Dr. Carol Berz will be awarded the 2014 Grayfield Gray Public Service in Mediation Award at ceremonies Feb. 14 in Nashville. Presented by the Coalition for Mediation Awareness in Tennessee, the award — named after its first recipient Grayfred Gray, emeritus professor at the University of Tennessee College of Law and founder of UT’s Mediation Clinic — honors those who have made “innovative and lasting public service contributions through alternative dispute resolution in Tennessee.” Berz, who owns Private Dispute Resolution Services in downtown Chattanooga, is being recognized for helping pioneer mediation in Tennessee and chairing the mediation component of the Hamilton County Courts’ Pilot Project relative to Tennessee’s Parenting Plan law. Past recipients have also included Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Janice Holder and Nashville Second Circuit Court Judge Marietta Shipley.

Murfreesboro attorney Chuck Ward recently announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for district attorney general for the 16th judicial district, which includes Rutherford and Cannon counties. “I served the citizens of Murfreesboro as a Murfreesboro police officer for almost a decade,” Ward said in his press release. “I will use my experience as a police officer in addition to over two decades in the courtroom, in both criminal and civil litigation, to bring a fresh perspective district attorney’s office.” The Tennessean has more.

The deadline for submitting complaints in the Affinion settlement are due to the Consumer Affairs Division of the Attorney General's Office by Feb. 14. The multistate $30 million settlement with Connecticut-based Affinion and its subsidiaries, Trilegiant and Webloyalty, was reached last October following complaints that the company misled consumers into signing up and paying for discount clubs and memberships offering a variety of services such as credit monitoring, roadside assistance, and discounted travel. Consumers who enrolled in one of Affinion’s marketing programs via online data pass or live check solicitation may be entitled to a refund. 

The Obama Administration made some headway last week in its effort to reduce what it sees as overly harsh sentences for drug crimes, Associations Now reports. The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) is looking to commute the sentences of thousands of nonviolent drug offenders still serving prison time due to sentences imposed during the crack cocaine epidemic. The ABA Journal cites a New York Times report that President Barack Obama is looking to grant clemency to offenders as part of the administration's effort to "undo a disparity that flooded the nation’s prison system and disproportionately affected black men."

The Senate Judiciary Committee recently voted to advance the Smarter Sentencing Act, which would reduce mandatory minimum sentences for some drug-related crimes by half. But not everyone at DOJ agrees with the administration's position. The National Association of Assistant United States Attorneys announced its opposition to the proposal last week. And outside groups that have long advocated for mandatory minimum reform expressed concern that an amendment added during committee consideration creates a new new mandatory minimum in cases of domestic violence and sexual abuse.

The Tennessean and a coalition of other media organizations sued the city of Nashville yesterday over its refusal to release records from a rape investigation that led to charges against four former Vanderbilt University football players. According to the newspaper, an agreement signed by prosecutors and defense attorneys keeps video and photo evidence secret. Metro officials repeatedly have denied the Tennessean’s requests for records, including materials prepared by the university. The lawsuit, filed in Davidson County Chancery Court, says records created by nongovernmental entities and obtained by the Metro Police Department do not fall under any exemptions to the Tennessee Public Records Act. The media groups ask the court to order release of the records and pay their legal fees.

Timothy L. Mickel, a partner in the Chattanooga law firm of Evans Harrison Hackett, was installed as president of the Chattanooga Bar Association (CBA) at the association’s 116th annual meeting on Jan. 22. Mickel was sworn in by Hamilton County Circuit Court Judge W. Neil Thomas. Mickel has served on the CBA Board of Governors since 2009. He also serves as president of the Justices Ray L. Brock, Jr. and Robert E. Cooper American Inn of Court and is a past chairman of the Board of the American Red Cross of Greater Chattanooga, the Chattanoogan reports.

The Chattanooga chapter of the Federal Bar Association will hold its annual meeting next Wednesday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m at the Convention Center. Attorney Gary L. Henry of Gearhiser, Peters, Elliot & Cannon will be installed as president. The chapter also will welcome former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales as guest speaker. The Chattanoogan has more.

The state of Tennessee is scheduled to execute 10 death row inmates between April 2014 and November 2015 after it changes the drug protocol to be used in lethal injections, the Administrative Office of the Courts confirmed to the Tennessean. In October, state officials asked the Tennessee Supreme Court for execution dates for the inmates but opponents asked a Davidson County judge to halt the executions over questions about the drug the state now plans to use.

A proposed amendment to add further protections for employees who bring their guns to work was defeated in the Tennessee Senate yesterday, the Memphis Business Journal reports. The so-called "guns-in-cars" law made it legal for employees to keep their guns locked in their vehicles while at work, but confusion remains over whether they can be legally fired for doing so. A proposed clarification by Sen. Mae Beavers, R-Mt. Juliet, which would have prohibited employers from firing employees who were in compliance with the law, was defeated 23-8.

The Conference of Chief Justices unanimously voted in favor of a resolution supporting the National Association of Women Judges' (NAWJ) Informed Voters Project last week during its mid-year meeting. According to a press release, the resolution applauds the effort noting that “voters casting a ballot for judges rarely have available relevant, accurate, and easy to access information on individual candidates or on the role of the judiciary.” The non-partisan voter education project is focused on increasing public awareness about the judicial system, informing voters that politics and special interest attacks have no place in the courts and providing voters with the tools they need to cast an informed vote. Tennessee is just one of a few states participating in a pilot program of the project this year.