David Rivera was nominated yesterday to be U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee by President Barack Obama. Rivera has been the acting federal prosecutor since April 2013 when he replaced Jerry Martin, who entered private practice, the Tennessean reports.

Tennessee has filed a motion for a protective order forbidding discovery of information related to former Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt's illness and the circumstances surrounding her departure in the case of former Lady Vols media director Debby Jennings. Jennings is suing the University of Tennessee and athletic director Dave Hart over allegations that age and sex discrimination led to Jennings' forced retirement after working 35 years at the school, WSMV reports.

A Montgomery County Bar Association straw poll shows support among Clarksville lawyers for turnover in two offices: Circuit Court District III and the district attorney general. The straw poll, required in the Bar Association’s bylaws, was voted on Wednesday by association members and shared with The Leaf-Chronicle.

The law license of John Alley was transferred to disability inactive status on June 19. Alley cannot practice law while on disability inactive status. He may return to the practice of law after reinstatement by the Tennessee Supreme Court upon showing of clear and convincing evidence that the disability has been removed and he is fit to resume. View the BPR notice. 

The Memphis Bar Association Access to Justice Committee is sponsoring a legal clinic Saturday  from 8 a.m. to noon and volunteers are needed. The legal clinic, which will be held at the Shelby County Jail, will provide help to incarcerated veterans who have civil legal questions about issues such as disability compensation, child support issues, advance directives, eligibility for benefits and outstanding debts. Those interested in volunteering should contact Mark Berryhill at (901) 222-4819. 

Circuit Judge Mike Faulk said yesterday he had just completed his fourth round of chemotherapy and was on his way home to Hawkins County to take his place back on the bench. Faulk announced last month that doctors had discovered a sizeable malignant tumor in his esophagus, and that the cancer has spread to his liver. A Church Hill native, Faulk is a former state senator, county commissioner, and longtime Hawkins County-based attorney. The Times News has more.

Senior Judge Paul Summers on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit aimed at stopping the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro from building a cemetery, the Daily News Journal reports. Judge Summers determined that the Rutherford County Board of Zoning Appeals made a proper and thorough decision in approving the ICM cemetery while also providing adequate public notice. His ruling follows a recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court not to hear an appeal pertaining to a public-notice case from another group of plaintiffs who had sued to stop construction of the Mosque.

Sen. Bob Corker introduced legislation yesterday to bolster the government’s ability to help parents rescue children abducted overseas, the Tennessean reports. The bill, introduced by the Tennessee Republican along with Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, is named the Sean and David Goldman International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act. David Goldman was a New Jersey parent who waged a five-year battle to get his son Sean back from Brazil.

In a specially convened meeting Friday, Nashville General Sessions judges unanimously ordered that a new procedure be put in place to handle requests for early release of domestic violence suspects, the Tennessean reports. The judges’ order comes in response to the action of General Sessions Judge Casey Moreland, who authorized the early release of a domestic violence suspect following his arrest. The new order says that any request to alter a 12-hour hold typically placed on arrested domestic violence suspects must be heard by one of three General Sessions judges designated to take domestic violence cases. All parties — including the District Attorney, the suspect and the victim — must get a chance to be heard before any conditions of the hold can change.   Ben Raybin of Hollins, Raybin & Weissman PC provides more details on the 12-hour “cooling off” hold in a recent blog post.

Fifteen Republicans lawmakers have asked for the immediate resignation of state Commissioner of Education Kevin Huffman. In a letter sent to Gov. Bill Haslam on Thursday, the legislators -- including several with tea party affiliations -- accuse Huffman of withholding scores to conceal low results on the TCAP test. They also raise the possibility the department, in performing "post-equating," removed questions from tests to alter and improve results. Haslam spokesman Dave Smith accused the group of playing politics and denies the allegation of tampering and altering scores. The Tennessean has more.