Starting next week, voters in Tennessee and nine other states will be required to present photo identification before casting ballots in primary elections — the first major test of voter ID laws after years of legal challenges arguing that the measures are designed to suppress voting. This year, new or stricter photo-identification voting laws take effect in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia and Tennessee. The debut of the new laws in a few smaller-scale elections over the last year has exposed some problems, such as mismatched names, confusion over absentee voting provisions and rules that require voters to travel great distances to obtain proper documentation, Knoxnews reports from the Associated Press.

The 19th Judicial District debuted its first facility dog Wednesday in Judge Mike R. Jones’ courtroom. Orson, the two-year-old black lab/golden retriever mix, was specifically bred and trained from birth to serve those with special needs. In his first assignment, Orson accompanied and comforted a nine-year-old victim testifying in a child rape trial. He has become the third facility dog in Tennessee, although Clarksville is the first to receive a dog that works primarily from the District Attorney's Office. The Leaf Chronicle has more.

Shelby County Election Commissioners certified all but three names for the May county primary ballot and will meet March 5 to consider challenges to the residency of candidates Edith Ann Moore, M. Latroy Williams and E. Jefferson Jones. At the noon withdrawal deadline yesterday, Shelby County Commission chairman James Harvey dropped out of the Democratic primary race for Shelby County Mayor and Clay Perry withdrew from the Democratic primary for Probate Court Clerk. Candidates in the August non-partisan Shelby County Schools board and judicial races have until April 3 to file their qualifying petitions for the ballot, the Memphis Daily News reports.

Nashville officials will apply to host the Democratic National Convention in 2016, the Nashville Business Journal reports. The city was one of 30 cities that have been invited to apply. Due to a conflict of dates, Nashville declined an invitation to bid for the 2016 Republican National Convention

Former Democratic state Sen. Eric Stewart has pleaded guilty to theft and insurance fraud, the Tennessean reports. He agreed yesterday to the judicial diversion plea in Franklin County Circuit Court and was sentenced to two years of supervised probation and 100 hours of community service. In addition, he was ordered to pay restitution and court costs, and can apply to have his record expunged.

Orlando-based law firm Morgan & Morgan is opening a Nashville office, the Tennessean reports. The firm has numerous offices in Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Memphis, Mississippi and New York, and handles cases involving personal injury, medical malpractice and securities fraud. The Nashville office will focus primarily on personal injury and complex litigation.

There are two weeks left for citizens to nominate an elected official and/or an appointed public official for the awards named in honor of the late Probate Court Clerk Bobby Dunavant, the Memphis Daily News reports. Citizens can nominate someone through March 14 on a form on the Rotary Club of Memphis East website. The awards will be presented April 21 at a luncheon featuring a keynote speech by Sen. Lamar Alexander.

Eleven candidates for Rutherford County offices will appear on the ballot without competition including Circuit Court Judge Royce Taylor; Donna Scott Davenport, an incumbent who presides over Juvenile Court; Keith Siskin, an incumbent who presides over Circuit Court Division III; and Howard Wilson, a Murfreesboro attorney who qualified to replace retiring Chancellor Robert Corlew. The Daily News Journal has more.

Just over 6 percent of lawyers working in major law firms were working part-time last year, and 70 percent of those part-timers were women, a National Association for Law Placement survey shows. The percentage of part-time women lawyers dropped from 13.5 percent in 2012 to 12.9 percent in 2013. Only 2.8 percent of all male lawyers worked part-time, the study notes. The percentage of lawyers working part-time lags behind that of the U.S. workforce as well as for those employed in other professions — about 13.7 percent of people employed in 2012 usually worked part-time. The ABA Journal has more.

The Tennessean recognizes Black History Month by remembering the legacy of Adolpho A. Birch Jr., who became the first black chief justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court. Born in Washington, D.C., Birch earned his bachelors and law degrees from Howard University before moving to Nashville where he taught at Meharry Medical College, Fisk University and Tennessee State University, while maintaining a private law practice. In 1969, Birch was named a General Sessions court judge, becoming the first black Tennessean to serve in a countywide office. Elected by his fellow justices as chief justice in 1994, Birch became the first person to serve at every judicial level in Tennessee.