The Women’s Political Collaborative of Tennessee honored Circuit Court Judge Philip E. Smith with the 2015 Good Guys Award. The award is given annually to men in the community who have worked to engage women in the political process and community leadership. “Judge Smith challenged the system in the area of domestic violence which paved the road for a close and honest examination of the problems the city of Nashville faced in preventing domestic violence and protecting victims of domestic violence,” Diane Lance, Special Counsel to former Mayor Karl Dean, said.

A Kentucky man had the right to shoot down a drone on his property, according to a Kentucky judge. CNET reports that William Merideth was originally arrested for wanton endangerment and criminal mischief. Bullitt County District Court Judge Rebecca Ward cited testimony from neighbors that the drone had hovered below the tree line while on Merideth’s property and said it was an invasion of the family’s privacy.

A panel at the Center for American Progress discussed the group’s new report “More Money, More Problems: Fleeting Victories for Diversity on the Bench" on Monday in Washington, D.C. The report advocates reforms that could help foster diversity on the bench, such as public financing for judicial campaigns. You can listen to the panel discussion online.

Members of the Tennessee Supreme Court and the Access to Justice Commission honored the pro bono work of more than 40 attorneys and law students along with law firms in a ceremony at Belmont College of Law yesterday. Justices Connie Clark and Jeffrey Bivins presented certificates to honorees. The recognition program was announced in 2013, as part of a recommendation by the court’s Access to Justice Commission. The Court will honor the work of pro bono attorneys in Memphis at the Memphis Bar Association’s Annual Meeting on Dec. 3. The application deadline for attorneys to be recognized is Nov. 30.

The Ben F. Jones Chapter of the National Bar Association elected its new officers and board members for 2016. Assistant City Attorney Felisa Cox is the new chapter president. Kevin Bruce with Hagler Bruce & Turner will serve as vice president/president-elect. Edd Peyton of Lewis Thomason will serve as treasurer. LaTanyia Walker with the Shelby County Attorney's Office’s will serve as corresponding secretary; Angelica Fortney with Bass Berry & Sims will serve as recording secretary. Assistant City Attorney Freeman Foster will serve as parliamentarian. Mary Beard with FedEx Corporation and Senior Assistant City Attorney Carlos Bibbs were elected as board members.

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands announced a new partnership with Metro’s Office of Family Safety to provide free legal assistance to domestic violence victims in Order of Protection hearings. Metro applied for and received a three-year grant to fund a Legal Aid Society attorney to recruit and train volunteer attorneys to represent Order of Protection practitioners. “In domestic violence situations, abusers likely control the family finances, and therefore, have the resources to hire an attorney. Typically, victims are left to fend for themselves,” DarKenya Waller, managing attorney for the Legal Aid Nashville office, said.

Special-interest groups accounted for a record-high 29 percent of total spending in state Supreme Court races in the 2013-14 election cycle, according to a new study by the Brennan Center for Justice. “As special-interest groups continue to pump money into judicial races, Americans are rightfully questioning whether campaign cash influences courtroom decisions,” said Alicia Bannon, senior counsel in the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. The report also found that lawyers and lobbyists were the largest donors to Supreme Court candidates – collectively responsible for 63 percent of donations.

More than 4,300 federal inmates serving sentences for drug crimes are set for early release this weekend in an effort to reduce the nation’s prison population, the Associated Press reports. The release comes after a U.S. Sentencing Commission ruling that reduced the potential punishment for drug offenders. More than 1,700 additional inmates who are not U.S. citizens will be turned over to immigration officials.

The Knoxville Bar Association will hold a Veteran’s Day Breakfast on Nov. 11 at 8:30 a.m. The event will include a presentation of pins to KBA members who served in the military. RSVP by contacting Wendy William, 865-522-6522.

The University of Tennessee College of Law highlights alumni working with firms and organizations around the world. “My legal education taught me to analyze a matter from all angles and how to take a problem apart and put it back together again,” says Brenda Morgan, who is currently working for the IRS at the US Embassy in Paris.