Chief Justice John G. Roberts is defending the federal courts’ cost-containment strategy, stating in his year-end report that the Supreme Court will seek $75 million in the upcoming fiscal year, a 3.7 percent decrease from three years ago. Nationwide, federal courts spent about $6.9 billion last fiscal year, a “miniscule portion” of the overall federal budget Roberts said. In the report, Roberts also urged executive and legislative branches to fill open seats on the U.S. District and appellate courts which he said constitute “judicial emergencies.”

According to the Greenville Sun, lawyers representing 143 plaintiffs in the recently dismissed civil lawsuit against Nuclear Fuel Services (NFS) will meet to consider strategies for appealing the decision. The lawsuit alleged that NFS and other companies connected to its Erwin plant released hazardous and radioactive substances resulting in personal injury and property damage.

State Sen. Jim Tracy announced today he plans to challenge embattled U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais in 2014 for a seat in the 4th Congressional District, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. This will be Tracey’s second campaign for congress, after finishing a close third in the 2010 Republican primary for the 6th Congressional District. Tracey is the first Republican to launch a formal campaign against DesJarlais.

The U.S. Senate confirmed President Barack Obama’s nomination of four people to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Board of Directors, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. The appointees are V. Lynn Evans of Memphis; Peter Mahurin of Bowling Green, Ky; Mike McWherter of Desden; and Joe H. Rich of Huntsville, Ala.

In a 62-26 vote that only took a few minutes, the Senate confirmed William Baer of Arnold & Porter as the new chief of the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Legal Times reports. Baer is considered likely to continue the recent push on merger challenges and cartel enforcement action. With a wide range of experience in both private practice and government enforcement, many in the antitrust bar have widely lauded his qualifications for the job.

Practicing attorneys, judges, and law students are needed to judge the Fifth Annual Commodore Classic undergraduate mock trial tournament on Jan. 19-20 at Vanderbilt University. Twenty-four of the top collegiate mock trial teams from across the nation will participate in two mock trial rounds no longer than three hours both days. Contact commodorejudges@gmail.com with any questions. 

Knoxville attorney and former Tennessee Bar Association President Pamela Reeves has been appointed by U.S District Judge Tom Varlan to jointly mediate the class-action lawsuit linked to the 2008 Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) coal ash spill at Kingston Fossil Plant. Some 872 plaintiffs are suing TVA over damages that are allegedly related to the spill, which fouled the Emory River and the surrounding Roane County countryside with 5.4 million cubic yards of coal ash. Reeves and Florida lawyer Rodney Max, who will serve as joint mediator, were both recommended by the parties in the case, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports.

Tennessee law enforcement in 16 counties across the state will be using the new “no refusal” law starting tonight, allowing them to get blood samples of suspected drunken drivers, the Tennessean reports. Previously, drivers could refuse a blood alcohol content test. The “no refusal” law, passed this year, allows police to seek search warrants for blood samples.

GOP women will outnumber their Democratic counterparts when the General Assembly convenes next month, the Tennessean reports. Republicans will hold a 12-11 advantage among female officeholders, though the female percentage of the party delegations still shows a Democratic advantage: one in nine GOP senators and representatives are women versus one in four for the Democrats.

Stanford Law School is establishing a new religious liberty law clinic with $1.6 million in seed funding from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a Washington-based nonprofit that supports the free expression of religious beliefs regardless of faith, the National Law Journal reports. Administrators say it will be the first of its kind at a U.S. law school. "The point of a clinic is to teach professional skills to law students using real cases and live clients," director James Sonne said. "As our culture becomes more diverse, it's a great way for students to represent clients whose beliefs are different from their own."