Longtime assistant prosecutor Glenda Adams has been fired from the Shelby County District Attorney’s office amid allegations of  misconduct, the Daily Memphian reports. Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich confirmed she terminated Adams last week, but gave few details about the ongoing investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. A TBI spokesperson released a statement saying, at Weirich’s request, special agents “are investigating allegations of misconduct involving the misuse of confidential information.” Weirich has recused herself from the case, and 13th District Attorney General Bryant Dunaway has been appointed as District Attorney General Pro Tem. Adams is a former public defender and has been with the District Attorney’s Office since 2009.

Tennessee Human Services Commissioner Danielle Barnes is stepping down from her post to rejoin the private sector, the Tennessean reports. Barnes joined the agency in 2004 as assistant general counsel under then-Gov. Phil Bredesen’s administration and later moved to the Department of Human Resources in 2007 as deputy commissioner and general counsel. Former Gov. Bill Haslam appointed Barnes as commissioner of DHS in 2017 and she was re-appointed by Gov. Bill Lee in 2019. Barnes’ last day is Nov. 20 and her replacement has not yet been named. Additionally, the state confirmed yesterday that Department of Commerce and Insurance Commissioner Hodgen Mainda will also be leaving his post for the private sector. WPLN reports that Mainda was accused of and investigated for sexual harassment in September but an investigator found insufficient evidence to substantiate the claim.

Tennessee Sen. Joey Hensley, R-Hohenwald, on Monday admitted to prescribing opioids to family members and to an employee he was romantically involved with, the Tennessean reports. During opening statements in a medical disciplinary proceeding on Monday, Hensley’s attorney, David Sneed, defended his client’s good intentions and argued the prescriptions were all but unavoidable in the small town where Hensley is the only available doctor. State health officials argue Hensley violated medical standards over several years by prescribing controlled substances to family members and a romantic partner. That partner was a nurse in Hensley’s office and also his second cousin. The state testified that Hensley had written the woman at least 47 prescriptions for controlled substances from 2011 to 2018. At the hearing, Hensley testified that he was unaware he’d done anything wrong. The charges against Hensley are not criminal, but they could impact his ability to treat patients or prescribe drugs.

Amy Coney Barrett was on Monday night confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court in a 52-48 vote by the U.S. Senate, the Associated Press reports. Justice Clarence Thomas administered the constitutional oath to Barrett in a White House ceremony after the vote and, on Tuesday, she took the judicial oath, given to her by Justice John G. Roberts. Barrett’s confirmation vote came from a deeply divided Senate and marks the first confirmation vote in modern times to receive no support from the minority party. Tennessee Senators Lamar Alexander and Marsha Blackburn both voted in favor of the confirmation.

According to a recent article in Psychology Today, mental stimulation and activity promotes better brain health and even a lowered risk of dementia. John Randolph, Ph. D. writes that “mental activity” could be defined in many ways, but includes reading, playing a musical instrument, working a crossword puzzle, playing board games or cards, going to museums and more. He cites several recent studies showing that people who engage in these types of hobbies tend to have better memory, executive functioning skills and a reduced risk of dementia. In addition to hobbies, Randolph also mentions research that suggests having a more complex job has a “protective effect on the brain.” He also warns against being “mentally disengaged,” as it is associated with negative outcomes, including “atrophy in a region of the brain containing the memory-critical hippocampus.”

TBA LGBT Section member Maureen Truax Holland will be a virtual panelist on the third episode of Lawyers as Peacemakers, a webinar series from Law Essentials India. Tomorrow’s episode will cover LGBTQ issues and will begin at 8:30 a.m. CDT. The panel is free, but you must register beforehand. The live event can be found on the Law Essentials YouTube page.

President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden will take the stage tonight at Belmont University in Nashville for the final presidential debate, the Tennessean reports. Kristen Welker with NBC News will moderate the debate, scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. CDT. This is the second time Belmont has hosted a presidential debate, 12 years after it held a town hall between former President Barack Obama and the late Senator John McCain. Trump and Biden will both be tested for the COVID-19 virus prior to the debate and all audience members will be required to wear masks throughout the event. The debate will air on all major networks.

President Donald Trump yesterday granted clemency to 70-year-old Curtis McDonald of Memphis for his role in a drug trafficking ring in the 1990s, the Commercial Appeal reports. McDonald is the co-defendant of Alice Johnson, a Memphis woman who was serving a life sentence for the same crime. Johnson was granted clemency in 2018 and has been advocating for McDonald’s release ever since. She was fully pardoned by Trump in August. In a statement yesterday, the White House acknowledged that McDonald was a “first time offender who has now served nearly 24 years in prison and has an excellent record of good conduct.” They also noted his productivity while in prison, his positive job evaluations, completion of education courses and his work as a mentor with the Mentors of Life program.

The Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee today advanced Amy Coney Barrett’s U.S. Supreme Court nomination, despite a boycott from Democratic members of the committee, the Associated Press reports. All 10 Democratic senators boycotted the vote to protest the GOP’s rush to install Trump’s nominee to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The committee’s 12 Republican members voted to send Barrett’s nomination to the full Senate, where a final confirmation vote will take place on Monday.

The Tennessee Judicial Conference met virtually for its annual fall meeting this month, marking the first conference the group has held since March. TJC President and 26th Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Roy Morgan opened the conference with a quote he recently read which he felt summed up the transition to a virtual meeting: “Change is the law of life.” Administrative Office of the Courts Director Deborah Taylor Tate highlighted the high court’s June statement on its commitment to equal justice under the law. She also gave a snapshot of the work Tennessee courts have done in recent months, including 6,512 Zoom sessions since April, $500,000 in personal protective equipment for the courts, nearly 300 livestreamed appellate arguments and more. Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Jeff Bivins also spoke during the conference, commending the judges on their work to keep the courts open and functioning. Read the full story on the AOC’s website.