Nashville School of Law will host its 21st Annual Recognition Dinner on June 6 at the Renaissance Hotel. The event will pay special tribute to the late Dean Joe C. Loser Jr., who led the institution for nearly 28 years and passed away earlier this month, just weeks prior to his retirement. Cocktails will be served at 5:30 p.m., with dinner and remarks following at 7 p.m. Visit the school's website to purchase tickets or call (615) 780-2241 for more information.

National Right to Work Foundation attorneys have dropped a federal lawsuit — which they filed on behalf of some Volkswagen (VW) employees — that sought to block "collusion" between the United Auto Workers union (UAW) and VW, Nooga reports. In February, VW employees at the Chattanooga plant voted against union representation in a 712-626 vote. A foundation spokesman said the organization will continue to monitor the situation at the plant.

The three state Supreme Court justices facing a retention vote in August talked with News Channel 5 about their battle to defend the independence of Tennessee Courts. Chief Justice Gary Wade, Justice Sharon Lee and Justice Connie Clark are facing a campaign orchestrated by Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey to oust them from the state’s highest court. "Well, I'm troubled by the partisan attack on our judicial system," Lee said. "Politics has no place in the courtroom.” 

The Jackson-Madison County Bar Association sponsored an art day at Malesus Elementary School in conjunction with Law Day. The theme of the day was “Democracy and the Rule of Law: Why Every Vote Matters.” The top five students received certificates, another five won honorable mention and the top three students received Law Day medals. Hewitt Chatman, president of the Jackson-Madison County Bar Association, and Jonathan Steen, president-elect of the Tennessee Bar Association, presented awards. The Jackson Sun has more.

Hamilton County’s chancellors denied a request for a list of Clerk and Master applicants, then ordered the records sealed, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. The chancellors are seeking a replacement for Lee Akers, who will retire when his term ends in August. Chancellors W. Frank Brown and Jeffery Atherton began interviewing potential replacements this month, but refused to disclose the names of the attorneys seeking the position. However, Elisha Hodge, open records counsel for the state of Tennessee, says the Open Records Act doesn't exempt applicants for public office. "Resumes, applications, references and other records related to potential employment constitute public records in Tennessee," Hodge said in an email to the newspaper.

Gov. Bill Haslam last night signed into law the bill to allow the electric chair to be used for executions in Tennessee if the drugs for lethal injection are unavailable. The bill passed the state Senate 23-3 and the House 68-13 in April. “I think the legislature felt very strongly we needed to have some sort of back up, in case the drugs for the lethal injection weren’t available,” Haslam told reporters today after a Memorial Day ceremony near the Capitol. “The Supreme Court has looked at the electric chair and said it meets its definition of not being cruel and unusual punishment so we made the decision to sign it.” The Tennessean has the story. 

Attorney J. Eddie Lauderback writes in a Johnson City Press opinion piece that “dark money” should not influence state elections and is an example of politics at its worst. He defines dark money as contributions or political funding, whose donors are not disclosed, usually from some out-of-state special interest group, for the purpose of influencing specific elections in Tennessee. As a lawyer, Lauderback says he is most concerned about dark money being used to influence the upcoming retention vote for state appellate judges, and he disagrees with Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey’s campaign to unseat Chief Justice Gary Wade, Justice Sharon Lee and Justice Cornelia Clark. “Fair and impartial courts are the cornerstone of our democracy,” he writes. “Allowing dark money to influence the independence of our judiciary is a dangerous practice and a slippery slope that leads to corruption.”

Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey told WJHL News Channel 11 that discussions he had in his office about unseating three Tennessee Supreme Court justices were strictly educational, and at no point did he discuss raising money for that cause. Ramsey's comments came in response to an ethics complaint that was filed this week over his actions. “That's what my office is for, to educate the public about issues, whether I’ve had people in there for workers compensation reform, unemployment reform, and now, it just happens to be about judicial elections,” he said.

Legal Aid of East Tennessee’s (LAET) Chattanooga office was recently presented with the American Red Cross’ Hometown Heroes Community Partner Award, presented by U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann. This award was given to LAET for their response to the Patten Towers fire, which occurred last year in downtown Chattanooga leaving over 240 people homeless.

Tennessee's Republican U.S. senators are calling for “an immediate investigation into reported mismanagement, incompetence, and corruption within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care centers throughout the country,” the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. Senators Bob Corker, Lamar Alexander and 23 of their Senate Republican colleagues sent a letter today to the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations with their request. “Specifically, the investigation should focus on how appropriated funds for patient care and record management were spent in light of allegations of concerted efforts to present inaccurate and misleading information about patient wait times in order to ensure VA employees qualified for personal bonuses,” the senators wrote.