Legislation designed to shine more light on political actions committees and campaign finances passed its first committee in the state legislature yesterday, Tennessee Lookout reports. The Senate State and Local Government Committee unanimously approved SB1005, sending it to the Senate floor for full consideration. The House version of the bill has been delayed until next week in the Local Government Committee. Three key amendments accompany the bill: increasing the number of Registry of Election Finance members from six to eight, requiring copies of financial transactions of $1,000 to be filed with the registry, and requiring groups that engage in paid political communications within 60 days of an election to register as a political action committee. The news source has a full summary of the bill.

Ever wanted to know more about the moving parts, projects and staffers of the Tennessee Bar Association? Starting next week, look for a #TeamTBA post on all our social media outlets and in TBA Today for a closer look at each staff member, their role in the association and maybe a fun fact or two! #TeamTBA profiles will be posted every Wednesday. Find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Attorneys are known for their ability to thrive under pressure, manage a significant amount of stress and work much more than the standard 40-hour work week. But according to the American Bar Association, attorneys are among the most sleep-deprived group of professionals. While some are aware of the toll this takes on their personal and social lives, a lesser number understand the impact that working from sun-up until sun-down can have on sleep patterns and overall health. A wellness blog from Thomson Reuters looks at sleep recommendations from the National Sleep Foundation, the adverse effects of not getting enough sleep and tips for helping our bodies wind down earlier in the evening.

The Claiborne County Bar Association has announced that Noah J. Patton was recently elected president of the organization and Meredith S. Bundren was elected secretary. Patton practices at Stanifer & Stanifer in Tazewell. He spent 15 years in the oil and gas industry before earning his law degree from Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law. Bundren was licensed in 2017 after attending LMU Duncan School of Law and now practices at the Bundren Law Firm in Tazewell. Read the press release from the Claiborne County Bar Association.

Nashville law firm Spencer Fane Bone McAllester recently named partner Andrea Perry as co-chair of the firm’s Banking and Financial Services Practice Group. According to a press release from the firm, Perry focuses her practice on representing financial institutions and borrowers in loan transactions involving all types of collateral and projects. She also provides general advice to business clients from basic entity formation through all phases of their growth. Perry also represents landlords and tenants, both public and private, in the negotiation of commercial leases for a wide variety of uses. Read the press release. 

White Bluff Judge Leonard G. Belmares has announced he will not seek reelection to the municipal court and will instead seek the Republican nomination for circuit court judge. According to a release from his campaign, Belmares says he is “proud of what we have accomplished” since he was elected in 2014. “We have no backlog of cases, our court runs efficiently, and we are fair to everyone involved in the judicial process,” Belmares said in the release. “White Bluff was the first court in our Judicial District to submit a plan to provide continuous access during the COVID-19 shut down. I believe that efficiency and access are extremely important in the judicial system.” If elected, Belmares would serve Cheatham, Dickson, Houston, Humphreys and Stewart counties.

Death row inmate Oscar Franklin Smith yesterday filed a motion to reopen his case, claiming new DNA evidence shows an “unknown assailant” used the murder weapon in the 32-year-old Nashville triple slaying, the Tennessean reports. Smith was convicted in 1989 of the murders of his estranged wife and her two sons from another marriage and is scheduled to die by lethal injection later this month. The 13-page motion for post conviction relief was filed by Smith’s federal public defender Amy D. Harwell and Assistant Federal Public Defender Katherine Dix. Attorneys with the global law firm Baker Botts last month filed a clemency petition with Gov. Bill Lee asking Smith’s sentence to be commuted to life without parole. Smith’s lawyers have also asked Lee to grant a temporary reprieve while his appeals make their way through the system. Smith has maintained his innocence since his arrest.

Perry County General Sessions and Juvenile Court Judge Katerina Vatulina Moore was born in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, home to Europe’s largest power station, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. In a recent article from the Administrative Office of the Courts, Moore details growing up in Ukraine and weighs in on Russia’s invasion of her home country. “When my birth city was hit, it became real that the war was right there,” Moore said. “It makes you feel helpless at times. My heart goes out to the people.” Moore first came to the U.S. in 1996 for 10-months as a high school exchange student. She returned for college in 1999 and upon graduating entered law school at the University of Tennessee College of Law. From there, Moore went to work at the Spitzer Firm in Hohenwald and became a U.S. citizen in 2008. She later opened her own firm and in 2014 was elected to the bench in Perry County. Read more on Moore’s story from the AOC.

The Tennessee General Assembly last week honored outgoing Administrative Office of the Courts Director Deborah Taylor Tate with a Joint House Resolution on the House floor. Rep. Andy Farmer, R-Sevierville, and Rep. William Lamberth, R-Portland, spearheaded the effort to create proclamation 672, which states Tate “is to be commended for her exemplary service as Administrative Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, and for her many years of honorable and astute service to the citizens of Tennessee.” Tate retired from her role with the AOC in February. “There’s no greater challenge and no greater honor than public service, and you are all truly public servants,” Tate said. The occasion was recorded and can be found on the General Assembly’s website.

The Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law student chapter of the Federalist Society will host a Q&A event with new Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sarah Campbell on April 14. Topics will include jurisprudence, federal and state courts, the Supreme Court and more. The event will take place from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. EDT in Room 340 of the law school. Read more from the Federalist Society.