A new case has been added to the Tennessee Supreme Court Fantasy Challenge. Learn about legal issues involving the purchase of property at a tax sale in the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc v. Carlton J. Ditto, et al case before the Supreme Court. 

A long-running feud among the leaders of the Washington State Bar Association’s Practice of Law Board regarding access-to-justice has resulted in mass resignations of board members, the ABA Journal reports. “The Washington State Bar Association has a long record of opposing efforts that threaten to undermine its monopoly on the delivery of legal services,” four resigning board members wrote in a letter released Monday.

The Tennessee Supreme Court temporarily suspended Shelby County lawyer Michael Leon Harris from the practice of law on Nov. 6 after finding Harris failed to respond to the Board regarding complaints of misconduct. Harris is immediately precluded from accepting any new cases, and he must cease representing existing clients by Dec. 6. Read the BPR release.

The Tennessee Supreme Court's unanimous ruling grants Metropolitan Government of Nashville standing in its suit filed against the local Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) regarding the BZA’s 2012 decision to deny permits to install a digital billboard. Landowners and a company that leased the property said Metro Nashville lacked legal standing to initiate the suit. The Court determined Metro Nashville had legal standing and “can be considered a party that possibly could be ‘aggrieved’ by the actions of the board.” The case now returns to chancery court. Read the opinion authored by Justice Jeffrey S. Bivins.

Collierville lawyer Fred Auston Wortman III was sentenced to 30 years after he pleaded guilty Monday to trying to kill his wife, The Commercial Appeal reports. Prosecutors said there were recordings of Wortman trying to hire an inmate to kill his estranged wife. 

WJHL reports Greene County State Rep. David Hawk, R-Greenville, is introducing a bill proposing a September legislative session, saying the four-month window to make laws is not enough time. “We want to get to Nashville, do our business, pass our budget and get home as quickly as possible, but in this fast-paced world in which we live, there are lots of issues that come up outside the constraints of our regular session that really need to be addressed legislatively,” Hawk said. Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey said he does not support the proposal.

Sullivan County District Attorney Barry Staubus, who championed a new state law that allows drug-addicted mothers to be charged with assault to a fetus if they refuse treatment, said the law should be reworked to include meth. The statute currently only applies to narcotics like prescription pain pills, heroin and crack. Statewide, roughly 100 women have been prosecuted under the law, Nashville Public Radio reports.

Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris (R-Collierville) led a team of state officials, including Supreme Court Justice Holly Kirby, to a summit in Austin aimed at reducing the likelihood youth will be rearrested and end up in the adult criminal justice system. Humphrey on the Hill reports the summit is sponsored by the Council of State Government’s Justice Center and the MacArthur Foundation. “If we can get to the root causes of juvenile justice, we can intervene before it’s too late,” Sen. Norris said.

An estimated 1,100 students heard oral arguments today in several Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals cases through the Criminal Appeals Civic Education for Students program at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center in Greeneville, the Citizen Tribune reports. The program is facilitated by Circuit Court Judge Thomas J. Wright, a Greene County resident.

Montgomery County General Sessions Court judges are opposed to handing over much-needed court space in the Courts Center to the Montgomery-Robertson County Community Corrections and to state probation offices. "The state trial judges are … particularly concerned about convicted felons routinely accessing the fourth floor, where all major criminal trials take place," Judge Larry McMillan said in The Leaf-Chronicle. "We appreciate the county building new courtrooms for our growing community and hope that the decision makers will take into account the concerns advanced by the legal community as a whole on this issue."