The Cleveland City Council will partner with the IRS for the sixth year to operate the Volunteer Tax Assistance (VITA) program, which provides free tax preparation services to citizens of Cleveland and Bradley County whose household incomes are $51,000 or less. There will be four VITA sites located at the South Cleveland Community Center, Bradley Baptist Association, Kmart, and Lee University. 

On Jan. 17, Sumner County lawyer William Norman Ligon received a public censure from the Board of Professional Responsibility for providing legal advice to a client while his law license was suspended. The board found that the client suffered potential harm by relying on Ligon’s advice and not seeking representation by a licensed attorney. Download the BPR notice.

Cleveland attorney John Allen Murphy Jr. was publicly censured on Jan. 22 by the Tennessee Supreme Court. Murphy was administratively suspended in June 2011 for failing to comply with the mandatory IOLTA reporting requirements but filed pleadings on behalf of several clients during the suspension. He was reinstated to the practice of law in July 2011. Download the BPR notice.

On Jan. 18, Jerry Alan Kennon was suspended from the practice of law for 18 months, consisting of 30 days active suspension and the remainder to be served on probation. Kennon was suspended for failing to complete the requisite number of CLE credits while continuing to represent clients and file pleadings during the suspension. Other complaints relate to Kennon’s failure to properly prepare trust documents, timely file a lawsuit and return client documents. Download the BPR notice.

Attorney Mark Edward Chapman received a public censure from the Board of Professional Responsibility on Jan. 17 for instructing a paralegal to attend a mediation with a client at which the opposing party was represented by counsel. The paralegal engaged in the unauthorized practice of law by signing his name to the mediation form that was filed with the courts; by negotiating with opposing counsel and the mediators without clients present; and by agreeing to resolve some issues on behalf of the client. Chapman is responsible for the supervision of the paralegal, and failed to provide diligent representation of his client at the mediation when the other party was represented by counsel and issues in the case were solved. Download the BPR notice.

U.S. District Court Judge Todd Campbell is reviewing the case file of Byron Lewis Black, who was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of his girlfriend and her two daughters in 1988. Black's federal public defender has argued that he is intellectually disabled and cannot be executed under Tennessee law. Judge Campbell will review interpretations of the state’s three-pronged approach to determining intellectual disability, including the use of IQ test scores. The law maintains that a person must have an IQ score of less than 70 to be deemed “intellectually disabled.” Black’s IQ scores ranged from 57-97 over a period of four decades. Campbell has not issued an opinion in the case. The Nashville City Paper has the story.

Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Gary R. Wade celebrated the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday weekend by serving as the keynote speaker at an event in Sevierville. His reflections on King’s impact were published in The Mountain Press. In addition, Justice Sharon G. Lee chaired the Knoxville YMCA’s 2013 Diversity Day and Race Against Racism to promote the YMCA’s programs of eliminating racism and empowering women. Read more from from the Administrative Office of the Courts

A federal appeals court ruled today that an Indiana law that bans registered sex offenders from accessing Facebook and other social networking sites that can be accessed by children is unconstitutional, the Memphis Commercial Appeals reports. The 7th U.S. Circuit of Appeals in Chicago overturned U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt’s June decision, saying the “blanket ban” was too broad and didn’t protect children.” Federal judges have barred similar laws in other states.

U.S. Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker of Tennessee have been named the ranking Republican members of the Foreign Relations Committee and the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, respectfully, the Tennessean reports.

The Judicial Nominating Commission meeting for 8th Judicial District candidates that was cancelled last week due to inclement weather has been rescheduled for Feb. 7 at Woodlake Lodge in Tazewell. The public hearing will begin at 1 p.m. followed by interviews of the six candidates for the Chancery Court vacancy. On Feb. 8, the commission will meet at the Doubletree Hotel in Johnson City for a public hearing and interviews of eight candidates for the 1st Judicial Criminal Court vacancy.