A long-expected plan for a Medicaid expansion in Tennessee could be placed before federal officials this fall, Gov. Bill Haslam said yesterday. If the feds approve, an estimated 180,000 low-income state residents could be eligible for subsidized health insurance. It's the first significant development in months over Tennessee's ongoing struggle to expand Medicaid under President Barack Obama's 2010 health care law, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. The announcement drew criticisim from Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, R-Collierville, who issued a statement claiming Haslam has not conferred with the General Assembly regarding an expansion plan. State lawmakers earlier this year passed a bill to require the governor to obtain legislative approval before he can expand Medicaid under the health care law.

Cookeville lawyer Rachel Moses has taken over as president of the TBA’s Young Lawyers Division following Stacie Winkler’s decision to move out of state and relinquish her position with the group. Moses, an attorney with the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands, was serving as president-elect. She will serve for two years, completing Winkler’s term and then serving her own term as president in 2015-2016. To fill the resulting vacancy in the position of president-elect, the YLD Board appointed current Vice President Rachel Ralston Mancl to the post. Mancl is an attorney with Hunter Smith & Davis LLP in Kingsport. Read more about the transition.

Judges, defense attorneys and prosecutors packed the Knox County Criminal Court today to pay tribute to Division 3 Judge Mary Beth Leibowitz who is retiring after 25 years on the bench. Many praised her for her humanity and regard for the law. Leibowitz taught those who came into her court that “justice and compassion are not mutually exclusive,” said longtime prosecutor Willie Lane. Knoxnews has more.

Eight Tennessee lawyers have applied to be the next Tennessee Attorney General and Reporter. Applying to the Tennessee Supreme Court by today's noon deadline were Eugene N. Bulso Jr., Brentwood; Robert E. Cooper Jr., Nashville; Mark A. Fulks, Johnson City; William N. Helou, Nashville; James Douglas Overbey, Maryville; Herbert H. Slattery III, Nashville; Andrew R. Tillman, Huntsville; and William E. Young, Brentwood. The court plans to meet Tuesday to finalize details for the selection process and has tentatively scheduled a public hearing and interviews in Nashville the week of Sept. 8. The AOC has more on each applicant.

Incoming Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Holly Kirby and attorney Lang Wiseman spoke in favor of Amendment 2 Wednesday at a forum at the Memphis Bar Association sponsored by the Association for Women Attorneys. The amendment to the Tennessee Constitution would require the legislature to approve those nominated by the governor to the state’s appellate courts, including the Tennessee Supreme Court. Kirby said the amendment will bring “civility and finality” to years of debate and lawsuits. “This continued controversy destabilizes our appellate courts and undermines the system of justice,” she said. “This is an opportunity to resolve a simmering controversy.” Memphis Daily News has more.

The deadline for applying to become Tennessee's next attorney general is noon tomorrow, but anyone still on the fence about whether to join the fray won't have the benefit of sizing up the competition first, the Memphis Daily News reports. Under a policy set by the state Supreme Court, the names of applicants won't be released until after the noon application deadline has passed. Incumbent Attorney General Bob Cooper, whose term expires at the end of the month, and Republican state Sen. Doug Overbey of Maryville are the only candidates who have publicly announced their candidacies.

FedEx Ground lost a costly battle yesterday in a long-standing legal war with its not-so-independent contractors, the Memphis Business Journal reports. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that 2,300 individuals working for FedEx Ground should be considered employees instead of independent contractors. That could mean FedEx is on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars, as it may have to reimburse the employees for overtime pay and businesses expenses and give them access in some cases to retirement benefits.

Six Williamson County elected officials took their oath of office in a public ceremony last night at the historic courthouse in downtown Franklin, the Franklin Homepage reports. Newly seated Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Jeff Bivins administered the oath of office to Williamson County Sheriff Jeff Long, Circuit Court Clerk Debbie Barrett, Juvenile Court Judge Sharon Guffee, District Attorney General Kim Helper, Juvenile Court Clerk Brenda Hyden and Register of Deeds Sadie Wade. "You are performing a great service," Bivins said. "What I do would not be possible without your services."

Local Democratic and Republican parties have until Sept. 8 to select a nominee for the state Senate District 30 seat that becomes vacant tomorrow, a legal opinion from the Tennessee attorney general’s office says. Independent candidates seeking the seat being vacated by Democrat Jim Kyle would have until noon Sept. 19 to file a qualifying petition with the Shelby County Election Commission to get on the Nov. 4 ballot as well. The legal opinion sets the stage for executive committee “conventions” of both local political parties in which committee members representing the areas covered by the state Senate district would select their respective nominees. The Memphis Daily News has more.

Vanessa Pettigrew Bryan, Public Defender for Tennessee’s 21st Judicial District, will be officially sworn in tomorrow in Centerville, the Williamson Herald reports. Retiring General Sessions Judge Sam Smith will administer the oath of office as his last official duty after a law career that spans more than 50 years. The attorneys on Bryan’s staff also will be sworn in at the ceremony, which takes place at 11 a.m. in the Hickman County Courthouse. A reception will follow. The 21st District includes Williamson, Hickman, Lewis and Perry Counties.