Early voting in advance of the May 6 county primary election day kicked off today at 20 satellite locations across Shelby County. A list of the locations can be found at www.shelbyvote.com. Polls are open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Memphis Daily News has more.

The Governor’s Commission for Judicial Appointments will consider nine applicants when it meets May 13 in Nashville to select nominees for the Court of Criminal Appeals vacancy, the Administrative Office of the Courts reports. The candidates are Jeffrey Allen DeVasher?, Timothy Lee Easter?, Robert Neland Hibbett?, James Winn Milam?, Roger Eric Nell?, James Yeiser Ross Sr.?, Gregory Dale Smith?, Russell Fletcher Thomas? and Thomas Edward Tigue?. Judge Jerry Smith will not seek to retain his seat in the August general election.

Criminal Court Judge Monte Watkins ruled yesterday that California attorney Albert Perez Jr. and retired judge Eugene Osko meet state requirements to stay on the legal defense team for Brandon Vandenburg, one of four former Vanderbilt University football players charged in the June 2013 rape of a female student inside a campus dorm. Watkins also said that Perez did not err in making statements about the case in a local TV news interview. The comments by Perez, "although colorfully opinionated, do not rise to the level of material prejudice," the judge wrote. The Tennessean has more.

American Bar Association President James R. Silkenat today released a letter urging the Republican Governors Association and its chair, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, to retract its new video ad that attacks a South Carolina gubernatorial candidate for the criminal defense work he performed earlier in his career. Emphasizing that the ABA does not endorse political candidates, Silkenat noted that his letter does not support or oppose any candidate in the South Carolina race: "However, as leader of the nation’s largest lawyers’ organization, I am writing to express that the message the ad sends is wrong in the context of the American system of justice, and it must be rejected."

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has taken sides in the polarizing debate over the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT). Student scores on the entrance exam shouldn’t matter as much as they do, he told the American Spectator. “Law schools put too much emphasis on this one multiple choice test. What in life is a multiple choice test?” he said. During the wide-ranging interview with the magazine, the justice also discussed the importance of justices accepting change and his aversion towards attending State of the Union addresses. The Wall Street Journal Law Blog has more.

What has been President Barack Obama’s impact on the courts? Journalists are updating their analyses as November’s mid-term elections near, and Democratic control of the Senate comes into question, Gavel Grab reports. A Bloomberg News article published today reports that Obama has surpassed his predecessor, President George W. Bush, for the number of judges confirmed to the bench at a corresponding point in his two terms. The article also notes Obama has named more blacks, Hispanics, women and Asians as federal judges than any of his predecessors.

The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday limited the restitution that victims of child pornography can receive under federal law from individuals who acquire and view images of the child. Ruling in Paroline v. United States, Justice Anthony Kennedy said one user’s role in causing the pornography was “very minor” compared to the acts of the producers and distributors of the pornography. As a result, a $3.4 million award in the case before the court was vacated. The National Law Journal has more.

U.S. District Judge Kevin Sharp threw out a suit filed by 2012 Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Mark Clayton. Clayton alleged the Tennessee Democratic Party violated state law by keeping him off the ballot for governor this August. Clayton was disavowed by the party for his association with an anti-gay hate group and for an uneven record of voting in Democratic primaries. The party blocked his application for governor, telling state elections offices that he is not a “bona fide” Democrat. The Tennessean has more.

Lawyers may look up jurors or potential jurors on the Internet and social media, but they may not communicate directly with them — such as asking to “friend” them on Facebook. According to Formal Opinion 466 issued today by the ABA Standing Committee in Ethics and Professionalism, lawyers may pick through the troves of public information that jurors put on the Internet about themselves. “'The mere act of observing’ is not improper ex parte conduct, much as driving down a juror’s street to get a sense of his or her environs isn’t,” the ABA Journal reports.

Chattanooga businesswoman Patsy Hazlewood will run for the House District 27 seat being vacated by state Rep. Richard Floyd, Nooga reports. Her bid for the Republican nomination has already led would-be challenger Tom McCullough to drop out of the race, citing Hazlewood’s political strength on Signal Mountain and ability to raise funds.