Cynthia Lee Costner-Sexton was temporarily suspended on July 21 for failing to respond to the Board of Professional responsibility regarding a complaint of misconduct. View the BPR notice.

Williamson County CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children) recently announced new leadership for the coming year, including President Matt Roberts, Vice President Elizabeth Jewell, Secretary Davidson French and Treasurer Ken Johnson. The organization also recently received a grant totaling more than $24,000 from The Baptist Healing Trust, a private grant making foundation. The funds will help serve CASA’s mission to find safe and permanent homes for abused and neglected children in the county’s court system. The Williamson Source has more.

Two new groups have joined the battle for control of the Tennessee Supreme Court, News Channel 5 reports. The conservative organization Americans for Prosperity — funded, in large part, by the billionaire Koch Brothers — launched a radio ad calling to replace "liberal justices" Chief Justice Gary Wade and Justices Cornelia Clark and Sharon Lee. Tennesseans for Fair Courts, a political action committee led by Hendersonville trial lawyer Clint Kelly, aired a television ad in support of the justices and takes aim at the "extremists attacking our Supreme Court justices," pointing to several questionable claims made by the justices' opponents. As ads on both sides hit Tennessee airwaves, groups such as Justice At Stake and the Brennon Center for Justice have continued to monitor the flood of money in judicial elections. “The ads in Tennessee are just the latest in a disturbing trend of outside groups attempting to influence who sits on our courts,” said Alicia Bannon, Counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice. “People need to feel that judges are accountable to the law, not special interest groups pouring money into retention elections. Ads that politicize judges’ records on the bench undermine the independence of our courts.” 

Civil rights leaders at the NAACP annual convention in Las Vegas yesterday worried that dwindling African-American turnout in November could lead to the expansion of voter-identification laws that make it harder for that community to vote in subsequent contests. According to NAACP voting rights director Jotaka Eaddy, 22 states passed laws stiffening requirements on the identification needed to vote – a move that disproportionately affects poor and minority voters. Polls have also shown that Democrats, including black voters, are far less enthusiastic about the coming midterm elections than Republicans, who could win control of the U.S. Senate. WATE has more from the Associated Press.

State election officials are encouraging voters to cast their ballots early and keep Election Day lines manageable for the Aug. 7 election, which may have the longest ballot in state history, the Tennessean reports. Numbers show more than 143,600 people have voted through Tuesday. In Knoxville, a group of lawyers is encouraging area law firms to allow attorneys and staff a longer lunch break in order to vote at the City County Building. All Knoxville lawyers also are invited to gather on the patio of the First Tennessee Plaza at 11:30 a.m. to enjoy refreshments before voting opens at noon.

Three nonprofit legal firms today filed a class-action lawsuit against the state of Tennessee, contending TennCare illegally denied residents of Medicaid coverage, the Tennessean reports. The Southern Poverty Law Center, the Tennessee Justice Center and the National Health Law Program are representing the plaintiffs in the suit, which comes on the heels of a letter the federal Medicaid director sent state officials for failing to meet six of seven critical success factors required by federal health care law. According to the groups’ joint press release, Tennessee makes it harder than any other state to enroll in its Medicaid program by forcing applicants to apply for TennCare through the federal Health Insurance Marketplace website, which was not designed for this purpose.

Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Gary Wade and Justices Cornelia Clark and Sharon Lee have been making appearances across Tennessee this week to talk with voters in advance of the Aug. 7 retention elections. Justice Wade made a stop in Dayton at the Rhea County Courthouse, Justice Clark visited the Coffee County Justice Center in Manchester and Justice Lee greeted local residents at the Dyer County Courthouse. Wade refuted claims stated in an attack ad that the three are “liberal justices,” saying partisan politics has no place in the judicial branch. Lee made similar remarks. "The bottom line is they are trying to put politics in the courtroom," she said. "When we go into court, we leave our politics at the door. My job is to uphold the constitution and uphold the laws of the state.”

Voters won’t decide the issue until November, but the fundraising, education and organizational battle is already in full swing over a proposed Tennessee constitutional amendment granting state lawmakers more power over abortion laws. According to campaign finance disclosures, abortion opponents raised over $500,000 as of June 30, while supporters of abortion rights have raised a little over $360,000. The Columbia Daily Herald has more.

Campaign spending in the Tennessee judicial retention race is heating up, Justice At Stake reports, putting additional pressure on justices to raise big money and answer to interest groups and politicians. “Campaign ads on both sides that politicize judges’ rulings in criminal cases are particularly troubling,” said Alicia Bannon, counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice. “Characterizing judges as soft or tough on crime could put pressure on judges to decide cases with an eye toward how their judgment will be portrayed in the next election cycle."

The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) has an opening for a Pro Bono Coordinator to work with the Access to Justice Commission. The coordinator will cultivate, monitor and follow-up with new pro bono initiatives, especially in parts of the state where none currently exist. The position will be grant-funded through May 2015, with the possibility of a one-year extension. Visit the AOC website to apply.