Sixth Judicial District Juvenile Court Judge Timothy Irwin has been added to the Judicial Ethics Committee, filling the remainder of Judge Suzanne Bailey’s term. View the full list of committee members here. 

Lawmakers and advocates in Pennsylvania met recently in a public forum to discuss how to replace the state's current system of electing judges. While there is agreement that the current system is broken, there is still debate on what is the best way to fix it. Judges On Merit contributing writer Colin Emerle makes the case for merit selection.

Tennessee lawmakers passed a resolution designating August 31 as an annual celebration, “Traditional Marriage Day” the Nashville Business Journal reports. Chris Sanders of the Tennessee Equality Project said the resolutions sends the wrong message and his organization has declared August 31 “Tennessee Marriage Equality Day.”

In an opinion piece for the Tennessean, Washington Post columnist George Will examines the social and political history of the 1944 Korematsu v. United States decision, which affirmed President Franklin Roosevelt’s wartime power to sweep Americans of Japanese ancestry into concentration camps. Peter Iron, founder of the Earl Warren Bill of Rights Project at the University of California, is campaigning for a Supreme Court repudiation of the decision -- an unprecedented act. Will writes that it is “less important that the decision be repudiated than that it be remembered” and warns that the case is a reminder that waiving constitutional rights is rarely necessary and rarely ends well.

Gov. Bill Haslam has signed a measure outlawing library cards and other types of county or city issued photo ID cards for voting, the Murfreesboro Post reports. The House passed the bill and the Senate subsequently concurred with the House version, dropping an amendment that would have allowed use of state college issued IDs for voting.

Former Nashville Judge James Mayes Swiggart died Thursday (April 25). He was 91. Swiggart received his bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University and his law degree from the University of Virginia. During World War II, he flew the F4U dive bomber for the United States Navy and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with one gold star and one silver star. After a career in private law practice, Judge Swiggart was appointed to Nashville's newly created Sixth Circuit Court where he served as judge for 23 years. During his career, he also served as president of the Tennessee Judicial Conference and led numerous civic organizations. Visitation will be held Friday at the Cheek House at Presbyterian Church on Franklin Road from noon to 1:45 p.m., followed by a service at Stanford Chapel at 2 p.m. Interment will follow at Woodlawn Memorial Park. At the family's request, please make donations to Monteagle Sunday School Assembly, P.O. Box 307, Monteagle, TN 37356, Winfield Fund or Capital Fund.

The National Association of Bar Executives (NABE) has announced that TBA Executive Director Allan Ramsaur has been chosen as the delegate to the ABA House of Delegates to represent NABE. Ramsaur, who succeeds Bill Weisenberg of Ohio, will assume the office following the conclusion of the ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco in August.

During a daylong conference hosted by the American Bar Association’s Task Force on the Future of Education this week, law professors, practitioners, judges and bar association leaders struggled for agreement about what is driving the rising cost of legal education, and how schools and regulations should responds to the declining job prospects for new lawyers and flagging interest in law degrees. According to the National Law Journal, the task force hopes to release preliminary recommendations during the late summer or early fall, with a final report to follow in mid-November, said former Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Randall Shepard, its chairman. Members already have heard from several hundred people in public hearings and through written comments, he said.

If you are new to commercial real estate, “Real Estate Essentials: A Primer in Commercial Real Estate for Tennessee Lawyers” will provide you with the basics you need to know. Attendees will start the May 9 program with an overview of the current commercial real estate market in Tennessee. Speakers will address areas of growth, concerns, trends, and surprise issues. Topics include a summary of the commercial real estate law and specific issues with commercial landlord and tenant law.

In a scathing editorial, the Knoxville News Sentinel's editorial board blasts lawmakers for failing to renew the Judicial Nominating Commission, which will cease to exist on July 1. According to Tennessee Bar Association Executive Director Allan Ramsaur, there will be no constitutional way to replace a judge or justice who resigns, retires or dies in office after that date. The editorial states that an independent judiciary is vital to the freedom and well being of the state, and accuses legislators of failing to do the state’s business at a basic civic-minded level.