Plaintiff filed a complaint against the Governor, all state appellate court judges, the Tennessee Republican Party, and the Tennessee Democratic Party in which she alleges, inter alia, that the Tennessee Plan and statutes providing for the appointment of special and senior judges violate her state and federal constitutional rights. The defendants filed motions to dismiss, arguing that Plaintiff lacked standing and failed to state a claim for which relief can be granted. The trial court granted the motions to dismiss, and Plaintiff appeals.

The Young Lawyers Division has elected Christian Barker of Barker Nashville PLLC as vice president to serve for the 2016-2017 bar year. He will go on to serve as president-elect, then as president of the YLD during the 2018-2019 membership year. Barker has served as the division’s Public Service Committee Chair for the 2015-2016 bar year. The election was held via electronic ballot and was open to all young lawyers in the TBA.  

The retrial of former Vanderbilt football player Cory Batey began today in Nashville, WSMV reports. Batey’s trial has been severed from Brandon Vandenburg, who is also facing charges for an alleged rape inside a campus dorm room in 2013. Courtney Teasley, a new member of Batey’s defense team, told the jury that Batey was drunk and acted “as a puppet following commands from his teammates” during the incident. Batey and Vandenburg were found guilty in 2014 on multiple charges including aggravated rape. 

A report released last week revealed detention at Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County has become more dangerous after Shelby County Sheriff Bill Oldham took over detention operations on July 1. David Roush, a consultant with Juvenile Justice Associates of Michigan, explained in the report that detention for juveniles should not be operated by local law enforcement and cited concerns about unapproved restraint techniques constituting excessive force. The latest review comes after a 2012 U.S. Department of Justice investigation revealed deficiencies in the court system. Read more from The Commercial Appeal. 

The Pro Bono Institute announced its founder, Esther F. Lardent, has died. Lardent established the PBI in 1996 as a nonprofit organization to administer the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge®, a peer-to-peer effort she launched to increase the amount of pro bono services to individuals of limited means and organizations serving them. There are now 137 law firm signatories to the Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge® and 145 law department signatories to the initiative.

Sen. Steve Dickerson, R-Nashville wrote an op-ed for The Tennessean about his bill, SB 2342, which would preserve biologic evidence until the defendant is executed, dies or is released from prison. “…The cost and effort to maintain biologic evidence is minimal when compared with our duty to ensure that our criminal justice system provides every possible safeguard when dealing with issues of life and death," he writes. 

The Tennessee Bar Association's Online Express Renewal for 2016-2017 is underway. Renew your membership now and you won't have to mess with a paper statement or email reminders in your inbox. 

Rutherford County Mayor Ernest Burgess and Recovery Court Program Director Trey King discuss the new county probation department with the Daily News Journal. The program, which opened its doors Friday, was created after a federal lawsuit challenged the county’s use of Pathways Community Corrections. “We want to be sure we are not charging excessively. We want these people to continue to have the opportunity to thrive in a personal way,” Burgess said.

A challenge to the 2014-voter-approved abortion measure will be heard tomorrow in court. Amendment 1, approved by 53 percent of the vote, adds these words to Tennessee’s constitution: "Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of an abortion." The plaintiffs -- including Planned Parenthood of Middle & Eastern Tennessee -- are asking the federal court to order sate election officials to recount the vote, the Tennessean reports.

Sydney Rogers, executive director of Alignment Nashville, announced she will run as a Democrat to challenge House Speaker Beth Harwell, R-Nashville, for her seat. “Representative Harwell is in a position to make a difference, and she has become the protector of the status quo,” said Rogers, who is also an administrator at Nashville State Community College. The Tennessean reports Rogers will run for the seat in House District 56, which contains some of Davidson County’s most conservative neighborhoods.