Knox County Administrator of Elections Cliff Rodgers announced his retirement on Monday, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. Rodgers, who previously practiced in civil law, has overseen 24 elections during his nine years on the job. His term is not set to expire until April 2021, but in a statement Rodgers said he did not have the energy to deal with another “highly polarized” presidential election. His last day will be May 30.

The historic $2 trillion COVID-19 stimulus bill passed by the U.S. Senate on Wednesday night includes more than $1 billion for criminal justice needs, the ABA Journal reports. The U.S. Justice Department will receive $1 billion, the federal judiciary will get $7.5 million and $50 million will be given to the Legal Services Corporation. The bill would also temporarily allow for more video and audio conferences in several federal court settings, authorize the Justice Department to extend the time cap on home confinement and allow the Bureau of Prisons to quickly create new rules to allow free video and telephone visitations with inmates. The bill will now head to the U.S. House of Representatives.  

The Tennessee Supreme Court is soliciting comments on proposed changes from the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners to Rule 7, which governs the admission and licensing of attorneys in the state. The primary changes relate to the standard for character and fitness in section 6.01, conditional admission in section 10.05 and various technical changes and corrections. Comments on the amendments are due by April 22 and may be emailed to appellatecourtclerk@tncourts.gov or mailed to James M. Hivner, Clerk, Tennessee Appellate Courts, 100 Supreme Court Building, 401 7th Avenue North, Nashville, 37219-1407.

Gov. Bill Lee today announced that the deadline for filing corporate franchise and excise taxes will be extended to July 15 and asked that schools stay closed until April 24, the Tennessean reports. Through an executive order, Lee also activated Tennessee National Guard troops, 250 of which will assist at rural COVID-19 testing sites around the state. Drivers licenses expiring after March 12 will be extended until May 18 and the state is also waiving emissions testing deadlines until that date. Read Executive Order 19 here.

Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery today filed an emergency petition asking the Tennessee Public Utility Commission to stop services disconnections for nonpayment during the State of Emergency invoked by Gov. Bill Lee. The press release from the AG’s office says the commission has already been closely monitoring the measures its regulated private investor-owned utilities have taken to mitigate the impact of COVID-19, while also ensuring reliable utility service. The Commission has also issued a formal request to its regulated public utilities, including gas, electric, water, and wastewater/sewer, to provide ongoing reports including measures to ensure the continuity of safe and reliable service. Read the full release.

A group of 11 law professors and education policy experts have authored a new paper asking bar officials to offer alternatives to the licensing exam in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Law.com reports. The paper, titled “The Bar Exam and COVID-19: The Need for Immediate Action,” lays out six options for dealing with law students who are graduating this year, arguing the pandemic will make it impossible to administer the bar exam in the traditional manner this year. Those options include postponing the exam, administering it online, issuing emergency diploma privilege, adopting a supervised practice program and more. President of the National Conference of Bar Examiners Judith Gunderson has said the national conference is working with individual jurisdictions to find flexible ways of dealing with the July exam.

Practice management company Clio announced Monday it would commit $1 million to a disaster relief fund that will help the legal community recover from hurdles brought by the COVID- 19 pandemic. The disaster relief fund will help with financial aid for Clio licenses, financial support for law firms and organizations that need help moving to the cloud and educational resources and consulting expertise for firms. Clio co-founder and CEO Jack Newton talks to Bob Ambrogi on the legal podcast LawNext about the fund and how it will be used.

The Shelby County Commission on Monday agreed to buy the CoreCivic Shelby Training Center to use as a juvenile detention facility, the Daily Memphian reports. The county bought the space for $3.4 million and will invest another $12 million for renovations. The purchase resolves a potential problem of not meeting a December 2021 deadline to have juveniles whose cases have been transferred to adult court removed from adult detention facilities. The training facility was built for 200 individuals, but will be retrofitted to house about 146 juveniles.

The TBA’s Animal Law Forum 2020 has been rescheduled for Sept. 18 in response to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. The program will still be held at the Nashville Zoo and will provide updates on trends and advancements in animal law. The zoo’s president and chief executive officer will be on hand to discuss conservation efforts, laws affecting procurement and care for zoo animals and more. Programming will run from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Nashville Zoo, 3777 Nolensville Pike. Zoo admission, breakfast and lunch are included with the program.

More than 300 law students, paralegals and student paralegals from across the country have joined forces to provide pro bono assistance for COVID-19 related matters. These students stand ready to provide research, drafting and other support on projects including drafting for bail motions, supporting efforts to seek release from immigration custody and research regarding paid leave policies. Students interested in volunteering need to fill out this form. Attorneys interested in receiving student support need to fill out this form. Questions and concerns can be directed to Alyssa Leader, a student helping to coordinate this pro bono effort.