The Washington County Circuit Court Clerk recently announced the rescheduling of state general sessions court matters. Starting Monday, proceedings set for November have been postponed to February 2021. Proceedings for December have been postponed to March 2021. The clerk reported these measures are designed to “to keep everyone safe and give our hardworking clerks some flexibility in their staffing to be able to keep our courts running.” The delays do not apply to incarcerated defendants, who will continue to be brought from the jail on their assigned court dates. View the new schedule.

Federal public defenders representing the first female inmate set to be executed by the U.S. government in almost 70 years have fallen sick with COVID-19 following a visit to see her in federal prison, the Associated Press reports. Lisa Montgomery is set to be put to death on Dec. 8 for murdering a Missouri woman in 2004 and kidnapping her unborn child. The two attorneys were pursuing a petition for clemency and visited Montgomery at a federal medical center in Texas. They are now asking for an injunction postponing the execution until a thorough clemency appeal can be prepared. Observers expect the petition to focus on fetal brain damage Montgomery experienced and a horrifying childhood that involved incest, gang rape, child sex trafficking, physical abuse and neglect. Meanwhile, the ACLU has filed an injunction to end what it says is “torturous” conditions of Montgomery's imprisonment, The Hill reports. She is being held in a cold cell where male guards watch her at all times, even when she uses the bathroom, the group says.

With millions of employees working remotely, meeting tools such as Zoom have become our new remote workplace. Ben Aston, an online media entrepreneur, looks at how remote work can introduce unique mental health challenges, while also exacerbating those that existed before the pandemic. He recommends 10 steps to make sure employees are functioning at their best. The tips include being on the lookout for coworkers who appear exhausted or do not speak up during meetings; providing clarity around expectations and adequate support to accomplish tasks; reaffirming each employee’s value to the organization; and setting boundaries so employees do not “burn out” from overwork. Read more in his article from People Managing People.

The Tennessee Supreme Court this week issued an order, following several since March, to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. The order comes in response to several factors including a significant increase in COVID-19 cases in the state and a number of reports of instances of failure to comply with written plans of judicial districts by judges, attorneys and litigants, including the appearance in open court of attorneys and litigants who have tested positive for COVID-19. The order reaffirmed a mandatory face coverings requirement and suspended all jury trials through Jan. 31, 2021, (with exceptions granted by the chief justice on a case-by-case basis). The TBA is aware that many attorneys have reported issues of concern to the court throughout the pandemic. As part of the TBA’s ongoing commitment to collecting data and working with Tennessee’s legislative, judicial and executive branches on solutions for attorneys, the TBA has created an email account for lawyers to use for communicating concerns related to the pandemic and their practices. Please submit comments to pandemic@tnbar.org. Feel free to share this email address with others.

Inmates at the Shelby County Correctional Center will be able to continue education classes remotely thanks to a $180,000 grant, the Daily Memphian reports. The funding, which comes from the Tennessee Community CARES program through the state Department of Human Services, will go to HopeWorks, a nonprofit organization that oversees educational and job training programs at the prison. Outside programming was stopped in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That programming included classes to help inmates get their high school diplomas, culinary classes that offered job skills training, construction and logistics classes and more. HopeWorks has bought 100 laptops, protective gear and other online learning aids to start the online classes at the prison next month.

The Memphis Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society will host the virtual event, Civil Liberties and COVID-19 Shelter in Place Orders, on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. CST. Julia Mahoney, John S. Battle Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law, will speak on the topic. Those interested in attending may register through the event website or by contacting Greg Grisham.

The Legal Aid Society has partnered with Catholic Charities to help Davidson County residents with financial or personal hardships due to COVID-19. More than $100,000 in funding is available from the state through the CARES Act, and county residents can apply for up to $4,000 per person to use for food, rent, mortgage or utilities. Individuals interested in applying should call 615-244-6610 or 800-238-1443 by Nov. 18. The program is being tested in Davidson County with hopes of expanding to other communities if funding becomes available.

As COVID cases are on the rise across the nation, one Tennessee lawmaker wants to strip health boards in the state’s largest counties of their autonomy. State Rep. Jason Zachary, R-Knoxville, would instead give mayors the power to make health decisions in Davidson, Hamilton, Knox, Madison, Shelby and Sullivan counties, WSMV reports. Legislation introduced yesterday could be considered when the legislative session begins in January or during a special session, according to the Daily Memphian.

Attorney General Herbert Slatery today announced his office has reached a settlement agreement with DOC Disinfectant for making false and deceptive claims that its cleaning products were FDA and EPA approved, could eliminate COVID-19 and protect surfaces from the virus for up to 90 days. DOC also used the names and logos of many well-known companies on its website, including Panda Express, McDonald’s, iHeartRadio and others who confirmed they had never worked with DOC or approved use of their logos. DOC continued its false claims, even after it received a letter from the AG’s office. Under the terms of the settlement, DOC must pay $5,000, stop making false claims of eliminating COVID-19, stop implying its products have been approved by the FDA and EPA and more. Read more on the AG’s website.

There have been three confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the Hamilton County Juvenile Court's main division located at 1600 E. 3rd Street within the last week, Judge Rob Philyaw tells Chattanoogan.com. Two of the individuals have not been in the building since Oct. 30. The third was last in the building last Tuesday. All three are home and recovering well, Philyaw said. Several other staff members are in quarantine or are awaiting results. Parties who appeared in Courtroom 2 the week of Oct. 26 and those who appeared in Courtroom 3 through Nov. 3 should be aware of the potential for possible exposure.