The Y-12 protesters accused of interfering with national security when they broke into the nuclear weapons facility in Oak Ridge in July have been found guilty, the Johnson City Press reports. An 83-year-old nun and two fellow protesters were charged with sabotaging the plant and damaging federal property.

Gov. Bill Haslam officially signed legislation drastically changing the state’s workers’ compensation system, the Memphis Business Journal reports. Haslam formally signed the bill yesterday at the Clarksville Foundry, a manufacturer that has been making iron castings for more than 165 years.

Acclaimed author Harper Lee is suing her literary agent Samuel Pinkus, alleging that he tricked her into signing a document transferring the royalties from her 1960 novel “To Kill A Mockingbird.” The 87-year-old was recovering from a stroke and says she did not understand what she was doing. “Pinkus knew that Harper Lee was an elderly woman with physical infirmities that made it difficult for her to read and see,” her lawyer, Gloria Phares, wrote in the suit. “Harper Lee had no idea she had assigned her copyright.” The ABA Journal has the story.

Shelby County commissioners appear reluctant to grant the Juvenile Court’s request for a $1.6 million budget increase, the Commercial Appeal reports. Meeting Wednesday night, commissioners questioned the need for the increase that court officials say is necessary to fund measures required to be in compliance with a memorandum of agreement reached between the court, the county mayor’s office and the U.S. Department of Justice. Larry Scroggs, the court’s CAO and general counsel, said “We have been told we cannot safely operate a detention facility without having the mental health and medical comprehensive care. So what do we do? That is a huge issue."

African Americans voted in greater proportion to whites during the 2012 election, data released by the U.S. Census Bureau indicates. For the first time, blacks were more likely than non-Hispanic whites to have cast a ballot in the November presidential vote -- both nationwide and in Tennessee. According to the Tennessean, the surge in black turnout shows the growing importance of minority voters.

After months of effort to legalize home music studios in Nashville, the Metro Council yesterday deferred action on the ordinance indefinitely. Currently, codes officials look the other way as hundred of musicians run professionals studios out of their homes. The proposal was intended to give them a way to operate within the law. Councilmember Megan Barry says she had just enough votes to approve her ordinance, but she chose to put it off. “I believe that a measure like this – balancing neighborhood concerns with business interests and the city’s music-oriented DNA – should be enacted by a large margin, not a narrow one.” She told Nashville Public Radio.

Legal Aid of East Tennessee (LAET) last week hosted a special dinner and awards ceremony “Dinner with the Tennessee Supreme Court” in Johnson City. Chief Justice Gary Wade was joined by Justices Cornelia A. Clark and Sharon G. Lee to honor members of the Tri-Cities legal community who volunteer their time by helping others through Legal Aid’s Pro Bono Project. The Justices were introduced by David R. Yoder, executive director of Legal Aid. Deborah Yeomans, managing attorney for the Johnson City office, presented plaques to area attorneys, law firms, and local bar associations that donated time and legal services during the past year.

A consortium of 28 law schools called Educating Tomorrow’s Lawyers has created an interactive website that compiles school’s jobs data from various legal sources including the American Bar Association, U.S. News & World Report, the National Association for Legal Career Professionals and Law School Transparency. The site Law Jobs: By the Numbers allows users to customize searches of ABA jobs data. Users may compare law school employment statistics using any of those three formulas or enter their own search criteria, the National Law Journal reports. "The tool is a natural outgrowth of the law school employment data that is now available," said Alli Gerkman, incoming director of Educating Tomorrow's Lawyers. "It lets users create their own rates and, because we have made the formulas completely transparent and accessible, it teaches them how different criteria can impact the employment rates reported by schools, publications and organizations." ?

Former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin was convicted by a jury of criminal corruption in connection with two Supreme Court campaigns, and sentenced Tuesday to three years of house arrest and two years of probation. The conviction over campaign corruption has sparked high-profile calls for Pennsylvania to switch to a merit-based selection system for picking judges, an option endorsed recently by four former Pennsylvania governors. Gavel Grab has the story.

State Sen. Doug Henry, D-Nashville, told the Tennessean yesterday that he will not seek re-election for his seat in 2014. The 86-year-old was first elected to a House seat in 1955 and has held his current Senate seat since 1971. “During the last quarter century that I served with Sen. Henry, no one served with more dignity, greater intelligence and greater fidelity than Sen. Henry,” said Tennessee Democratic Party chairman Roy Herron, a former Tennessee state senator. “He is respected by all and loved by so many,” he continued. “The Tennessee Senate will miss his wise leadership and tremendous example.”