The Memphis branch of the NAACP says it will coordinate legal representation for people arrested last week while participating in protests over the death of George Floyd, the Daily Memphian reports. Memphis branch president and attorney Van Turner said at a press conference on Monday that Victoria Jones will be among those represented after her arrest and treatment by police over the weekend sparked an investigation request from Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland. Thirteen people were arrested on disorderly conduct and related charges last week prior to an estimated two dozen arrests overnight Sunday in a fifth night of protests in the city. “We have to have this conversation right now. … We have to not abandon them while they are undertaking this endeavor,” Turner said of the protesters. “Now the cities are on fire and people are waking up.” Turner, who also serves as a Shelby County commissioner, said the NAACP will be pushing locally and nationally for better equipped review boards and changes in police training and procedures.

The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands announced today that Russ Overby, lead attorney for its health, income and education practice group, has retired after 46 years of lending “his voice to the voiceless.” LAS paid tribute to Overby in a YouTube video titled “46 Years a Zealot," which highlights his landmark work in juvenile law and social security law and his advocacy for fair Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) policies in Tennessee. “There is a reason that we have staff members who stayed here for 48 and 50 years, because our work changes lives,” Overby said, “I think that is what sets Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands apart." Legacy gifts to honor Overby’s work can be made here.

Three Rutherford County Jail employees and 21 inmates have tested positive for COVID-19, triple the number reported last week, the Daily News Journal reports. Spokeswoman for the jail, Lisa Marchesoni, had reported on May 20 that a jail kitchen contract worker and an inmate who worked in the kitchen had tested positive for the virus. In this week’s report, Marchesoni said the virus “spread from the same source.” All 679 inmates at the Rutherford County Jail have been tested and no female inmates have tested positive. The inmates are being quarantined away from other inmates and new detainees are screened by medical staff before they are booked and quarantined for 14 days.

The Tennessee Court of Appeals will livestream remote oral arguments this week on Wednesday and Thursday. Judge Frank G. Clement Jr. will preside over the June docket for the Court of Appeals Middle Section. He will be joined by Judges Andy D. Bennett, Richard H. Dinkins and W. Neal McBrayer. Four cases will be heard on Wednesday at 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. CDT. On Thursday, another four cases will be heard at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. CDT. Those hearings can be accessed through the Tennessee State Courts YouTube page. The Court of Appeals Eastern Section is expected to hear remote oral arguments the week of June 8 and the Court of Appeals Western Section is planning remote oral arguments toward the end of the month.

The Tennessee Coalition for Open Government has joined 55 organizations in filing a petition that asks the Tennessee Supreme Court to protect the public’s right of access to court proceedings during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a TCOG press release on the petition, of the 30 judicial district plans that have been approved by the high court, very few provide “any reasonable level of compliance” with the Constitutional right of access and several violate the Constitution by only allowing access to court personnel, parties, witnesses and lawyers. The petition asks the court to use its emergency powers to mandate that all courts and judges allow citizens to be present for in-person court proceedings or allow the public to view or listen to proceedings electronically. Petitioners are represented by former TBA president, Lucian Pera and the law firm of Adams and Reese LLP. Read the full press release.

The latest episode of the TBA Sidebar podcast focuses on Bill Ramsey, an attorney with Neal & Harwell in Nashville, and his friendship with legendary fife and drum musician Otha Turner. It highlights how Ramsey helped preserve Turner’s legacy and music and the annual Ode to Otha event that was created to celebrate their joint birthdays and to raise money for the Second Harvest Food Bank. Ode to Otha will be held online this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but you can still make a donation to Second Harvest in the event’s name. Sidebar is part of the Tennessee Bar Association Podcast Network and can be found on the TBA’s website and anywhere you listen to podcasts.  

U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle of Tallahassee ruled Sunday that, in some circumstances, Florida cannot require felons who have completed their sentences to pay legal fees before allowing them to vote, the ABA Journal reports. Hinkle said requiring payment is unconstitutional if the felons cannot afford to pay or if the financial obligation was imposed to fund the criminal justice system. Florida voters had restored voting rights to many former felons in 2018 by approving the Amendment 4 ballot initiative, which restored voting rights “upon completion of all terms of sentence including parole or probation.” Hinkle said the requirement violated the equal protection clause and the 24th Amendment’s ban on poll taxes or other taxes as a condition of voting.

Nashville’s public health department will continue to provide COVID-19 patient information to first responders, despite yesterday’s announcement from Gov. Bill Lee that his office will discontinue that practice, WPLN reports. Metro Public Health Director Michael Caldwell said Nashville was never signed onto the state’s program and that first responders have been receiving patient’s addresses directly from the local health department. Caldwell said access to that data is limited and expires within a month or when the patient recovers from the virus.

Belmont University College of Law student Ally Hicks has been selected for the Rural Summer Legal Corps Fellowship, a program from Equal Justice Works in partnership with Legal Services Corporation. Hicks was one of 35 students selected from an applicant pool of 446. The fellows will spend eight to ten weeks in the summer exploring a career in civil legal aid, by providing direct legal services and building capacity at the organizations where they serve. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s group will work to support those efforts remotely. Hicks will be hosted by Kentucky Legal Aid, where she will help the organization implement its Eviction Diversion Project, an initiative aimed at reducing homelessness in rural, economically-depressed areas by connecting individuals facing or at-risk of eviction with civil legal services. More from Belmont’s website.

Pending approval from the Tennessee Supreme Court, courthouses in Shelby County will reopen next week, the Daily Memphian reports. The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office announced the reopening plan today, which includes new rules for anyone coming to court at any of the three county courthouses. According to the new rules, all those entering the courthouse will be required to wear a mask and will need to enter and exit through designated areas. Those who refuse to wear a mask will not be allowed in and will have to call the court clerk’s office to inform the court that they will not be able to attend. Only people with court cases, crime victims and witnesses will be allowed to enter the buildings. Children not involved in court cases will not be allowed to enter.