Chancellor Jerri S. Bryant of the 10th Judicial District was sworn in Friday by Chief Justice Gary Wade as president of the Tennessee Judicial Conference, the Administrative Office of the Courts reports. Bryant succeeds Circuit Court Judge Robert L. Holloway Jr. of Columbia, who has served as TJC president since last June. “I am excited to serve the judges of this state. The Tennessee Judicial Conference was created in 1953 to provide judges with opportunities through education and other activities that allow us to utilize the combined and vast experience of judges across the state to improve the level of service to the citizens of the State of Tennessee,” Bryant said.

Although the Supreme Court did not issue opinions on hot button topics such as same sex marriage, affirmative action or Voting Rights Act cases, SCOTUSblog reports that the court did issue rulings in three other argued cases. The decision in Descamps v. United States will make it more difficult for the federal government to use the details of a prior conviction to strengthen criminal sentences. In American Express Co. v. Italian Colors Restaurant, the court ruled that retailers would need to work through arbitration individually, rather than through class action, to resolve claims with American Express. In the final opinion of the day, Agency for International Development v. Alliance for Open Society, the court held that the government could not require aid organizations to explicitly oppose prostitution and sex trafficking to receive federal funding for HIV/AIDS programs overseas.

Gov Bill Haslam’s top deputy, Claude Ramsey of Hamilton County, will step down at the end of August, the administration announced today. According to the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Ramsey intends to spend more time with his family. “Claude’s experience at the state and local levels of government and his common sense approach have been invaluable assets to our administration, and I am incredibly grateful to him and his wife, Jan, for their time in Nashville and commitment to the state of Tennessee.” Haslam said in a statement.

Miller & Martin attorney Marcy Eason has been selected to serve a two-year term as a delegate to Vision 2020, a nationwide initiative focused on women’s economic and social equality. Vision 2020 is a coalition of organizations and individuals launched in 2010 through the Institute for Women’s Health and Leadership at Drexel University College of Medicine. Delegates are selected based on demonstrated commitment to helping women or girls. The Hamilton County Herald has the story.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito will speak at Belmont University College of Law’s inaugural graduation commencement on May 10, 2014, university officials announced today. College of Law Dean Jeff Kinsler said, “It is an honor for any law school to have a Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court as its commencement speaker, but it is an especially great honor for a law school to have a Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court Justice as its first commencement speaker.”

Three more Pilot Flying J employees have pleaded guilty in what authorities call a scheme to cheat trucking firms out of rebates, NPR reports. Prosecutors allege that the sales team of the country's largest diesel retailer, short-changed trucking companies to boost profits and commissions. Nashville Public Radio has the story.

A subpoena requesting hundreds of records has been served on the St. Thomas Outpatient Neurosurgical Center where dozens of patients were injected with a fungus-laden spinal steroid from the New England Compounding Center (NECC) that is  being blamed for a nationwide fungal meningitis outbreak. The Tennessean reports that the subpoena seeks not only the names and addresses of all patients injected with the tainted methylprednisolone acetate, but also extensive records about the outpatient center’s dealings with the New England Compounding Center. It also seeks records identifying any patients who were treated with other drugs from NECC.

President Barack Obama is endorsing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, legislation that would bar employers from discriminating against workers based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. The endorsement came last week at a White House reception honoring LGBT Pride Month and was warmly received by the crowd. According to the Memphis Business Journal, gay rights groups have been waiting for Obama to throw his weight behind the legislation.

The Judicial Nominating Commission will meet June 29 to consider 10 applicants for the upcoming vacancy on the Court of Appeals Western Section caused by the retirement of Judge Alan E. Highers. The commission will send three names to Gov. Bill Haslam for consideration. The 10 applicants are: Frank S. Cantrell, Judge Robert Lawson Childers, Dale Conder Jr., Brandon Owen Gibson, Chancellor Arnold B. Goldin, William H. Haltom Jr., Rhynette Northcross Hurd, Hubert Bailey Jones, Melissa Ann Maravich and Lawrence A. Pivnick.

A Tennessee faith-based initiative is now providing attorneys at no cost to needy members of houses of worship, an unusual approach compared to most legal aid programs across the country. "People show up every day at churches and synagogues and mosques, and they may not ask for legal help," Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Connie Clark said about the program. "They may need food assistance. But often there is an underlying legal problem." Clark, who helped the faith-based initiative get off the ground, told the Nashville City Paper that, "We realized we can help more people by going to where they are already going for help."