Hillary Rodham Clinton will receive the highest honor bestowed by the American Bar Association, recognizing the former secretary of state for her legal career and for helping women lawyers advance. The ABA, which represents more than 400,000 lawyers nationwide, will honor Clinton with the ABA Medal at its annual meeting on Aug. 12 in San Francisco. “For Hillary Clinton’s immense accomplishments as a lawyer, the strides she made for women both professionally and civically, and for promoting the interests of the U.S. and human rights abroad, she not only deserves this honor, but also the gratitude of the legal profession and the nation,” ABA president Laurel G. Bellows said in a statement. The Washington Post has the story.

Tennessee Court of Appeals Judge Jeffrey Bivins ruled Thursday that Edward Thomas Kendrick II, who was convicted of murdering his wife 19 years ago, deserves a new trial, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. Judge Bivins said Kendrick may not have received such a harsh punishment --  first-degree premeditated murder -- if his lawyer had been better. Kendrick said he shot his wife by accident but his lawyer did not call for an expert witness to talk about the type of rifle used, a Remington Model 7400 30.06. Later, during a post-conviction hearing in 1998, a gunsmith named Henry Belk testified that the rifle could have gone off unintentionally. Belk testified that sometimes the gun fires even if the safety is on and no one grazes the trigger. Judge Bivins reversed the judgment of the post-conviction court and remanded the matter for further proceedings.

The Tennessee Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) spoke out yesterday at City Hall in Jackson against the U.S. Supreme Court decision to do away with Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act. That section required states and localities with a history of discrimination to submit their election laws to the Justice Department for approval. Although Tennessee election laws were not subject to  Justice Department reviews, Tennessee Conference of NAACP President Gloria Sweet-Love said it is important to guard the rights of a few to protect the rights of all. Read more from the Jackson Sun.

Injury lawyer David Peel writes in an opinion piece for the Millington Star that emerging technology is out-pacing the ability of the law to keep up. In particular, Peel discusses the pervasiveness of the Internet, social media and government surveillance. “What is legal and what is not?” he asks. “It is getting harder to say. Law cannot keep up with the changes.”

Student loan interest rates on new subsidized Stafford loans are set to double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent Monday unless lawmakers take action. Sen. Tom Harkin, the chairman of the Senate education panel, said none of the proposals circulating among lawmakers could win passage, and he urged lawmakers to extend the current rates for another year when they return from the July 4 recess. The Tennessean has more. 

Davidson County Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman ruled that former labor employee Annie Hendricks’ discrimination lawsuit against the state Department of Labor can move forward, despite the government’s effort to stop it, the Tennessean reports . Judge Bonnyman said Hendricks proved her job responsibilities were “significantly diminished” last year, which is enough to allow her case to continue. Hendricks, of Nashville, sued the state in November on grounds of racial discrimination, saying her duties were given to two less-experienced black employees. Assistant Attorney General Ashley Carter said the department’s position is that there was no racial discrimination and that Hendricks did not experience a material change in her salary or benefits.

Court of Appeals Judge Richard H. Dinkins spoke recently to a dozen participants in the Nashville Bar Association High School Internship Program. Dinkins hosted a lunch and spoke to students about seizing the many opportunities that students have as they make their way through school and beyond. Supreme Court Justice Cornelia Clark also spoke to the students, and Court of Appeals Judge Andy Bennett gave the students a tour of the Tennessee Judiciary Museum, which is celebrating its inaugural year. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more. 

The Judicial Nominating Commission yesterday selected two panels of candidates to be considered for the upcoming Court of Criminal Appeals vacancy in the Eastern Grand Division. The opening was created by Judge Joseph Tipton’s announcement that he will not seek retention in the 2014 election. The commission named two panels because the governor has the option of rejecting the first panel of names and requesting a second panel from the JNC. Since the commission will go out of existence at the end of June, it named a second panel to be used if necessary. The first panel included Criminal Court Judge Robert H. Montgomery Jr. of Blountville, Assistant D.A. Boyd M. Patterson Jr. of Chattanooga, and Circuit Court Judge Thomas J. Wright of Greeneville. The second panel consists of Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Edward Atchley Jr. of Knoxville, and attorneys William Jackson Brown of Cleveland and Samuel K. Lee of Clinton.

Glenn I. Wright has been appointed as criminal court judge in the 30th judicial district by Gov. Bill Haslam, the governor’s website reports. Wright fills the vacancy created by the death of Judge W. Otis Higgs in February. Glenn has a distinguished career with 30 years of experience in Shelby County, and I know he will make an outstanding judge,” Haslam said. “I am grateful for his willingness to serve the people of the 30th Judicial District.”

Gov. Bill Haslam today appointed Mike Faulk as circuit court judge for the third judicial district, the Administrative Office of the Courts reports. Faulk is replacing Judge Kindall T. Lawson, who retired effective June 1. “Mike will bring vast experience to the bench,” Haslam said. “He has served his state well in the past, and I know he will serve the citizens of the Third Judicial District well in this new role.”