Honorees to be Recognized at Upcoming Awards Luncheon

Richard Wirtz, University of Tennessee professor emeritus and former College of Law dean, died Jan. 3 in Knoxville. Prior to teaching the law, Wirtz worked with the Peace Corps, clerked for Judge Robert A. Ainsworth Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and practiced law in Seattle. He joined the College of Law in 1974 and served as dean from 1991 to 1998, during which time he helped establish both the Center for Advocacy and the Clayton Center for Entrepreneurial Law, and oversaw the renovation of the College of Law. Following his term as dean, Wirtz was a Fulbright Scholar. He retired in 2004. A celebration of Wirtz’s life will be held with friends and family on Feb. 16. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Compassion & Choices, the Tennessee Justice Center or Alzheimer’s Tennessee.

Thirty-three Tennessee attorneys and 33 out-of-state attorneys have been suspended for failure to pay the 2018 annual registration fee and/or noncompliance with mandatory IOLTA reporting requirements. See a list of all administrative suspensions here.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has issued a number of orders suspending Tennessee-licensed attorneys who have not paid their 2018 annual registration fee to the Board of Professional Responsibility and/or have not filed a mandatory compliance statement that eligible client funds are held in accounts participating in the Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA) program. The court also has issued orders for those attorneys who filed their IOLTA report but did not pay their fee, and those attorneys who paid their fee but did not file the IOLTA report.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has issued four orders adopting rules amendment that will go into effect on July 1, subject to the green light from the Tennessee General Assembly. The orders include amendments to the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure, the Tennessee Rules of Evidence, the Tennessee Rules of Juvenile Practice and Procedure and the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure. The court previously requested comments on the proposed changes, with the comment period ending yesterday.

Video teleconferencing arraignments at the Greene County Detention Center could begin in late February or March, The Citizen Tribune reports. A $15,000 Court Security grant was recently approved by the state Administrative Office of the Courts and the Tennessee Supreme Court. Circuit Court Clerk Chris Shepard and a team plan to travel next week to the Jefferson County Detention Center in Dandridge to see how the video arraignment system works there.