Former Attorney General Bill Baxley and former U.S. Attorney Doug Jones — the prosecutors responsible for bringing justice in the 1963 Birmingham church bombing that killed four girls — told a Knoxville audience that the fight for civil rights is still a work in progress, WBIR reports. Baxley and Jones spoke at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church on Friday as part of the city's ongoing commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

More than a dozen federal appeals court judges violated federal conflict-of-interest laws over the past three years, throwing into doubt decisions in 26 cases, an analysis from The Center for Public Integrity suggests. The report found 24 cases in which judges ruled despite owning stock in a company appearing before them. In two other cases, the judges had financial ties to law firms representing one of the parties. When informed of the conflicts, all 16 judges sent letters to the parties involved in the cases, disclosing the violations. Several judges said their failure to withdraw from the cases was an oversight. WATE has more from the Associated Press.

The Veteran’s Treatment Court is seeking mentors to be trained to help Tennessee veterans who find themselves in criminal courts. The Administrative Office of the Courts will offer training for mentors in Nashville on June 23-24. Hotel room, per diem, and mileage will be paid for in return for participation.

Gov. Bill Haslam, former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson and former Gov. Phil Bredesen on Tuesday will help launch a bipartisan  “Vote Yes on 2” campaign in support of Amendment 2 to the state constition. The amendment would provide for initial appointment of judges on the Supreme Court and the courts of appeal and criminal appeals by the governor, with confirmation by the state legislature and retention elections by voters at the next statewide August election and thereafter for eight-year terms. The measure is one of four constitutional amendments on the Nov. 4 ballot. The Commercial Appeal has more.

Roger David Hyman was suspended from the practice of law for six months on March 31. A hearing panel determined that Hyman communicated with a person who was represented by counsel, threatened a litigant, filed a lien against a litigant that was later declared void, failed to appear at a hearing and failed to timely pay sanctions required by a court order. Hyman appealed the decision but the panel’s decision was affirmed by Knox County Circuit Court and the Tennessee Supreme Court. View the BPR notice.

Tennessee Republicans have captured the executive and legislative branches of state government, and now appear to be going after the top tier of the judicial branch — the state Supreme Court, the Times News reports. Three justices who are Democrats -- Chief Justice Gary Wade, Cornelia Clark and Sharon Lee -- will be on the Aug. 7 ballot to be retained or not by voters, and they can expect to face and an advertising campaign against their retention, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville, says. Ramsey says he will play an "informative role" in the retention election.

In an interview with NPR’s “Weekend Edition,” retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens urges the legalization of marijuana and says history will view the prohibition against marijuana to be like that against alcoholic in the early 20th century. The ABA Journal reports the 94-year-old justice recently released a book titled “Six Amendments: How and Why We Should Change the Constitution,” in which he argues for ending capital punishment and limiting gun rights.

The Oklahoma state House yesterday defeated a proposal to change the composition of the state’s Judicial Nominating Commission with a 65-31 vote. “You’re injecting an extreme amount of partisanship into the process,” House Democratic leader Scott Inman said about the legislation to alter the merit-based process for choosing judges that has operated for nearly half a century. Gavel Grab has more.

The Knoxville Bar Association today announced two events to recognize former TBA president and newly installed U.S. District Court Judge Pamela Reeves. The Chattanooga and Northeast Tennessee Chapters of the Federal Bar Association will host a reception honoring Judge Reeves at the Holiday Inn World’s Fair Park May 1 from 5 to 7 p.m. RSVP to bchasse@hsdlaw.com or dessauer@hsdlaw.com. The investiture for Judge Reeves will be May 30 at the Bijou Theatre at 1 p.m., with reception to follow in the Courtyard of the Howard H. Baker Jr. United States Courthouse. RSVP for that event here.

The University of Tennessee’s Hoskins Library is doing away with the historic exhibit dedicated to UT alum Sen. Estes Kefauver. The exhibit — which had been off limits to the public for years due to structural problems in the wing that contained it — was a shrine to Kefauver’s Washington office, including all furnishings and dozens of framed pictures of contemporary political figures like President John F. Kennedy. As a young lawyer, Kefauver stood up to the corrupt Crump political machine and challenged organized crime and his own region’s bitter network of segregationists. Read more about Kefauver at Metropulse.