Judges Martha Craig Daughtrey and Deborah L. Cook made it clear fairly quickly they stood on opposite sides of the same-sex marriage debate, but their colleague, Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton gave fewer hints as to where he may come down when the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals decides the fate of gay marriage bans in four states, ABC News reports from the Associated Press. The cases heard Wednesday pit states' rights and conservative values against what plaintiffs' attorneys say is a fundamental right to marry under the U.S. Constitution. If the 6th Circuit decides against gay marriage, it would create a divide among federal appeals courts and put pressure on the U.S. Supreme Court to settle the issue during its 2015 session. The appeals panel did not indicate when it would rule.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is reviewing the deaths of two teens in separate apparent suicides within a three-week span at a Department of Children's Services facility that houses delinquent youth. Last week, staff at Mountain View Youth Development Center in East Tennessee discovered an unconscious 18-year-old who is believed to have hanged himself. He died the next day at a local hospital. On July 13, a 16-year-old boy fatally hanged himself in his room as other teens left to shower, according to DCS officials. The deaths come a year after the department underwent a reorganization and change in leadership after multiple problems emerged, including a failure to keep track of deaths of children on its watch and a spike in violence at its youth detention facilities. The Tennessean has the story.

Tennesseans go to the polls to vote in party primaries on Thursday but nobody really knows why, Politico reports. All other states — except Hawaii, which votes this Saturday — hold their primaries on a Tuesday. The federal government began formally regulating elections in 1845, when it chose Tuesday as the date for all federal general elections. That logic made sense to most states, and when party primaries came into popularity in the early 20th century, all but Tennessee and Hawaii adopted Tuesday as the standard day for both general and primary elections. Tennessee holds its presidential primaries on Super Tuesday, but Charles Sherrill, the Tennessee state librarian and archivist, says he has looked as far back as the records of the first state constitutional convention and cannot find a rationale for why officials decided to hold primaries on Thursday.

Voters, not federal judges, should decide how to define marriage said attorneys who filed an appeal yesterday asking the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether Oklahoma's ban on gay marriage is constitutional. The 47-page appeal was filed by Alliance Defending Freedom, an organization representing Tulsa County Clerk Sally Howe Smith, who was sued after refusing to grant a marriage license to a same-sex couple. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the couple last month, upholding a federal judge's ruling that found the ban unconstitutional. However, those rulings were put on hold as the case makes its way through the courts, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports.

Ninth Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Russell E. Simmons Jr. has found in favor of the state in the case of a same-sex couple seeking a divorce in Roane County, the Roane County News reports. In a seven-page ruling issued this week, Simmons determined that Tennessee laws declaring that a valid marriage in another state, but prohibited and thus unenforceable in Tennessee, are constitutional. “Both the Supreme Court of the United States and the courts of Tennessee have both found that the Full Faith and Credit Clause does not require a state to apply another state’s law in violation of its own legitimate public policy,” Simmons noted in his ruling.

The Knoxville Bar Association, Legal Aid of East Tennessee and the Tennessee Faith and Justice Alliance are teaming up to host a seminar on Sept. 16 for ministers of all faiths to learn about the resources available to help members of their congregations with legal problems. “The idea is to make them aware of how to spot legal problems that are impacting the lives of people in their congregations, and to inform [the ministers] of the various legal and social resources in East Tennessee that are available,” said Knoxville lawyer Ian Hennessey. The seminar will be held in Trentham Hall of First Baptist Church of Knoxville, 510 W. Main St. Cost is $6, which includes a sandwich lunch buffet. Those interested in attending should contact Vanessa Moore. Download a handout about the event or read more in Knoxnews.

Chattanooga attorney James Anthony "Jamey" Hewitt died from injuries received in a single-vehicle accident early Sunday morning (Aug. 3). He was 44. A longtime resident of Chattanooga, Hewitt was a graduate of McCallie School and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He received his law degree from the University of Memphis School of Law. The family will receive friends on Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Heritage Funeral Home, 7454 E. Brainerd Rd. Funeral services will follow at 2 p.m. with Dr. Thomas Quisenberry officiating. Burial will be at Hamilton Memorial Gardens in Hixson. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society. The Chattanoogan has more.

Students at the University of Tennessee College of Law will soon be able to practice trademark law before the U.S. Department of Commerce’s U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), school officials announced today. The college is one of only 47 law schools chosen to participate in the USPTO Law School Clinic Certification Pilot Program. As part of the program, UT’s Business Law Clinic will provide trademark legal services to independent inventors and small businesses on a pro bono basis. Students will represent clients before the USPTO under the guidance of a faculty clinic supervisor. "Branding has become an increasingly important element of promoting a successful product or business," said Brian Krumm, director of the UT Business Law Clinic and supervisor of the pilot program. "Providing our students the opportunity for hands-on experience with the trademark process will make them more effective counselors to businesses when they become practicing attorneys." 

Plaintiffs and attorneys in the Tennessee same-sex marriage appeal this afternoon said they were hopeful following three hours of arguments in six cases across all four states of the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. “I thought everyone was very prepared and the court was very engaged, and it was a very intellectual exchange,” said Nashville lawyer Bill Harbison, who argued on behalf of three Tennessee couples seeking recognition of their marriages in the state. The three-judge panel, which included Tennessee Judge Martha Craig Daughtry, peppered attorneys from both sides with questions over the value of the judicial process versus the legislative process and states’ rights versus the rights of individual plaintiffs. Other Tennessee attorneys appearing for the plaintiffs were Abby R. Rubenfeld of Nashville; Scott Hickman, Phil Cramer and John Farringer with Sherrard & Roe in Nashville; Maureen T. Holland of Memphis; and Regina Lambert of Knoxville. Knoxnews has more.

Election Day is today, Aug. 8, for state primary and general county elections as well as judicial retention elections for all appellate court judges. Polling locations will be open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Hamilton and Knox counties, and from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Davidson and Shelby counties. Contact your local election commission for information about voting locations and times. Follow election results from the Tennessee Secretary of State's office, which will be posting on its website as well as on Facebook and Twitter. Get information about following specific races here. The office warns that results may come out later than usual given the length of this year's ballot.