Tennessee Bar Association President Jackie Dixon defends the current judicial merit selection process in an opinion piece for the Tennessean. In the article, Dixon says the merit selection system, known as the Tennessee Plan, helps ensure the impartiality of the judicial system by appointing “impartial and well-qualified judges who rule not based on popular public opinion or campaign contributions but rather on the fact and law as presented.” The contemplated change in judicial appointments would replace the merit-based selection and retention election system with legislative confirmation, further politicizing our justice system, Dixon wrote. With the House poised to consider the issue next week, the TBA president concludes the article by urging citizens to ask their legislators to vote to continue the Tennessee Plan.

Tennessee Court of Appeals Judge Frank G. Clement participated in Read Me Week 2013 by visiting Shwab Elementary School in Nashville, the Administrative Office of the Courts report. Judge Clement read to third graders in the Reading Room. "It was a marvelous experience for me and for the students, they were so courteous and impressive in so many ways," Judge Clement said. Read Me Week was started 1986 by a teacher in Lyles, as a way to celebrate the importance of reading.

Former law office comptroller Lisa Potter was sentenced to a year in jail and 30 years on probation for allegedly embezzling more than $300,000 from attorney Tony Seaton to support a cocaine habit. Potter had pleaded guilty to the crime last year. Washington County Criminal Court Judge Robert Cupp ruled Monday that if Potter repays the remaining $157,000 owed to Seaton, her probation would end after the original sentence. She will report to jail to begin serving her sentence May 3. The Johnson City Press has the story.

The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law was listed as one of the most transparent law schools in the nation by Law School Transparency, an organization that reviews law school websites in order to analyze the employment information that schools use to market their programs. Only 23 percent of ABA accredited law schools have been rated fully transparent by the organization, with Memphis being the only Tennessee school to make the list.

A bill allowing student identification cards issued by state higher education institutions to be used for voting unanimously passed the Senate State and Local Government Committee 8-0, and now advances to the Senate. The proposal, sponsored by Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, does not allow library cards issued by local governments to be used for voting however. That issue has been debated in the courts for about a year, the Memphis Daily News reports.

For the fourth year in a row, the University of Memphis School of Law and its Public Action Law Society are sponsoring an alternative spring break, the Memphis Daily News reports. This year’s spring break will focus on civil rights and include a civil rights educational series next week along with community legal service projects. The events will involve 48 law students from seven law schools including Vermont Law School and Charlotte School of Law, among others. “As law students, we see the law from the vantage point of the classroom, but alternative spring break allows us to reach out to the community and help individuals who most need legal help,” said Andrew Solarski, alternative spring break coordinator for the Public Action Law Society.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg announced her plans to remain on the U.S. Supreme Court at least through next year, the ABA Journal reports. Gingsburg, who is 79 years old, told the New Yorker, “It’s not this year. You can never tell when you’re my age,” Ginsburg said. “But, as long as I think I have the candlepower, I will do it. And I figure next year for certain. After that, who knows?”

The Tennessee Human Rights Commission, the state’s civil rights enforcement agency, celebrated its 50th anniversary last night by honoring 10 local human and civil rights advocates. Attendees at the sold-out event viewed a replica of the Emancipation Proclamation and the original 13th Amendment on display at the Tennessee State Museum. Honorees included attorneys Waverly Crenshaw, George Barrett and Rosetta Miller-Perry, as well as State Sen. Thelma Harper, D-Nashville. The Tennessean has the story.

Last night's 9th annual Napier-Looby Bar Foundation (NLBF) Barrister’s Banquet and Awards Program featured entertainment, honors and awards. The event was presided over by NLBF President Joseph K. McKinney, with Luther Wright serving as master of ceremonies. Those honored include Federal District Judge William J. Haynes, Jr., who received the 2013 Z. Alexander Looby Lifetime Achievement Award; Stacey Garrett of Bone McAllester Norton, who received the J.C. Napier Trailblazer Award; and Charles Grant of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, who was the recipient of the Justice A.A. Birch Outstanding Service Award. For more details, visit the Napier Looby website.

John H. Harris Jr. died yesterday (Feb. 28) at the age of 74. A Tulane graduate, Harris received his law degree from the University of Tennessee. He was a senior partner and long-time leader of Harris Shelton Hanover Walsh PLLC, where he practiced for over 50 years. Harris was also partners with his son Jeffrey in Harris Thoroughbreds LLC. Visitation will be Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m. at Memorial Park Funeral Home, with funeral services Sunday at 3 p.m. at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Collierville. In lieu of flowers, the family asks memorial contributions be made to St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or Church Health Center.