A membership survey of the Jackson-Madison County Bar Association showed almost 7 of 10 recommend or highly recommend the retention of Tennessee Supreme Court Justices Gary Wade, Cornelia Clark and Sharon Lee. Results of the survey also show that most members support Amendment 2, which would amend the Tennessee Constitution so that the governor would appoint Tennessee appellate court judges, subject to legislative confirmation, followed by retention elections.

The Tennessee Conservative Union yesterday announced its support for Tennessee Supreme Court Justices Gary Wade, Sharon Lee and Cornelia Clark in the upcoming retention election. TCU Chairman Lloyd Daugherty and Executive Director Kelvin Moxley cited the justices’ fidelity to the state and federal constitutions as sufficient reason to retain the three members of Tennessee’s highest court. Last week, the group announced its support for Chief Justice Wade but the statement said nothing about Justices Clark and Lee.

Davidson County court officers appear to be misapplying a new state law that was intended to cut down on frivolous arrest warrants by issuing summonses instead of warrants for domestic abuse suspects, a Tennessean editorial suggests. Domestic abusers are among criminals most likely to reoffend in a short amount of time, because of the level of anger involved, and the episodes only grow more violent and more deadly. Switching to summonses, for which there are no consequences if you choose to ignore them, may be the worst turn of events yet, the publication says.

A new organization opposed to retention of all appellate judges has sprouted in Smithville. In its roundup of campaign activity, Knoxblogs reports  that the Coalition to Let Voters Decide is urging a negative vote on retention of all 23 appellate court judges on the Aug. 7 ballot to “send a message to politicians” that the state should return to contested elections for all judges.

Two think tanks and a group of bipartisan politicians have separately stated that a national primary day is the cure for the polarized politics afflicting the country. According to Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow of governance studies at the left-leaning Brookings Institution, part of the answer to reversing polarization is getting more people to vote. Less than 50 percent of the population votes in presidential races, and it is even lower for congressional elections and primaries. A separate report released in late June by a group including three former senators and a former governor in conjunction with the think tank Bipartisan Policy Center also touted the benefit of a national primary day in order to reduce confusion across the country. The Commercial Appeal has more.

Advocates held the first in an expected series of public forums about starting a mental health court in Chattanooga Monday, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. G.A. Bennett, director of support services with the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, told the gathering that a mental health court would save Hamilton County money, reduce rates of recidivism and show caring accountability toward people with mental illness. Nashville's mental health court reports a reduced recidivism rate, a cost saving of a $250,000 and 83 percent reduction in the number of jail days for people with mental health issues.

Incumbent Democrat District Attorney Mickey Layne and Republican challenger Craig Northcott sparred over the issues and Layne's record during a recent debate at the Manchester-Coffee County Conference Center. The Tullahoma News has more from the 14th Judicial District event.

Nashville-based immigration attorneys Milen Saev and Rose Hernandez have announced the opening of Saev Hernandez Immigration Practice PLLC, the Nashville Post reports. The two partners, who previously practiced immigration law at Rose Immigration Law Firm, focus on employment-based, family-based and humanitarian immigration law.

Students can now earn a law degree concurrently with master's in finance degree through a new program offered this fall by Vanderbilt Law School and the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University. “For lawyers heading to Wall Street, understanding markets is critical to building a successful career in financial service,” said M. Eric Johnson, the Ralph Owen Dean of Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management. Prospective students should apply for admission to the J.D. and M.S.F. programs simultaneously. Spaces in this three-year joint degree program are limited.

Not every candidate who claimed the Democratic nomination in the May county primaries is on the Shelby County Democratic Party’s endorsement ballot, Memphis Daily News reports. The sample ballot does not include Juvenile Court clerk candidate Henri Brooks, Circuit Court clerk nominee Rhonda Banks, Probate Court clerk candidate William Chism and County Clerk nominee Charlotte Draper. It also lists Wanda Halbert, the Democratic nominee for Criminal Court clerk, and Coleman Thompson, the Democratic nominee for register, in much smaller type than the other candidates, all suggesting questions of party unity continue to be an issue for Shelby Democrats.