A federal court order that requires the Department of Children’s Services to limit the caseloads of foster care workers has encouraged agency officials to propose a $2 million increase in state dollars next year to hire and train more child protective services workers. As the number of children coming into foster care continues to climb, DCS plans to hire 45 more caseworkers, give them additional training and equip them with computer tablets to better documents child abuse and neglect cases in the field. The Tennessean has the story.

Derek A. Artrip was disbarred Nov. 14 by the Tennessee Supreme Court. In 2012, Artrip was temporarily suspended for failure to respond to two disciplinary complaints of misconduct for abandonment of practice and neglect of client matters. Although he sought reinstatement, Artrip failed to meet the conditions of reinstatement and, therefore, he has remained on suspension since that time. Download the BPR notice.

Lance William Parr of Birmingham, Ala., was disbarred by the Tennessee Supreme Court on Nov. 18. Parr had been suspended from practicing law before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee for neglecting his cases, failing to communicate with his clients and opposing counsel, failing to protect his clients interests, demonstrating incompetence and abandoning his practice. Download BPR notice. 

Rutherford County Mayor Ernest Burgess announced yesterday that he will seek re-election in 2014 for a third four-year term. During an interview at his office at the County Courthouse in Murfreesboro, the 74-year-old Republican said he decided to run again to help the county of 275,00 people complete projects to respond to growth, such as the new judicial building. The Daily News Journal has the story.

The U.S. Supreme Court will allow the National Security Agency’s surveillance of domestic telephone communication records to continue for now, CNN reports. Without comment yesterday, the justices rejected an appeal from privacy rights group The Electronic Privacy Information Center, which filed its petition directly with the high court claiming a secret federal court improperly authorized the government to collect electronic records.

Authentic Brands Group, a New York City intellectual property corporation, has bought Elvis Presley’s intellectual property and the right to operate Graceland from CORE Media Group, becoming the latest of four companies to own a majority share in the intellectual property assets of the late Memphis entertainer. Presley’s daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, continues to own Graceland and the artifacts of her father’s life, The Memphis Daily News reports. Authentic Brands will work with the licensing and merchandising rights, which come with a library of images, artworks, movie posters, recordings of Presley’s music and his television appearances.

Supreme Court Justice Cornelia A. Clark recently participated in the induction of six Tennessee women into the state’s Women's Hall of Fame, including two lawyers. Those inducted were attorneys Margaret Behm and Jocelyn Wurzburg, Dr. Wilsie Bishop, Inez Crutchfield, Dr. Shirley Raines and the Rev. Becca Stevens. The honor is bestowed by the Tennessee Economic Council on Women to those whose lives reflect exceptional accomplishments and devotion to improving the economic status of women and girls in Tennessee. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more.

Early voting in the last elections of 2013 in Shelby County ended Saturday with more than 7,500 Memphians casting early votes in the citywide referendum on a half percent sales tax hike. More than 1,000 voted in the special general election for Tennessee House District 91, the other race on the Memphis ballot within a smaller area of Memphis. Election day in both races is Thursday. The Memphis Daily News has the story.

The Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission is leaning against recommending to voters that they re-elect Appeals Court Judge Andy Bennett, Criminal Appeals Court Judge Camille R. McMullen and Criminal Appeals Court Judge Jerry L. Smith, the Tennessean reports. The recommendations are based on the judges’ job performance, including results from a survey of lawyers and statistics on how quickly they issue rulings. Recommending against keeping a judge has been a rarity since independent reviews began in Tennessee in 1994. Drafts of the reports are scheduled to be released next month, with a final decision on the recommendations to be made in March.

Deputy District Attorney Gary McKenzie announced his candidacy for criminal court judge for the 13th Judicial District, a seat currently held by Judge Leon Burns, who is not seeking re-election. McKenzie serves as the lead prosecutor of homicide and violent crimes in Cumberland, White and Dekalb counties. He is also a captain in the Army National Guard as an attorney serving as both a prosecutor for the military, as well as defense counsel for soldiers. MySpartaNews has more.