Williamson County lawyer John William Gautier was today placed on disability inactive status by the Tennessee Supreme Court. Gautier cannot practice law while on disability inactive status. He may return to the practice of law after reinstatement by the Tennessee Supreme Court upon showing that his disability has been removed.

Committees in the state House and Senate today approved proposed state and congressional redistricting plans, the Tennessean reports. Seven Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans advanced the map after hearing comments from three people, all who criticized the congressional proposal that would split Davidson County up into three districts. Charlane Oliver, co-director of the Equity Alliance, called the plan “discriminatory, divisive, anti-Democratic and blatantly racist.” Committee Chair Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville, defended redistricting plans, expressing confidence that the supermajority has “drawn the map that represents Tennessee well and represents communities well,” Bell said. In the House, the State Government Committee considered the redistricting bills without public comment. All three bills will head to the Calendar & Rules Committee on Thursday and could land on the House floor as soon as Monday.

President Joe Biden on Friday approved a Major Disaster Declaration for the state of Tennessee after parts of the state were damaged by straight-line winds and tornadoes on Dec. 10-11. The declaration makes federal funding available for Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Gibson, Henderson, Henry, Lake, Obion, Stewart, Sumner, Weakley and Wilson counties. Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster. Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide. The White House has more on how residents and business owners can apply for assistance.  

Gilbert Stroud Merritt Jr., the longest-serving member of the current 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, died on Monday after a battle with metastatic prostate cancer, the Tennessean reports. He was 86. A fixture in the judiciary and in state politics, Merritt sat on the bench for 44 years. He attended law school at Vanderbilt University and earned a master of law from Harvard Law School in 1962. His career included a stint as the U.S. Attorney for Middle Tennessee from 1966-1969 under President Lyndon B. Johnson, before  he was appointed to the appellate court in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter. Merritt was considered for a nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton, who ultimately selected Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Merritt was one of several American jurists to travel to Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein to help rebuild the country's shattered judicial system. The Tennessee Bar Journal covered his trip in an October 2003 article. Former Vice President Al Gore described Merritt as "A deeply intelligent and deliberative legal thinker, he was an ardent defender of the liberties that form the foundations of our Constitution…” Funeral services will be held for Merritt at the Christ Episcopal Cathedral in Nashville on Jan. 22 at 11:30 a.m. CST, followed by a visitation and reception at the Grand Hyatt Hotel.

The TBA’s BarBuzz podcast is back with the first episode of 2022! Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law Professor Akram Faizer co-hosts the January episode, bringing listeners the biggest news from the Tennessee legal community and the latest updates on bar association events and programs. You can listen to BarBuzz on the TBA’s website or anywhere you listen to podcasts. Like what you hear? Be sure to like and subscribe to all shows from the TBA Podcast Network.

State lawmakers have introduced a bill that would start the process of removing Rutherford County Juvenile Court Judge Donna Scott Davenport following reports that revealed the county’s juvenile justice system, under Davenport’s direction, has been illegally arresting and jailing children. Senate Joint Resolution 0788, sponsored by state Sen. Heidi Campbell, D-Nashville, and co-sponsor Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, would allow for the creation of House and Senate committees to consider Davenport’s removal. Rep. Tim Rudd, R-Murfreesboro, sponsored similar legislation in 2020 that sought to remove Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle after she ordered increased access to absentee ballots during the August primary elections. That measure failed. Davenport has said she does plan to run for re-election, but for the first time, is being challenged by the county’s senior judicial commissioner Jacob Flatt and former Legal Aid Society attorney Andrae Crismon. Read more on the story from WPLN. 

The Board of Professional Responsibility of the Tennessee Supreme Court today censured Shelby County lawyer Christopher Lynn Taylor. While awaiting summary judgement, Taylor’s client in the matter filed a pro se motion to “disqualify” Taylor. Taylor sent a closing letter and provided the client with a copy of her file, but failed to withdraw from the pending court matter. He then failed to inform his client of the decision on summary judgment and failed to represent her on a motion for costs filed by the defendant, including at several court hearings on the motion for costs.

Probate and estate attorney Andra Hedrick has entered the race for judge in Davidson County’s Seventh Circuit Court, the Nashville Post reports. Hedrick has practiced with the Nashville law firm Gullett Sanford Robinson & Martin since 2000 and has also taught estate planning at the Nashville School of Law. She is a member of the TBA’s Dispute Resolution and Estate Planning & Probate sections. “I am seeking to become Davidson County’s next — and first ever female — probate judge,” she said in a release. “This is a natural extension of my work for the last 23 years. If elected, I will apply my experience and deep understanding of estate and probate law to diligently serve all who come before me, with the utmost compassion, respect and impartiality.”

Rutherford County attorney Andrae Crismon yesterday announced his candidacy for juvenile court judge, WGNS Radio reports. Crismon recently announced his departure from the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands where he worked for nearly 15 years, serving eight years as managing attorney and finally as director of the Volunteer Lawyers Program. If elected, Crismon says he would “use every opportunity possible to provide a road map for the restoration of youth who have committed an offense,” and would implement a C.A.R.E platform – communication, adjudication, restoration and education. Crismon is pastor at Higher Ground Worship Center in Murfreesboro and has served on the board of directors for Greenhouse Ministries, Doors of Hope, and Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Center. He is the Middle Tennessee delegate on the TBA’s Access to Justice Committee and a member of the TBA Leadership Law program’s 2015 class.

Memphis City Court Judge Tarik Sugarmon made his campaign for juvenile court judge official this weekend via an online announcement, the Daily Memphian reports. Sugarmon will challenge incumbent Judge Dan Michael in the nonpartisan race. The two previously faced off for the same role in 2014, which saw Michael win the seat by 3,752 votes. In his online message, Sugarmon, the son of the late Judge Russell Sugarmon and historian Miriam DeCosta Willis, highlighted his connection with Memphis and the city’s civil rights movement. He also spoke of the high number of juveniles who are transferred out of the court for trial as adults.