Jessica Ann Cox, a stepmom accused of tortuous abuse of her stepsons, has requested new legal counsel be provided by the state following the Tennessee Supreme Court’s suspension of her former counsel, Robert Vogel. Cox says she cannot afford to hire new counsel. Vogel was suspended earlier this month for having sex with a client in a court-appointed case and the incident has repeatedly delayed Cox’s case. Read more from the Knoxville News Sentinel.

Tennessee Supreme Court appointee Roger Page was sworn in last night by Justice Jeffrey Bivins in a small private ceremony following his confirmation by the General Assembly, the Nashville Post reports. Michele Wojciechowski, spokeswoman for the Administrative Office of the Courts, said a more formal swearing-in will happen at a later date. “It’s typical for judges, especially sitting judges that are appointed to a higher court, to have a quick swearing-in so that they can begin the work, which are later followed up by more ceremonial proceedings,” she said.

The vacant space on the Supreme Court in the wake of Justice Antonin Scalia’s death is not likely to be filled with an originalist and this will cause the originalism to "fade away," Eric Posner says in his blog. Posner, a professor at University of Chicago Law School, says the gap in ideology on the High Court leaves legal scholars writing on originalism with no audience but themselves. “The audience for originalist scholarship — and I mean the audience with the power to use originalist scholarship to change people’s behavior and thereby to validate the importance of the scholarship — consists entirely of nine people: the justices of the Supreme Court,” he writes.

The Defendant, Bobby Joe Campbell, entered guilty pleas to two counts of aggravated assault, a Class C felony, and two counts of failure to appear, a Class E felony, with the manner and service of his sentence to be determined by the trial court. See T.C.A. §§ 39- 13-102, -13-111, -16-609(e). The trial court merged the aggravated assault convictions and imposed a consecutive term of five years? incarceration for aggravated assault and one and a half years? incarceration for each count of failure to appear.

An attorney from Georgia, who had been admitted to practice pro hac vice in a contested case hearing before the Tennessee Health Services and Development Agency, had his privilege to practice revoked by the Administrative Judge based upon representations he made as to the status of related federal litigation. On review by the Chancery Court, the revocation was affirmed. Discerning no error, we affirm the judgment of the Chancellor.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today removed the disability inactive status of Davidson County lawyer Ashley Denise Preston. However, the Court noted that Preston’s license to practice law will not be returned to active status until the resolution of any disciplinary proceedings pending before the Board of Professional Responsibility. She must also satisfy any outstanding continuing legal education obligations. Read the BPR release.

WZTV reports on the efforts of Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall to change the way the judicial system handles mental health cases. The initiative comes after two recent Nashville incidents, including a man who was jailed after climbing on an interstate sign while reportedly experiencing a mental health crisis. Hall said plans are underway to build a new treatment facility to house inmates after being arrested.

A ruling Friday by Davidson County Circuit Judge Amanda McClendon will keep the election to replace Metro Councilman Loniel Greene on the ballot in August, The Tennessean reports. A resident sued Metro seeking a special election in April. Metro attorney Lora Fox argued that Greene’s resignation does not trigger a special election; McClendon said the lawsuit lacked sufficient standing.

Third Judicial District Attorney General Dan Armstrong has requested that investigators with the Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities contact his office and police after every confirmed case of abuse and neglect at every state and privately-run group homes. The request comes after a DIDD investigation revealed cases involving people with intellectual disabilities in Greene County were never reported to police, WJHL reports.

Despite opposition from protestors, the state Senate on Monday approved a resolution (SJR 0467) requiring Attorney General Herbert Slatery to sue the federal government over a federal refugee resettlement program. The move comes after Gov. Bill Haslam last week expressed “concerns” over the need for the measure, the Associated Press reports. Sponsor Sen. Majority Leader Mark Norris, R-Collierville, argued the state has a right to control its own money. He said the General Assembly will hire its own lawyer if Slatery declines to get involved. Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, voted against the measure, saying, "(It) is misguided and really betrays the values of who we are."