The 5th Annual Solo in the Park autocross competition comes to Knoxville’s Chilhowee Park July 11-12. Sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America, the event features sports car enthusiasts driving a timed precision course. All proceeds benefit Knoxville Family Justice Center and Legal Aid of East Tennessee. For general event information, call (865) 637-0484.

The Hardeman County Commission recently met in its original meeting room at the Little Courthouse in Bolivar for the first time since 1827. The meeting made the site not just the oldest log courthouse in Tennessee, but the oldest active one as well. Bolivar's Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Little Courthouse's restoration. The Jackson Sun has the story.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has determined that a Nashville chiropractic clinic’s patient did not effectively assign his rights to insurance proceeds received from a third party’s insurance company. In an opinion written by Justice Jeffrey S. Bivins, the Court pointed out that the agreement’s language implies that the patient intended to assign proceeds from his own insurance policies, not proceeds from another person’s insurance. The AOC has the full opinion.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that a challenge by death row inmates to electrocution as an alternative execution method is premature and therefore unripe for resolution by the courts at this time, the AOC reports. In a unanimous opinion, the Court determined that the issue is not “ripe” because none of the inmates is currently subject to death by electrocution and will not ever be subject to death by electrocution unless lethal injection is declared unconstitutional or the Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Correction certifies to the Governor that an ingredient essential to lethal injection is unavailable.

The U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the lethal injection protocol in Oklahoma could indirectly affect Tennessee, where execution procedures will be questioned during a trial next week, the Tennessean reports. Davidson County Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman on Tuesday is scheduled to begin a trial that will determine whether Tennessee's lethal injection protocol, as it is written now, is constitutional. 

Former Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Penny White has been named interim director of clinical programs at the University of Tennessee College of Law. White will oversee 10 clinics, two practicums, and three externship programs, including the longest-running legal clinic in the United States. In addition to her new role, White also serves as director of the school's Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution and is the Elvin E. Overton Distinguished Professor of Law.

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating major U.S. airlines for price collusion and keeping airfares high, the Associated Press reports. According to the report, the department sent a letter to the U.S. carriers demanding copies of all communications between the airlines, Wall Street analysts and major shareholders about their capacity. The Justice Department did not confirm which airlines were being investigated. Four airlines — American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines ­— still stand after bankruptcies and mergers and now fly more than 80 percent of all domestic passengers. The Nashville Business Journal has more.

Sumner County General Sessions Judge Mike Carter was sworn in yesterday inside his courtroom in Gallatin. He takes the bench for the first time Monday. The former Gallatin attorney, who lives in Hendersonville, was appointed through a 15-vote majority of the 24-member Sumner County Commission in March. Carter will be the county's third General Sessions judge, assisting James Hunter with handling 30,000 adult civil and criminal cases on average each year, the Tennessean reports.

With a handful of Alabama counties still refusing to grant same-sex marriage licenses even as they issue licenses for straight weddings, a federal judge ruled yesterday that all must abide by court decisions allowing same-sex unions, the Greeneville Sun reports. The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans instructed judges in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas to wrap up gay marriage cases in their states in line with last week's ruling as well. The AP has the story.

After more than 30 years of service, Larry Craig is retiring this month from his position as city attorney for Kingston Springs. Craig officially steps away as city attorney on July 31, but said he's available as needed to advise the new city attorney and Mike McClanahan, the town's new city manager. The Tennessean has more.