Republican House Speaker Beth Harwell is seeking the opinion of the state Attorney General Robert Cooper on questions posed by Metro Nashville Public Schools attorney John Borkowski on the constitutionality of the state’s charter school law, the Tennessean reports. In a legal memorandum drafted last week, Borkowski concluded that Tennessee’s decade-old charter law “seems to impose increased costs on local governments with no offsetting subsidy from the state,” which he said violates the Tennessee Constitution. The memo provides a potential basis for Metro and local districts of the state’s largest cities to mount a legal challenge of the law that allowed charters to open in Tennessee. Nashville’s foremost champion of charter schools, Mayor Karl Dean, simply called Borkowski’s opinion “interesting” and stated “the attorney whose opinion matters most on this is the Attorney General of the State of Tennessee.”

Charles Traughber has been appointed by Gov. Bill Haslam to a seat on the Tennessee Ethics Commission, Knoxnews reports. Traughber recently retired as chair  of the state Board of Paroles after 41 years.

The Green Party of Tennessee has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to throw out Tennessee’s voter ID law, calling it unconstitutional and unfair to minority voters. “There is no justification for having the photo ID requirement, as there is no such thing as voter fraud,” said Alan Woodruff, an attorney in Gray who has represented the Green Party in previous lawsuits. “It’s overly burdensome. It affects minorities and the progressive-leaning voter more than the typical Republican conservative, and it was intended to.” The Tennessean has the story.

The Tennessee Supreme Court declined to hear the city of Brentwood’s case with the Williamson County Election Commission over use of the city-controlled library as an early voting polling place. The appeal to the state’s top court was the city’s last avenue after a state appeals court found earlier this year that the state code supported the Election Commission’s contention that it had the power under state law to determine which facilities to use in the election process. The Tennessean has more.

More than 40 Clarksville area firefighters, police officers, paramedics/EMT's and their spouses received free will drafting and other basic estate planning documents on Monday as part of the TBA Young Lawyer Division’s Wills for Heroes program. A local contingent of attorneys donated their knowledge and expertise at the six-hour program, which took place at the Clarksville Police Department Headquarters. To date, more than 500 TBA lawyers have volunteered their time to serve more than 2,000 first responders. The Leaf Chronicle has the story.

Shelby County Chancery Court Judge Arnold B. Goldin has been selected by Gov. Bill Haslam to fill a vacancy on the Tennessee Court of Appeals’ Western Section. He will replace Alan E. Highers, who is retiring. Goldin, a graduate of the University of Memphis law school, was appointed chancellor in 2002 by then-governor Don Sundquist, was elected in 2004 and was re-elected to a full eight-year term in 2008. "Chancellor Goldin has done an outstanding job and will be an excellent judge on the Court of Appeals,” Haslam said. “His experience on the bench and in private practice will serve the people of West Tennessee well.” The Commercial Appeal has more.

Dan Smith, a retired Marine judge advocate and former U.S. Attorney, has confirmed that he will challenge District Attorney General Tony Clark in the 2014 election, the Johnson City Press reports. “It’s my present intention to see the office of district attorney general,” Smith said. “I’m sitting here as a concerned citizen and I think it’s time for a new direction and new leadership in the office. That’s as general as I want to be at this point.” Attorney Jerome Cochran, of Elizabethton, has also said he will challenge Clark.

Neal McBrayer of Butler Snow O’Mara Stevens & Cannada has been chosen by Gov. Bill Haslam to fill the Tennessee Court of Appeals seat that will be vacated a year from now by Patricia Cottrell, the Nashville Post reports. “Neal McBrayer has a strong background as an attorney, and I am pleased to make this appointment,” Haslam said. “We are fortunate to have someone on the bench with his experience and expertise.”

In an opinion piece for the Washington Post, Attorney General Eric Holder asserts that forced budget reductions, due largely to sequestration, are undermining defendants’ legal right to an attorney. Holder states that draconian cuts have forced layoffs in the federal public defenders office, furloughs and personnel reductions through attrition. Five decades after the Supreme Court affirmed that adequate legal representation is a basic right in Gideon v. Wainwright, Holder writes that sequestration is undermining our ability to realize this fundamental promise, and it is past time for our elected representatives to act.

The Tennessee Supreme Court ends the summer with review grants in six cases. The sixth case – although arising in a criminal matter – has application in civil cases as well, considering when successor judges may serve as 13th juror. The case arose from a trial presided over by Knox County Judge Richard Baumgartner, who later resigned due to misconduct. A successor judge considered and denied the defendant’s motion for a new trial, concluding that he was able to fulfill his role as “13th juror” despite not personally viewing witness testimony because witness credibility was not an “overriding issue” in the case. The Raybin Perky Hot List has a summary and forecast on all six cases.