The American Bar Association House of Delegates’ Nominating Committee on Sunday voted to make Illinois lawyer Mary Smith its next president-elect nominee, the ABA Journal reports. Smith’s nomination will likely become official at the close of the ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago in August. Smith is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation and would become the first Native American president of the ABA in her 2023-2024 term. She virtually accepted her nomination during the ABA House of Delegates meeting, where she also acknowledged the work of former TBA president, former ABA treasurer and Adams and Reese partner Lucian Pera, with whom she ran a contested race for the nomination of president-elect. Smith is a past president of the National Native American Bar Association and founder of the National Native American Bar Association Foundation. worked in the White House from 1997 to 2001, serving as associate counsel to the president and as associate director of policy planning for the Domestic Policy Council.

Davidson County’s qualifying deadline for judicial and other local races passed today, revealing that Criminal Court Judge Mark Fishburn did not return a petition, the Nashville Post reports. Several candidates quickly entered the race in Fishburn’s absence, including former judge and ex-Metro Council member Nick Leonardo, Nashville lawyer Cynthia Chappell, Brian Griffith, Tillman Payne and Seth Norman. Marcus Shute, who had previously filed to run for a seat in General Sessions, also switched over to the race. General Sessions Judge Rachel Bell also picked up a challenger. Erin Coleman, who made an unsuccessful bid for state Senate in 2016, will be running for Bell’s seat. An official list of all the candidates should be available soon.

The filing deadline in Hamilton County passed at noon today, resulting in several contested judicial primaries and a contested primary in the race for district attorney. Mike Dumitru and Jim Exum have qualified for the Republican primary in Circuit Court Division 2; Amanda Dunn, Boyd Patterson and Rebecca J. Stern are set to run in the Republican primary for Criminal Court Division 3; and Brian Bush will challenge incumbent Judge Sherry Paty for Division 1 City Court Judge. Republican candidates for Hamilton County District Attorney are Coty Wamp and Neal Pinkston. Read the full list of qualified candidates from the Chattanoogan.

Democratic state lawmakers are considering whether to renew a push for the removal of Rutherford County Juvenile Court Judge Donna Scott Davenport ahead of her retirement in August, the Tennessean reports. State Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, and state Sen. Heidi Campbell, D-Nashville, co-sponsored a resolution that sought to oust Davenport after a WPLN and ProPublica report was published detailing the county’s history of illegally arresting and jailing children. Shortly after, Davenport announced she would retire by Aug. 31. Johnson and Campbell say they are waiting to see if any state or federal investigations might lead to Davenport’s departure before deciding whether to put the legislation on notice for House and Senate committees to discuss. Gov. Bill Lee in October had asked the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct to examine the issues with Davenport, but the board said it would not continue to examine a retiring judge. Tennessee Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, said he doesn’t foresee the resolution being approved, noting that Democrats opposed a Republican effort to remove Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle in 2021.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Feb. 24 will re-hear arguments in two cases that were originally argued last year before the death of Justice Connie Clark. Justice Sarah Campbell, who was recently confirmed to the high court earlier this month, has recused herself from both cases. Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, et al. v. Tennessee Department of Education, et al., an interlocutory appeal involving a challenge to Gov. Bill Lee’s Education Savings Account Pilot program, will begin at 9 a.m. CST. Special Justice Thomas R. Frierson, II, has been appointed to participate in that case. Immediately following is State of Tennessee v. Tyshon Booker, involving a constitutional challenge to juvenile life sentences. Special Justice William C. Koch Jr. has been appointed to serve on that case. Read more from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Calling all super sleuths! Join the TBA for a CLE like you have never experienced before. Kicking off April 1, CL(U)E Knoxville will offer a unique adventure in which you and your team will be tasked with solving a murder mystery, all while learning recent changes to Tennessee criminal law and earning three hours of CLE credit. The interactive experience will take you to some of downtown Knoxville’s most interesting landmarks, where you will solve puzzles, earn clues and engage is a multitude of interactive scenarios that will teach the law and help you solve the murder. Prizes will be awarded to the first three winning teams along with a lifetime of bragging rights. Another CL(U)E event will take place using the same template in Nashville on May 20. Participation is limited and fellow sleuths are “dying” to join, so sign up now using the provided links.

The TBA Legislative Updates podcast is all new with some brief updates on TBA-sponsored legislation. Join TBA Director of Public Policy & Government Affairs Berkley Schwarz and Adams and Reese attorney and TBA lobbyist Ashley Harbin for the latest from the Tennessee General Assembly. Are you interested in following along with the progress of TBA bills? The TBA’s new Bill Tracker webpage allows you to see a real-time tracking of what’s happening with our legislation. Legislative Updates airs every Thursday on the TBA’s Facebook page. It is also released as a podcast on the same day and can be found on the TBA’s website or wherever you listen to podcasts.  

Tennessee legal groups were honored last month with the 2022 Louis M. Brown Award for Legal Access for their work in producing Virtual Debt Relief Clinics. The award, given by the ABA Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services, was presented virtually at the ABA Mid-Year Meeting. The review committee said the clinic was selected for its focus on increasing legal services to those of modest means and for its innovative use of technology. Since launching the initiative in 2020, the groups have held four clinics in the Eastern Division of the state. Participants include the TBA Young Lawyers Division, Knoxville Bar Association, Legal Aid of East Tennessee, Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services and the Tennessee Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Suzanne Bauknight attended each clinic to provide an overview of Chapter 7 bankruptcy procedure. Volunteer attorneys were then paired with clients to provide personalized advice in private Zoom breakout rooms. With the success of the initial clinics, the groups plan to expand the service statewide this spring.

Martin Trimiew, assistant vice president and legal counsel at Unum Insurance in Chattanooga, co-hosts this month’s episode of the TBA BarBuzz podcast. In addition to legal news and bar association events, Trimew discusses his efforts to help revive Chattanooga’s S.L. Hutchins Bar Association — a voluntary association founded to help address issues, interests and concerns of African-American and other attorneys of color in the Greater Chattanooga area. The S.L. Hutchins bar was established in the late 1980s by prominent Chattanooga attorneys Judge Walter Williams, Rheubin Taylor, Judge Curtis Collier, Ardena Garth and John McClarty. It is actively seeking financial sponsorship and corporate allyship from law firms and corporations to aid in its revitalization and to continue its traditions. To help in its mission or to get involved, email Martin Trimiew. BarBuzz is part of the TBA Podcast Network and can be found on the TBA’s website or anywhere you listen to podcasts.  

A bill that seeks to eliminate ranked choice voting has passed the state House and Senate, the Daily Memphian reports. Also known as instant runoff voting, the method allows voters to choose candidates by order of preference. If no candidate gets a majority, the person with the fewest votes is eliminated. Those who ranked the losing contender first will have their second option counted. The bill’s co-sponsors, Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, and Rep. Kevin Vaughan, R-Collierville, argue ranked choice is “confusing and complex” and ultimately leads to “lack of confidence in the vote totals.” The measure now awaits Gov. Bill Lee’s signature.