Chattanooga attorney Thomas Swain Kale died Dec. 20 after a battle with cancer. He was 83. Kale earned his law degree from Duke University Law School before moving to Chattanooga and joining the law firm of Spears, Moore, Rebman & Williams. Kale spent his 53-year legal career at the firm where he retired as senior partner. After retirement, Kale remained head of the firm’s Business Section and maintained an office there until his death. Kale was a member of the Tennessee, American and Chattanooga bar associations, the Tennessee Defense Lawyers Association and the Estate Planning Council of Chattanooga and was active on a number of boards in the community. A memorial service will be held at a later date. Memorial contributions in Kale’s honor may be made to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Metropolitan Ministries or to any other charity of the donor's choosing.

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands will host an event in February to launch a new book written by its former executive Ashley Wiltshire. “Everyday Justice: A Legal Aid Story” explores key legal figures who helped establish LAS, its relationship to the Nashville Bar Association and the trials and tests of establishing what is now Tennessee’s largest nonprofit law firm. The book launch will take place on Feb. 8 from 5-7 p.m. CST at Bass Berry & Sims PLC, 150 3rd Ave. S., Nashville. It will feature conversation between Wiltshire and former Legal Aid attorney Margaret Behm. Reserve your spot at the event by Jan. 16.

Gov. Bill Lee last week granted clemency to 16 people, including two inmates who will be eligible for parole, the Associated Press reports. The governor approved 13 pardons and three commutations, including the elimination of parole restrictions for one 78-year-old man who has been out of prison for 18 years. Fourteen of the 16 are no longer in prison. Lee also issued expedited parole eligibility to 30 people in prison related to changes to a drug-free school zones law. This is Lee’s second round of clemency actions since taking office in 2019. The AP has more on all 16 who were granted clemency.

New court records show the City of Memphis is denying or objecting to several claims in a negligence lawsuit filed against them by rape victim Alicia Franklin. In the 25-page document filed yesterday, attorneys for the city object to the claim that the abduction and murder of jogger Eliza Fletcher could have been avoided if police had properly investigated Franklin’s 2021 rape. In the new filing, called an answer to the plaintiff’s request for admissions, the city admits it didn’t dust for fingerprints at the Franklin scene, didn’t seek to interrogate the alleged rapist and murderer Cleotha Abston and didn’t request expedited DNA testing. The Daily Memphian has the full story.

The U.S. Supreme Court today ordered that the Title 42 border policy remain in place for the time being, The Hill reports. Justices voted 5-4 to reverse an order from a federal judge in Washington, D.C., who ruled last month that the border policy must end. The ruling comes in response to an emergency request filed by 19 Republican state attorneys general asking to maintain the policy, which was scheduled to expire this week.

U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper last week announced that a bill to name a Nashville post office after late state Sen. Thelma Harper had cleared the House and Senate and was headed to President Joe Biden’s desk. Harper was a Nashville Democrat who became the first African-American woman elected to the state Senate. She died in April 2021 at the age of 80. According to the White House, Biden signed off on the bill today and the U.S. post office at 2245 Rosa L Parks Blvd. has been renamed as the Thelma Harper Post Office Building.  

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti last week joined 13 state attorneys general in calling on U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and the U.S. Department of Justice to speak out against threats posed by foreign third-party litigation funding (TPLF). The coalition penned a letter to Garland expressing significant concern over foreign adversaries leveraging the U.S. judicial system to undermine the nation’s interests. They’re asking Garland to communicate what steps are being taken to preserve the independence of the court system and protect the U.S. against hostile foreign entities. Read more from the Attorney General’s Office.

Shelby County Pretrial Services has expanded its simple summons program, which sends defendants text message reminders about their court dates, the Commercial Appeal reports. All defendants released from custody pending court disposition are placed in the program if they provide a valid cellphone number. Before the program’s 2021 pilot, 73% of those eligible showed up for their court dates. As of this month, that number has risen to 97%. Pretrial services is now looking to add new features to the text messaging service, like allowing defendants to text back with questions that would be answered by staff.   

Join in this moderated virtual panel discussion featuring judges from across the state as they discuss best practices in the courtroom. Professional development topics include avoiding common mistakes when appearing in front of a judge, motion practices, judge preferences for oral arguments and/or briefs, and other insider thinking from the bench. This webcast replay is set for 3 p.m. CST on Dec. 30 and is approved for 1.5 dual CLE credits.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Dec. 21 officially adopted the rule establishing a three-judge panel to hear constitutional challenges to state laws, executive orders, regulations and legislative redistricting cases. The high court added Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 54 as an interim rule in June 2021 and adopted amendments to it in September 2021. Read the order adopting Rule 54.