Chattanooga attorney Jerry H. Summers received the University of the South's Distinguished Alumnus Award during homecoming ceremonies at the university, familiarly known as Sewanee. Summers earned his law degree at the University of Tennessee College of Law, then worked as a prosecutor in the Hamilton County District Attorney’s Office before entering private practice in 1969. The Chattanoogan has more.

The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear arguments tomorrow in a legal challenge from death row inmates that has already postponed two scheduled executions, the Times News reports. Eleven inmates have sued the state over its lethal injection and electrocution procedures, claiming they are unconstitutional. As part of that lawsuit, they requested the names of the people who will carry out the executions. The state initially agreed to release the names to the inmates' attorneys, not to the inmates, but later reversed course, declining to release the names at all and putting the larger lawsuit on hold until the dispute is settled.

Bradley County Sheriff Eric Watson has announced the formation of an Alzheimer’s Directory for the use of officers and staff at BCSO. At the request of family members, a senior assist officer will respond to a residence to take a photograph of and collect information for the log book that will describe a family member with Alzheimer’s disease. All information, including the family member’s photograph, will remain confidential unless needed to assist law enforcement personnel identify and return home a family member who has wandered away. The Chattanoogan has more.

The U.S. Supreme Court has blocked enforcement of an Arizona law aimed at limiting use of the increasingly popular abortion pill, National Public Radio reports. The pill was approved by the FDA in 2000 for the first seven weeks of pregnancy. Since then, scientists have developed safer and smaller doses that allow the drug to be used through the ninth week. Arizona's law would force doctors to use the pill only for the original, FDA-approved seven weeks. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily blocked enforcement of the state statute, pending further litigation. The lower court said the law imposed "an undue burden" on a woman's right to have an abortion. The Supreme Court on Monday refused to intervene, meaning that at least for now, the Arizona law will not be enforced, and the "undue burden" test stands.

David Rivera yesterday was confirmed United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee by a Sneate voice vote. Rivera was nominated by President Barack Obama in June after serving as acting U.S. Attorney since April 2013. He replaces Jerry Martin.

Lawyer and law students in Los Angeles staged a die-in demonstration yesterday at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse, The Guardian reports. Such demonstrations have been held across the country in protest against recent grand jury decisions not to indict white police officers who killed two unarmed black men.

Candice McQueen has been named Tennessee's new education commissioner by Gov. Bill Haslam, the Nashville Business Journal reports. The Lipscomb University's College of Education dean will replace Kevin Huffman. In her prepared remarks, McQueen discussed the importance of making sure Tennessee students are "college and career ready when they leave high school."

Law school enrollment fell for the fourth year straight, the American Bar Association reports. The ABA today released national figures for total and first-year law school enrollment for the fall of 2014.The 204 ABA-approved law schools reported total enrollment decreased 6.9 percent from 2013 and 17.5 percent from the historic high in 2010. The 2014 total enrollment is the lowest since 1987, when there were 175 ABA-approved law schools. First year enrollment dropped 4.4 percent from 2013 and 27.7 percent from 2010, resulting in the lowest 1L enrollment since 1973.

A federal judge in Pennsylvania ruled yesterday that President Barack Obama's move to halt deportations for millions of undocumented immigrants violates the Constitution — but it's not clear that the ruling will have any immediate impact. Pittsburgh-based U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab, a George W. Bush appointee, became the first judge to rule on the legality of Obama's executive overhaul of immigration rules when he issued his unusual opinion in a criminal case. The Justice Department shot back that the judge was "flatly wrong" and his ruling wouldn't halt the implementation of Obama's immigration policies. WCYB has more.

The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services has been awarded nearly $1 million to expand the Morgan County Statewide Recovery Court and 28 participating county courts across the state. With support from the Tennessee Department of Correction, the federal grant will support 60 individuals a year, allowing for a total of 180 men to receive services during the three-year grant cycle. The referrals to the program will come primarily from felony recovery courts in Tennessee seeking more intensive services for their male defendants. The Chattanoogan has the story.