U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee J. Douglas Overbey yesterday announced changes in management and supervisory personnel in his office, the Chattanoogan reports. Trey Hamilton has been named to serve as the first assistant U.S. attorney for the district. Caryn Hebets has been selected as chief of the Criminal Division. Matthew T. Morris will be the deputy criminal chief for the Knoxville office’s white collar and general crimes unit. Tracy Stone will serve as deputy criminal chief for the Knoxville office’s violent crimes and drug trafficking unit. David P. Lewen Jr. was named as senior litigation counsel. Finally, Chris Poole will serve as the branch chief of the Chattanooga Division.  

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) today approved Gov. Bill Lee’s request for an emergency declaration following the bombing in downtown Nashville on Christmas Day, the Tennessean reports. Lee requested FEMA’s assistance on Dec. 26, asking for help with debris removal and emergency protective measures.

Former Circuit Court judge Ira Stephen North Sr. died on Dec. 28. He was 79. North earned his law degree from Vanderbilt Law School and was an attorney for more than 50 years, including an eight-year term as a Davidson County Circuit Court judge. A private service will be held at the North Family Farm in Neely's Bend. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to Inner City Ministry and Church of Christ Disaster Relief.

Hamilton County District Attorney General Neal Pinkston has alerted local judges and court personnel that, until further notice, his prosecutors will no longer appear in-person for court due to an uptick in COVID-19 cases, the Times Free Press reports. Pinkston told judges in an email last month and on Sunday that he will adhere to local, federal and state directives and Supreme Court orders, writing that he “will not compromise the health of our employees.” Hamilton County General Sessions Court's criminal division has been holding limited hearings since last month after an outbreak among its personnel. The county’s criminal court has been holding virtual hearings since March. General Sessions does not have a similar system in place, but Pinkston said his prosecutors were able to virtually appear before the court yesterday.

A task force assembled by the National Conference of Bar Examiners has released preliminary recommendations that call for major changes to future bar exams, the ABA Journal reports. The task force is suggesting that the bar exam be delivered online as an integrated test with scenarios to answer questions from, rather than in sections with different formats. Scenarios with a handful of questions could replace the Multistate Bar Examination, the Multistate Essay Examination and the Multistate Performance Test. The NCBE Board of Trustees will vote on finalizing the recommendations later this month. An overview of the recommendations says any changes would take up to five years to implement.

The Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday determined that, per the Tennessee Products Liability Act, a manufacturer is not liable for injuries resulting from products it did not make or sell. The opinion stems from a case in which a plaintiff filed suit against several industrial equipment manufacturers, claiming they were liable under the Tennessee Products Liability Act for failing to warn him that the materials needed to repair and maintain their products contained asbestos, ultimately causing him to develop mesothelioma. The high court held that the Products Liability Act does not impose upon the equipment defendants a duty to warn about products that did not contain asbestos when they left the defendants’ control. Read more on the case from the Administrative Office of the Courts.  

The Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday ordered the law license of Tennessee lawyer Deon Devall Owensby be transferred to disability inactive status. Owensby may not practice law on inactive status but may petition the court for reinstatement by showing that his disability has been removed.

The TBA’s Tort and Insurance Law Section will host its 2021 Winter Forum on Feb. 3 from 9 a.m. until 12:15 p.m. CST. The forum will provide an overview of the ethical issues that attorneys face in conducting investigations and interviewing current and former employees of an opposing corporate litigant. The program will also feature a discussion of emerging legal issues on the enforceability of arbitration agreements and provide recent legal developments involving claims for health care liability actions. Members of the Tort and Insurance Law Section receive special pricing for the program, so join the section today!

Shortly after moving into her first ever corner office, Sheri Fox announced she was leaving her post as executive director of Legal Aid of East Tennessee to move to Savannah, Georgia. Fox took on the LEAT position in 2016 with two goals in mind: to strengthen and grow LAET and to make sure the firm could take advantage of new opportunities she saw on the horizon. She says both of these goals have been accomplished thanks to the hard work and dedication of LAET staff. Fox will practice with a small plaintiff’s firm in Savannah. She is a TBA member, TBA Labor and Employment Section member, a 2008 graduate of the TBA Leadership Law program and has a member of the TBA’s Access to Justice Committee. Read the full profile on Fox from the Hamilton County Herald.

The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday officially took full control of the Silverdale Detention Center after 35 years under the management of private prison company CoreCivic, the Chattanoogan reports. CoreCivic announced earlier this year that it was withdrawing from the contract on Dec. 30. Sheriff Jim Hammond appointed a team to manage the transition as his team took over full operational control and oversight of the facility. Hammond said he had also made the decision to close down the aging  downtown jail and move its detainees to Silverdale. The booking and intake area in the downtown jail will remain until renovations and upgrades can be completed at Silverdale.