The Tennessee Trial Court Vacancy Commission met rcently in Sevierville to consider eight applicants for a circuit court judge vacancy in the 4th Judicial District, which covers Cocke, Grainger, Jefferson and Sevier counties. After holding a public hearing and interviews, the commission selected three nominees to forward to Gov. Bill Lee for his consideration. They are: Dandridge lawyer and Assistant District Attorney Jeremy D. Ball; Newport attorney Jeffery S. Greene with McSween, McSween & Green; and Sevierville lawyer Adrienne Waters Ogle with Ogle McCarter. Greene is also the attorney for the towns of Parrotsville and Dandridge. Ogle is also a Sevier County Juvenile Court magistrate and attorney for the city of Gatlinburg. The vacancy in this district was created when the General Assembly approved funding for a new judge.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on Thursday announced that Dollar General has agreed to pay a $12 million fine and improve conditions at its thousands of retail stores nationwide to make them safer for workers, reports the Associated Press. The Goodlettsville-based retailer in July reached a settlement with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to resolve alleged violations that included unsafe storage, blocked emergency exits and fire extinguishers and inaccessible electrical panels. That agreement states, in part, that if inspectors find similar problems in the future, Dollar General may be fined $100,000 a day for any that are not resolved within 48 hours.

The State of Tennessee’s annual sales tax holiday weekend will take place July 26-28, the Department of Revenue reports. On these days, Tennesseans may save nearly 10% on qualifying clothing and school supplies under $100 and computers priced $1,500 or less. Read more in a release. For more information about the sales tax holiday, including a list of qualifying items, visit www.tntaxholiday.com, call 615-253-0600 or email revenue.support@tn.gov.

The University of Tennessee College of Law has named Jordan Houser as associate director of the Bettye B. Lewis Career Center. Houser, who graduated from the law school in 2017, previously practiced in the Knoxville office of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, where he served on the recruiting committee, and as a staff attorney with the Tennessee Valley Authority Office of the General Counsel. He also previously served as director of career services and alumni relations at Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law. Career Center Director Carol Anne Long said, “Jordan brings with him a wealth of experience in working with both students and employers, and we are delighted to welcome him to our team.”

Gibson County Sheriff Paul Thomas has pleaded not guilty to 18 charges that he illegally profited from the work of jail inmates under his supervision and housed dozens of them in a home outside of the prison without permission. Thomas was indicted in May in Gibson and Davidson counties on 22 charges, including official misconduct, theft, forgery and computer crimes involving jail inmates in his custody. Arraignment for the charges in Davidson County will take place at a later date, the Associated Press reports.

U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman — who at age 97 is the oldest federal judge not to have taken senior status — continues to fight her suspension from the bench following allegations that she is no longer fit to serve. A federal judge this week dismissed a lawsuit Newman brought in an attempt to return to her seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which focuses on patents, trademarks and certain other matters. The circuit's judicial council suspended Newman last September for at least one year or until she sits for court-ordered medical examinations, based on signs of serious cognitive and physical impairment. The council also found that she refused to cooperate with inquiries into her mental health. Newman has vowed to appeal, according to Reuters.

The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office has responded to complaints from a member of the state Registry of Election Finance about the time it took to investigate a case, the Tennessee Lookout reports. In a letter to the registry, the attorney general’s office wrote that it is “not an investigative agency” and because referrals to it are not mandatory, the registry could choose to refer its cases to another entity. The registry had asked the office to investigate a complaint that the group Sumner County Constitutional Republicans was acting as a political action committee without registering with the state. The attorney general’s office completed a report on the case in late June, about five months after receiving the referral.

The Nashville Banner reports on the recent scrutiny and differing opinions regarding Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Cheryl Blackburn’s mental acuity, prompted by an April 8 order in which she recused herself from the case of a man charged with aggravated assault, kidnapping and rape. Attorneys who have spent years practicing in her courtroom have varying takes on the ongoing questions about Blackburn's competence on the bench, the news outlet reports. Blackburn, who is in her mid-70s and suffered a stroke in 2021 has been on the bench in Nashville since 1996. 

The Metro Human Relations Commission on Monday accepted the terms of a conciliated agreement, the next step in resolving a civil rights complaint filed by a group of artists in October. The agreement contains a “make-whole” financial provision that will fully fund applications for 26 public art projects — most of which are murals — that were left out of the Arts Commission’s 2024 funding allocations. The Nashville Post reports that the agreement contains no admission of fault by any party, including Metro Legal and the Metro Arts Commission, and requires the artists to drop any related legal claims against the city.

The Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services (TALS) is accepting nominations for its three annual Access to Justice Awards: the Janice M. Holder Award, B. Riney Green Award and New Advocate of the Year Award. Nominations and any supporting documents must be submitted by the new deadline of July 12. The awards will be presented at the Equal Justice University (EJU) Conference. See photos of the 2023 honorees. EJU 2024 will take place Aug. 28-30 at the Embassy Suites in Murfreesboro. Learn more about the conference and register to attend.