The American Bar Association will hold a Town Hall Discussion “Advocating for Equality in the Next Generation – Disability Rights” at Vanderbilt University Law School on Jan. 25, 2013, in the Moore Room. The ABA Town Hall Series is designed to encourage dialogue among law students, young lawyers, experienced members of the bar, and others in the community about how the legal profession should address issues of inequality, intolerance and discrimination in the profession and in society. Paula Pearlman, executive director of the Disability Rights Legal Center will be the keynote speaker. Registration is free. Please RSVP by Jan. 23 to irr@americanbar.org

The Tennessee Supreme Court has upheld a lower court’s decision that death row inmate David Keen may not reopen his post-conviction proceeding 19 years after his original death sentence to assert he is intellectually disabled. In an opinion authored by Justice William C. Koch, the court ruled that the statute permitting inmates to reopen their post-conviction proceedings did not apply to Keen’s claims since the statute allows reopening a proceeding when there is scientific evidence that an inmate is “actually innocent of the offense,” and Keen was not claiming that he did not commit the crime for which he was convicted.

Still need CLE credit? The TBA has options. Join us for our annual Year End CLE Blast on Dec. 26, 27, 28 and 31 to get live credit, or take one of our many online programs at any time. The Blast, offered at the bar center in downtown Nashville, features three tracks of dual and general credit programs as well as educational games. Programs will run from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day. For questions about the Blast call the TBA at (615) 383-7421.

Election watchdog organizations are urging the Justice Department and Federal Election Commission to investigate more than $12 million in campaign contributions to a prominent tea party group that passed through two Tennessee companies. The organizations said the donation was the largest anonymous political donation of the year and appeared to violate federal law prohibiting individuals from making campaign contributions in the name of another person. The groups also allege that the Knoxville lawyer who registered the companies may have violated laws by failing to identify them as political committees and file financial statements for them. The Memphis Daily News has the story.

Davidson County attorney C. LeAnn Smith received a public censure from the Board of Professional Responsibility on Dec. 12. On June 11, Smith was convicted of driving under the influence. The board determined that her actions violated Rule 8.4(b) of the Rules of Professional Conduct. Download the BPR notice

Blount County attorney Stanley R. Barnett received a public censure from the Board of Professional Responsibility on Dec.12 for failing to file a motion for a new trial after his client was convicted. The board found that this failure resulted in the waiver of all issues for appeal except sufficiency of the evidence and sentencing. After the client filed a pro se notice of appeal, Barnett filed an appellate brief but failed to consult the client first, which created additional challenges for the client. Download the BPR notice

Brent Leatherwood, spokesman for the state House Republican Caucus, has been named executive director of the state GOP, The Tennessean reports. Leatherman is a former congressional staffer and has worked on several U.S. House and Senate campaigns. He succeeds Adam Nickas who left to run the Nashville office of Mississippi-based lobbying firm Capitol Resources.

In the aftermath of last week’s mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., state Sen. Frank Niceley, R-Knoxville, said he plans to introduce legislation in January that will require every school in the state to have at least one armed person on campus, according to The Tennessean. A growing number of states have proposed similar legislation, including laws allowing teachers and school administrators to carry concealed firearms at school, the paper reports.

The Tennessee Supreme Court recently granted review to two cases. The first, a civil case, looks at whether a time-share salesperson is entitled to unemployment compensation. The second, a criminal case, calls for interpretation of the statute governing fabrication of evidence when the tampering occurs before police learn a crime may have been committed. The Raybin Perky Hotlist looks at the cases and offers a prediction as to how they may be decided. 

Republican State Rep. Joe Carr from Lascassas announced today that he is forming an exploratory steering committee to test the viability of a campaign for Tennessee’s 4th Congressional District. That seat currently is held by U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais. Carr said he made the move because voters have told him their trust in DesJarlais has been violated. Chattanoogan.com reported the news.