A ceremonial investiture installing Katherine A. Crytzer as the newest member of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee will take place Sept. 30 at 1 p.m. EDT at the federal courthouse in Knoxville. The event will be held in the fourth floor courtroom. A reception will follow the ceremony. View the invitation. To attend, RSVP by Sept. 9 to https://bit.ly/CrytzerInvestitureRSVP. The courthouse is located at 800 Market St., Knoxville 37902.

Tennesseans will be asked to vote on four proposed amendments to the state constitution on Nov. 8. To pass, any amendment must receive more "yes" votes than "no" votes, and the number of "yes" votes must be greater than the majority of the total votes cast in the gubernatorial election. WBIR looks at each of the amendments, which include Amendment 1: Right-to-Work; Amendment 2: Assigning an Acting Governor; Amendment 3: Removing Slavery as a Punishment for Crime; and Amendment 4: Removing the Religious Minister Disqualification.

The Franklin Board of Mayor and Aldermen will hire a new city court judge next week after Judge Deana Hood announced her resignation effective Aug. 31. She has been appointed to serve as 21st Judicial District Circuit Court judge, the Williamson Herald reports. The city received 19 applications for the municipal judge, conducted first-round interviews with 15 interested individuals, and held second-round interviews with the top five candidates. Candidates were given a score based on their interviews and a writing assignment. The top five by score are: Jessica Borne, a former assistant district attorney who now works in private practice; Katie Zipper, a private practicing attorney in Franklin; attorney William Cohen; attorney Kim Thompson; and former public defender Vanessa Bryan.

State Rep. Andrew Farmer says he was caught off guard in circuit court a week ago when the judge started moving offenders off Community Corrections into state probation. “It just blew my mind,” says Farmer, a Sevierville Republican who chairs the state House Civil Justice Committee and serves on the Criminal Justice Committee. The judge overseeing the case in question said the legislature had cut funding for Community Corrections, leaving him no option but to shift non-probatable people out of the long-running program. Farmer says the legislature has taken no such action, and in fact, had encouraged the Department of Correction to keep the Community Corrections program in place. Sen. Todd Gardenhire, chairman of the Fiscal Review Committee, is promising to hold hearings on the administration’s handling of the program when the legislature reconvenes. Tennessee Lookout has more on the story. In a previous piece, the news source looked at how the Community Corrections program works.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and recently retired justice Stephen Breyer have been named honorary co-chairmen of a nonpartisan group devoted to educating the public about the Constitution. The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia said the pair will be spokesmen for civics education and civility in politics. The justices' decision to work together "is especially meaningful in this polarized time," said Jeffrey Rosen, the center's president. At the ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago earlier this month, Breyer said, "The nonpartisan work of the National Constitution Center is essential, and I look forward to working with Justice Gorsuch to promote civil dialogue and debate." Read more from the center.

Knoxville Center of the Deaf (KCD) is looking for a lawyer willing to serve as the pro bono attorney on its nonprofit board. The center provides interpreting services throughout the Greater Knoxville and Knox County area, including at hospitals, doctors’ offices, dentists and meetings. The pro bono attorney would commit to (1) become familiar with the by-laws and corporate status of the center, (2) attend quarterly board meetings; and (3) advise the board as to legalities related to issues that arise. Contact Wayne Kline at wkline@hdclaw.com or (865) 292-2321 to learn more.

The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands will hold two clinics this week. On Wednesday, a clinic for veterans will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. CDT in Nashville at Operation Stand Down, 1125 12th Ave. S., 37203. Then on Saturday, the Belmont Clinic will take place from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. at 2005 12th Ave. South, Nashville 37204. All times are central. To volunteer for a clinic, contact Kendra Cheek, 615-780-7131. See all August clinics.

This year's Creditors Practice Annual Forum will be held in person Sept. 14 at 1212 Germantown, located at 1212 6th Ave N, Nashville 37208. Practitioners in the creditors practice field can earn three general and one dual CLE credits. The program will cover topics including Regulation F, navigating ethical issues in a remote work world, an update on landlord tenant law, as well as a session covering developments in bankruptcy law. After the program, stay and mingle with fellow attendees, speakers and section executive council members at a casual reception.

Two former Pennsylvania judges convicted of orchestrating a scheme to send children to for-profit jails in exchange for kickbacks have been ordered to pay more than $200 million to the hundreds of victims impacted by the scandal, the Associated Press reports. Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan were convicted in what came to be known as the “kids-for-cash” scandal. The judges shut down a county-run juvenile detention center and accepted $2.8 million in illegal payments from the builder and co-owner of two for-profit lockups. Ciavarella ordered children as young as eight to detention for petty theft, jaywalking, truancy, smoking on school grounds and other minor infractions. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court threw out some 4,000 juvenile convictions involving more than 2,300 kids after the scheme was uncovered. The two must pay $106 million in compensatory damages and $100 million in punitive damages to nearly 300 people in the long-running civil suit.

Roy Octavius Parker, a Mississippi attorney and TBA senior counselor, died on July 25. He was 91. Parker earned his law degree from the University of Mississippi’s School of Law in 1959. During his career as a trial lawyer, Parker was a lifetime member and past president of the Mississippi Trial Lawyers Association, which honored him with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Parker was licensed in Tennessee in 1997. Graveside services with military honors for Parker were held on July 28 in Mississippi. Memorials may be made to First Presbyterian Church P.O. Box 1725, Tupelo, MS 38802.