern among some that the slow pace is hindering a fair criminal justice process, the Daily Memphian reports. That article cites data from the Shelby County Criminal Court system and compares it with other local courts and national trends. According to the article, there were 11,595 felony arrests in Memphis in 2022. 10,557 of them were adults and 1,038 were juveniles. The county’s Criminal Court system conducted 35 trials last year. 

The Tennessee Journal has published a full list of House Speaker Cameron Sexton’s committee assignments for the 113th General Assembly. Find out which committee your local representative has been assigned to on the TNJ’s website.

The University of Tennessee College of Law has named Professor Michelle Kwon as its new interim associate dean for diversity, inclusion and community engagement. In her new position, Kwon will develop and advance diversity, inclusion and belonging at the College of Law with an emphasis on lawyers’ professional obligation to seek justice and protect individual rights. Consistent with the university’s land-grant mission, Kwon will also lead the college in utilizing its resources and expertise for the betterment of the Knoxville-area community and the state, especially among underserved populations. “As the child of a native Hawaiian-Korean father and a German mother, and the only person in my family to go to college, I am honored to lead the College of Law’s diversity and inclusion efforts,” Kwon said. Read more from the College of Law.