Mayor Karl Dean on Thursday helped cut the ribbon for the Jean Crowe Advocacy Center in Nashville, WKRN reports. The facility, located in the Ben West Building at the Nashville courts complex, is a family justice center that will serve as a place where domestic violence victims can get assistance as they go through the Davidson County court systems. The advocacy center came about after the recommendations were made in a 2013 Domestic Violence Safety and Accountability Assessment, which was released a year ago. The 3,300-square-foot area is a safe place for victims to go on their court dates while waiting for their cases to be heard to avoid contact with alleged offenders while waiting for the court proceeding.

Republican U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander and Rep. Scott DesJarlais offered criticism instead of praise Thursday after U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced he would resign, the Daily News Journal reports. "Attorney General Holder's departure from the Justice Department cannot come soon enough," DesJarlais stated in a press release. DesJarlais previously co-introduced articles of impeachment for Holder and voted to hold the attorney general in contempt of Congress. Alexander was also critical. "I hope the president will nominate an attorney general this time who will faithfully apply the laws Congress has passed and not seek to impose policies the president wishes Congress had passed,” Alexander said.

The Governor’s Commission for Judicial Appointments will consider eight applicants when it meets Oct. 15 to select nominees for the vacancy in the 22nd Judicial District Circuit Court covering Giles, Lawrence, Maury and Wayne counties, The applicants are: Thomas Joseph Dancison Jr., J. Thomas DuBois, Patrick A. Flynn, William M. Harris, J. Russell Parkes, Leland Bruce Peden, Stanley Kurt Pierchoski and Larry Michael Roe Jr. The vacancy has been created by the appointment of Judge Robert Holloway to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, effective Sept. 1. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more on each applicant.

The Tennessee Supreme Court recently granted review to three cases. Criminal cases include election of offenses and DUI arrests, while a civil case will consider the summary judgment standard for cases still governed by Hannan. Read more about the issues and predictions as to how the case may be decided in the Raybin-Perky Hotlist.

CASA Nashville today celebrated its 30th anniversary of serving abused and neglected children in Davidson County. Mayor Karl Dean, Rep. Jim Cooper and Juvenile Court Judge Sheila Calloway were on hand to join CASA staff, board members, donors and volunteers in celebrating the milestone. “Please know how much we appreciate the work that you do, “ Dean said. “It is absolutely vital to the juvenile court, it’s vital to the kids here in our city, and it is just a critical service.” At the close of the ceremony, Judge Calloway read a proclamation issued by Gov.Bill Haslam declaring Sept. 26 as CASA Inc. Day in Tennessee.

Hamilton County District Attorney Neal Pinkston yesterday asked the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) to investigate the arrest of a Red Bank man beaten by police in April. Pinkston specifically asked the TBI to review the video that captured the events leading up to the arrest, the arrest itself and the circumstances surrounding the lack of availability of that video during early court proceedings. The Chattanooga Times Free Press has more.

Alberto Gonzales, the former Attorney General who is now dean of Belmont University’s College of Law,  made his first trip to MTSU yesterday to speak on "Law School and the Legal Profession." Gonzales' White House tenure, which was marked by controversy related to the war on terrorism and his personnel decisions, prompted a peaceful protest of his visit outside the Honors Building by members of the MTSU branch of the national organization Solidarity. His talk was briefly interrupted by students inside who disagreed with his views. They were escorted out of the room by MTSU Police. WGNSRadio has the story.

A federal appeals court today overturned one of five federal convictions against former Knox County Judge Richard Baumgartner, Knoxnews reports. The 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld four misprision of a felony convictions Baumgartner suffered in an October 2012 federal trial. The court overturned a fifth, ruling there was not adequate proof the ex-judge’s pill-supplying mistress was involved in a drug conspiracy when she first engaged in a deal with him to provide him prescription painkillers in May 2009.

The Tennessee Conference of the NAACP has endorsed a proposed constitutional amendment that would change the way appellate judges are chosen, Gavel Grab reports. “We want fair and impartial judges who will protect the rights of all people, not just the special interests with their campaign contributions,” said Gloria Sweet-Love, president of the Tennessee State Conference of the NAACP, according to a press release by a pro-Amendment 2 group. “We encourage all of our members to support Amendment 2.”

The Tennessee Supreme Court denied hearing an appeal from Shanterrica Madden who was convicted of murder in 2012 in the stabbing death of a Middle Tennessee State University basketball player. In March, the Tennessee Court of Appeals denied an appeal that argued Madden deserved a retrial because of presiding Judge Don Ash's ties to MTSU and relationships with witnesses on social media, among other issues. Madden's attorney Joe Brandon is prepared to take it to the nation's highest court, he tells The Tennessean.