Red Bank commissioners have settled two of the five lawsuits filed against them in federal court between 2010 and 2011 in the wake of the controversial firing of Chief Larry Sneed, the Times Free Press reports. The commission voted 3-1 to settle suites filed by former police officers Bradley Hannon and Rebecca Chauncey Morgan for $36,000 and $21,000, respectively. The city is still battling lawsuits from Sneed, officer Isaac Cooper, and officer Stephen Satterwhite.

News Channel 3 reports former Memphis police office Michael Jane Sinnock has been sentenced to four years in jail on drug charges after he attempted to buy marijuana and Lortab pills from an informant. He arrived to pick up the drugs in full police uniform and in a squad car. “Mr. Sinnock brazenly abused the trust placed in him by the citizens of our community and today he faced the consequences of his actions,” said Edward L. Stanton III, United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee.

In an unusual turn Tuesday, Sessions Court Judge John Walton was called to the witness stand in Criminal Court regarding Aaron Keever’s appeal of two criminal contempt convictions he received in Walton’s court. The Johnson City Press reports Keever spent several days in jail after allegedly failing to appear in court twice on charges of driving with a suspended license. Charges were dismissed after Keever's attorney stated he was held without arraignment, without notice of the facts of the charge, without notice of when the hearing would take place, and without the appointment of a lawyer.

Within the last three years, the Memphis Bar Foundation has given the largest amount of grants to local causes in the foundation’s history, the Memphis Daily Press reports. The foundation awarded almost $44,00 to seven causes in 2010, $50,000 to eight groups in 2011, and $30,000 to nine groups in 2012. The foundation supported causes in four primary areas: scholarship, equal access to justice, professionalism, and lawyer assistance.

Seven agencies throughout Tennessee have been awarded more than $200,000 as part of the Supreme Court’s Access to Justice Initiative. Funding came from the Department of Human Services (DHS) Access and Visitation grant program, intended to develop or support initiatives that will aid self-represented litigants in child support cases obtain access to and visitation with their children. The agencies awarded include: Community Legal Center, Juvenile Court of Shelby County/Memphis, Fayette County Sessions/Juvenile Court, Nashville Conflict Resolution Center, Quality Time Project, Legal Aid of East Tennessee, and Southeast Tennessee Legal Services. Read more from the  Administrative Office of the Courts.

The Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday about the use of drug-sniffing dogs in investigations following complaints of illegal searches and insufficient proof of the dogs’ reliability, the Times News reports. The arguments revolved around cases involving two Florida police dogs. Confiscation of 179 marijuana plants came after one dog sniffed the odor from outside the front door, but a trial judge threw out the evidence claiming the dog’s sniff was an unconstitutional intrusion into the defendant’s home. Another dog alerted his officer to the scent of drugs during a traffic stop which resulted in an arrest, but the dog’s training and certification to detect narcotics did not hold up in court. The state of Florida appealed both cases to the Supreme Court which will rule in the cases sometime next year.

The Center for American Progress Action Fund released its third report in a series focusing on different policies intended to mitigate the influence of corporate campaign cash in judicial elections and improve access to justice. The nonpartisan education and advocacy organization talks about the benefit of judicial merit selection and retention elections.

The University of Tennessee (UT) honored former White House counsel A.B. Culvahouse with an Accomplished Alumni Award, recognizing his work in helping national leaders make Supreme Court nominations, chose vice presidential candidates, and write treaties. A 1970 UT graduate, Culvahouse served as chief legislative assistant to Sen. Howard H. Baker Jr. and counsel to President Ronald Reagan. He currently chairs O’Melveny and Meyers, an international law firm. Knoxnews has the story.

Judge Ronnie Greer sent federal jurors home around 4:30 p.m. today after the group deliberated throughout the day without reaching a verdict in the case against former Knox County Criminal Court Judge Richard Baumgartner. The trial, which began last week, was in the second day of deliberations. The jury will resume 9 a.m. Thursday. Knox News has the story. 

Retired Davidson County Judge Walter C. Kurtz, who has been serving as a senior judge, will oversee the cases of three men previously convicted in the Christian Newsom murder trial, WBIR.com reports. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Gary R. Wade appointed Kurtz after the Court of Criminal Appeals ordered Judge Blackwood removed from the case earlier this month, saying he had lost his objectivity in the case.