Nominations are now open for the 2023 American Legal Technology Awards to be held on Oct. 8 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville. The awards honor exceptional achievements in legal technology. This year, the annual event is adding a lifetime achievement award to recognize an individual who has displayed leadership, excellence and vision over a long career in law. The deadline to submit nominations is July 31. Finalists will be announced in August. Read more at LawNext.

Hamilton County Chief Homicide Prosecutor Michael Dowd was asked to resign Sunday by District Attorney Coty Wamp after Dowd criticized the TBI Crime Lab for its delay in returning ballistics testing results, News Channel 9 reports. Dowd’s comments were made in court during a hearing for a murder case set for trial on May 23. Dowd said the suspect was indicted in 2021 and TBI had failed to produce results for two years despite an expedition request. Dowd submitted his resignation Sunday, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. Wamp said a replacement would be named shortly.

Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn, who led the department through the COVID-19 pandemic and oversaw an overhaul of the state’s K-12 funding structure, will leave the position on June 1. Gov. Bill Lee announced that he will appoint Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds to the post. Reynolds currently serves as vice president of policy at Florida-based ExcelinEd, which advocates for a wide range of student-centered policies, including school choice. In a release announcing the move, Lee said that Reynolds' career "reflects a deep commitment to school choice, assessment and accountability." She will take office on July 1. Deputy Commissioner of Operations Sam Pearcy will serve as interim commissioner in June. The Tennessean has more.

President Joe Biden issued a proclamation today commemorating Law Day and the importance of the rule of law in America. In the proclamation, Biden states that “respecting the rule of law also means supporting equal access to justice.” In addition, American Bar Association President Deborah Enix-Ross issued a statement calling on the legal community as well as the public to join efforts to rebuild trust in American institutions and respect for one another and be willing to collaborate to address challenges that face the nation. Law Day was established in 1958 to educate the public about important concepts such as the rule of law and equality under the law. It is celebrated every May 1 through special events, classroom presentations and pro bono clinics.

U.S. senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty are accepting applications from candidates interested in an appointment as U.S. district judge for the Western District of Tennessee or U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee. Questionnaires and additional information are available online from both senators. Interested candidates must submit a completed questionnaire and resume to appointments@blackburn.senate.gov and appointments@hagerty.senate.gov by June 9. Questions regarding the application process may be directed to the same email addresses.

Those arrested in Nashville who show signs of mental illness can be referred to a Behavioral Care Center where they are provided with 30 days of treatment as an alternative to incarceration. The center has been in operation for three years and now Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris and a delegation from the county criminal justice system plan to visit the facility in hopes of opening something similar in the Memphis area. Harris tells the Tennessean that chances look good for opening a mental health center in Shelby County.

Reporters from across the state gathered in Nashville to learn about open meeting law, investigative journalism and more during the annual Reporters Workshop program, produced jointly by the Tennessee Bar Association, the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters and the Tennessee Press Association Foundation. Participants were selected from a record number of applicants who were interested in developing a deeper understanding of media law issues that may affect their everyday work, including access to government information, defamation and privacy concerns in reporting and other timely topics. Panelists included veteran reporters Demetria Kalodimos, Meribah Knight and Ben Hall, as well as legal media experts Paul McAdoo, Deborah Fisher and Seth May. The program continues tomorrow.

Students from the Nashville School of Law surprised Dean William C. Koch, Jr. with a Senate Joint Resolution honoring his leadership. Dean Koch teaches U.S. Constitutional Law and Tennessee Constitutional Law at NSL and is also an adjunct professor at Vanderbilt School of Law and Belmont College of Law. Read SJR 0334.

Gov. Bill Lee has signed into law House Bill 833, which allows doctors to legally perform abortions in cases of ectopic and molar pregnancies where there is “reasonable” medical judgment an abortion would prevent the death or “prevent serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman.” Previously, doctors who performed an emergency abortion in Tennessee could argue an “affirmative defense” and were required to prove the procedure was a lifesaving medical necessity or face criminal charges. Read more in the Tennessean.

Belmont University College of Law student Kayla Mathews is the winner of the school's fourth annual Legal Fiction Workshop. Mathews, a third-year law student, won with her entry “100 Small Choices,” which follows an attorney on an emotional journey when a client reminds her of her younger self. The winning story was chosen through an anonymized review process. Belmont’s Legal Fiction Workshop has produced the past two winners of the American Bar Association’s Legal Fiction Contest. Read more from Belmont News.