Herbert H. Slatery III today took the oath of office to become Tennessee's 27th Attorney General. The oath was administered by Gov. Bill Haslam and Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Sharon Lee during ceremonies in the Old Supreme Court Chambers of the Tennessee State Capitol. Slatery's wife Cary held the Bible while he was sworn in. View photos from the event.

Herbert H. Slatery III today took the oath of office to become Tennessee's 27th Attorney General. Gov. Bill Haslam and Chief Justice Sharon Lee administered the oath of office during ceremonies in the Old Supreme Court Chambers of the Tennessee State Capitol. Photos by TBA Executive DIrector Allan Ramsaur. 

New Attorney General Herbert Slatery takes the oath of office from Gov. Bill Haslam and Tennessee Surpeme Court Chief Justice Sharon Lee during ceremonies today in Nashville. His wife, Cary Slatery, holds the Bible while he is sworn in.

Newly appointed Attorney General Herbert Slatery once belonged to a country club that excluded racial minorities, the Tennessean reports. On his application to become the state's top attorney, Slatery listed his membership in the Cherokee Country Club, a private club that admitted its first black member in what was then its 95-year history in 2002 after intense scrutiny. However, he responded "not applicable" to a question about whether he ever belonged to a club that limited membership based on race or gender. Slatery's application did not say when he joined the club.

Seventeen members of the reality television show Duggar family visited legislative plaza in Nashville on Monday in a show of support for a ballot initiative that would give Tennessee lawmakers more power to enact abortion restrictions, the Tennessean reports. Amendment 1 seeks to overturn a 2000 Tennessee Supreme Court ruling which held the state constitution provides a greater right to privacy and thus to obtain an abortion than the U.S. Constitution. The Duggars cited a recently commissioned poll by Family Research Council Action, a Washington, D.C.-based group, that found 50 percent of likely voters in Tennessee — when read the full text of the proposed amendment — said they supported it. The campaign to defeat the proposed Amendment 1 on abortion begins airing its first television ad in the Nashville market today. Vote No on One Tennessee officials say it's only the "first step" in a statewide media strategy including television, radio and direct mail about what the group calls the "dangerous consequences" if Amendment 1 passes. The Chattanooga Times Free Press has the story.

The Community Legal Forum will host a forum discussion tonight at 7 p.m. in the Cleveland Bradley County public library’s Community Room. Three prominent Cleveland attorneys will openly debate probate and living trusts, as well as their need, their costs and their relevance. Panel moderator Jack Tapper has directed the standing-room only legal forum series since its inception. The series is a civic partnership between the Bradley County Bar Association, Bradley County Law Library Commission, the Cleveland Bradley County Library and the Bradley County Commission, the Cleveland Banner reports.

The Electric Power Board (EPB) of Chattanooga within a week will file a motion to dismiss the first of two whistleblower lawsuits totaling more than $10 million filed against it by former city contractor Don Lepard, who made the complaints on behalf of the cities of Chattanooga, East Ridge and Red Bank, the Chattanoogan reports. EPB today acknowledged much of what has already been widely reported– that it overbilled taxpayers for energy based on thousands of streetlights that were misclassified or simply missing. Yet EPB also claimed that a number of offsetting charges reduced an estimated $1.5 million in overbilling to just $17,000.

Family Dollar Stores Inc. says “certain state attorneys general” have launched an investigation into its proposed merger with Dollar Tree Inc. and Goodlettsville-based Dollar General Corp.’s ongoing attempts to acquire Family Dollar, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Family Dollar announced in late July that it would be acquired by Dollar Tree in a deal valued at $8.5 billion. Dollar General has made three offers to buy the North Carolina retailer since that time, but Family Dollar has rebuffed those advances to date. In its SEC filing, Family Dollar says it has been notified that certain state attorneys general are investigating the Family Dollar-Dollar Tree merger under antitrust laws. They also say they “will be investigating the competitive effects of a Dollar General-Family Dollar combination, as is the (Federal Trade Commission,)" the Nashville Business Journal reports.

The Governor’s Commission for Judicial Appointments held a public hearing Tuesday to interview candidates for the circuit court vacancy in the 21st Judicial District, which serves Hickman, Lewis, Perry and Williamson counties. The commission has submitted three candidates to Gov. Haslam: Deanna B. Johnson, David Henry Veile and Terry E. Wood. The vacancy was created by the appointment of judge Timothy Easter to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, effective Sept. 1. Visit the AOC website for more information on each candidate.

Judge Fred A. Kelly died Saturday at the age of 93. Kelly graduated from the University of Tennessee and later served in World War II, earning the rank of captain. He graduated from Vanderbilt Law School and practiced in Gallatin for some 34 years. Kelly, a lifelong resident of Gallatin, was elected mayor of the city in 1974. In 1983, he was appointed and later ran unopposed for Criminal Court Judge for the 18th Judicial District. Funeral services will be at the Hartsville Pike Church of Christ, located at 744 Hartsville Pike tomorrow at 2 p.m. Visitation is Tuesday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the church, and one hour before service. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Tennessee Baptist Children's Homes, Inc., P.O. Box 2206, Brentwood, TN or the Gallatin Library. The Tennessean has more on Judge Kelly’s life and legacy.

The Tennessee Court of Appeals yesterday ruled Tennessee has to turn over the identities of executioners to attorneys representing 11 death row inmates challenging the state’s death penalty. The 11 inmates filed suit in November in Davidson County Chancery Court challenging the secrecy surrounding Tennessee’s lethal injection procedures and the constitutionality of its backup plan, the electric chair. The court ruled that state secrecy laws surrounding lethal injection procedures don’t apply to court cases, which are instead guided by discovery rules. The Tennessean has more.