Newly elected General Sessions Judge Melissa Blackburn has fired two Davidson County Mental Health Court employees, the Tennessean reports. Two weeks ago Blackburn asked all court employees to resign and reapply for their jobs. Two of the five were told Tuesday that they would not be rehired. 

Halliburton's agreement to pay more than $1 billion to settle numerous claims involving the 2010 BP Gulf of Mexico oil spill could be a way for the company and victims of the spill to avoid years of costly litigation, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports from the Associated Press. A federal judge still has to approve the settlement and rule on the extent to which parties, including Halliburton, were negligent in the deadly explosion of the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig. Those rulings could affect plaintiffs' decisions on whether to participate in the settlement, which was announced Tuesday. 

U.S. Supreme Court justices are increasingly citing in their opinions facts contained within friend-of-the-court briefs — a perilous trend, law professor Allison Orr Larson from the College of William and Mary says in a recent New York Times article. Some amicus briefs are careful and valuable, citing peer-reviewed studies and noting contrary evidence, while others cite more questionable materials. Some “studies” presented in amicus briefs were paid for or conducted by the group that submitted the brief and published only on the Internet. Others seem to have been created for the purpose of influencing the court. Over the five terms from 2008 to 2013, the court’s opinions cited factual assertions from amicus briefs 124 times, Larsen found. The trend is at odds with the ordinary role of appellate courts, which are not supposed to be in the business of determining facts. That is the job of the trial court, where evidence is submitted, sifted and subjected to the adversary process, the article notes.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today upheld a 30-day suspension for Nashville attorney William Caldwell Hancock for his conduct in a bankruptcy case, which included sending an email to the judge calling him “a bully and clown.” In 2011, a BPR hearing panel found that Hancock had violated five Rules of Professional Conduct and suspended his law license. Justice Cornelia A. Clark concurred with the court's decision to uphold the suspension, but wrote in a seperate opinion that the the record contained "substantial ... evidence" that Hancock sent an email disparaging the judge to a third party, which would be a sanctionable offense. Chief Justice Gary R. Wade disagreed with a portion of the Court’s decision, concluding in a separate opinion that Hancock’s misbehavior, although offensive, did not disrupt or interfere with the proceedings in the bankruptcy court because the email was sent more than nine months after the bankruptcy judge issued his ruling. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more.

Metro Police officers have recaptured most of the 32 teens who escaped from the Woodland Hills Youth Development Center on late Monday, the Tennessean reports. Metro Police is teaming with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to track down the six remaining escapees.

Nominations for TBA Public Service Awards are due by Friday. The annual awards recognize lawyers and law students who have shown exceptional commitment to increasing access to justice to individuals and communities. Caregories are: work performed by an attorney employed by an organization primarily involved in providing legal representation to the indigent, work performed by a private attorney and work performed by a law student volunteer. Nominations may be submitted via the TBA website or by email to Liz Todaro. Download a hard copy submission form to do so. Submissions should include a narrative of the individual’s accomplishments, the nominator’s reasons for selecting the individual and a description of how the nominee meets the award criteria. Awards are presented at the annual Public Service Awards Luncheon in January.

Judge Pam Fleenor collapsed early today while listening to her first argument as a chancery court judge, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. Fleenor interrupted an attorney and motioned to a bailiff that she was uncomfortable. A few moments later she collapsed. Attorney Phil Noblett called 911 and Fleenor was helped from the room a few seconds later, reassuring a room full of attorneys that she was “just hot.” She returned about 10 minutes later.

Newly elected Knox County chancellor Charlie Pridemore reversed an unsigned order he issued last week via Clerk and Master Howard Hogan that blocked a request from the News Sentinel to photograph his first day on the bench. Attorney Richard Hollow, on behalf of the newspaper and WBIR, filed an objection stating Pridemore failed to issue a signed order and make findings of fact to support his refusal of cameras in the courtroom. Today, Pridemore issued a signed order approving cameras in the courtroom. It did not include any explanation for his reversal. Knoxnews has the story.

Members of the Hamilton County Grand Jury said in a final report that the county needs to start "immediately" on funding a replacement for the Hamilton County Jail. According to the report, the jail is over capacity and understaffed, putting corrections officers in constant danger. Grand jurors said the county may wind up facing a costly lawsuit due to the understaffing at the jail. The Chattanoogan has more.

Two judges called on Congress last week to tap into its constitutional power to make the swamped immigration court system an independent judicial agency, the Commercial Appeal reports. Judge Dana Leigh Marks, president of the National Association of Immigration Judges, and executive vice president Judge Denise Noonan Slavin spoke out about challenges in immigration courts and the need for independence. The immigration court system receives 1.7 percent of $18 billion allocated for immigration law enforcement. So far, cost has been the objection to making the immigration court system independent, but it would be a more efficient system, the judges said.