North Carolina businessman Keith Crisco, who was in a close race with former “American Idol” star Clay Aiken to be the Democratic nominee for the state's Second Congressional District seat, died today at 71, ABC News reports. At the time of his death, voting results had not yet officially been certified, though Aiken was leading by just 369 votes.

Nashville lawyers gave their opinions of nine candidates seeking to fill the upcoming vacancy on the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals in a poll released today by the Nashville Bar Association (NBA). Timothy Lee Easter, a Circuit Court Judge in Williamson County, earned the highest recommendation from the NBA members. The second highest level of support went to Russell Fletcher Thomas, a solo practitioner in Davidson County. The Governor’s Commission for Judicial Appointments will interview all nine applicants on Tuesday in Nashville and recommend three finalists to pass on to Gov. Bill Haslam. Judge Jerry Smith, who currently holds the Middle District position, earlier said he would not seek to retain his seat in the August general election.

Brent J. McIntosh of Cleveland was publicly censured on May 9 after a hearing panel determined that, while representing a client, McIntosh threatened to present a criminal charge against an unrepresented person for the purpose of obtaining advantage in a civil matter. View the BPR notice.

Funeral services were held for former U.S. Sen. Harlan Mathews who died Friday at the age of 87. Visitation and service were held at Harpeth Hills Funeral Home. The Nashville Ledger has more on Harlan’s life and legacy.

James M. Hivner of Bartlett has been named as the Clerk of the Appellate Court by the Tennessee Supreme Court. Hivner currently serves as the Chief Administrative Officer of the Shelby County Chancery Court. He will replace Mike Catalano, who is retiring in early June after more than 10 years as clerk. In his role as Clerk of the Appellate Courts, Hivner will oversee a staff of 29 at offices in Jackson, Nashville and Knoxville. He will serve the Supreme Court as well as the Court of Appeals, and Court of Criminal Appeals. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more.

Joseph C. Loser Jr., the dean of the Nashville School of Law (NSL) for more than two decades, died Sunday (May 11) of congestive heart failure. He was 81. Loser graduated from NSL when it was known as the Nashville YMCA Night Law School. After a lengthy career in the legal profession, in which he served as a Davidson County Circuit Court judge and a special judge on the Tennessee Court of Appeals, Court of Criminal Appeals and Supreme Court, Loser was named dean of the school in 1986. He then led an initiative to change the name of the 113-year-old school. Loser was set to retire in July. Visitation will be Tuesday from 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. and Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Woodlawn-Roesch-Patton Funeral Home & Memorial Park. Funeral services will be Wednesday at 2:30 p.m.

As young children, siblings Goran and Nina Musinovic were forced to flee from their home in Sarajevo, Bosnia, during the civil war in Yugoslavia. Today, they are both graduates from the University of Tennessee College of Law. After fleeing Sarajevo, the siblings lived with their mother in Serbia before immigrating as a family with their father to the U.S. in 1995 when Goran was 11 and Nina was 7. Both received their undergraduate degrees from the UT College of Business Administration, and today Nina will follow in her brother’s footsteps as she graduates from UT Law. Goran practices with Woolf, McClaine, Bright, Allen & Carpenter PLLC and Nina will join the firm of Butler, Vines & Babb after graduation. View the press release. 

Legal Aid of East Tennessee (LAET) will host its Annual Pro Bono Night next Thursday at Bessie Smith Hall in Chattanooga. The event will celebrate local attorneys who have donated time and legal services during the past year to aid those who otherwise could not afford an attorney. The highlight of the evening will be the presentation of four annual awards, including honoring Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee, an outspoken advocate for access to justice for all Tennesseans, with the Chief Justice William M. Barker Equal Access to Justice Award. Tickets are $25 per person. All proceeds from the event will benefit the programs of LAET. Learn more or buy tickets online or by calling (423) 756-4013, extension 1105.

The six law schools in Tennessee are celebrating commencement for the graduating Class of 2014 with ceremonies this month. The University of Tennessee College of Law welcomed Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee, who addressed the class during the spring hooding ceremony today. Vanderbilt University Law School celebrated commencement today as well, honoring 21 graduates with academic and citizenship awards. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito will speak at the inaugural commencement for Belmont University College of Law tomorrow at the Curb Event Center. The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law also will hold its graduation tomorrow at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Memphis. Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law will hold commencement May 17 at LMU Tex Turner Arena. Nashville School of Law will celebrate the commencement ceremony for their Cooper Term of graduates on May 24 at the Nashville Convention Center.

The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals agreed yesterday to a six-month stay of execution for death row inmate Charles Warner while an investigation is conducted into last week's botched lethal injection. The court reset Warner’s execution date to Nov. 13 after his attorneys requested the delay, and state Attorney General Scott Pruitt said in a court filing he wouldn't object. While the stay only applies to Warner, the attorney general and governor have said Oklahoma will not carry out any executions until the investigation is finished, which is expected to take at least eight weeks, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports.