Civil rights attorney Ben Crump at a press conference today called on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate Rutherford County Assistant District Attorney John Zimmerman for alleged “racial profiling” and “discrimination,” News Channel 5 reports. Crump, who will represent the minority-owned businesses impacted by the alleged practices, claims Zimmerman “used his position and power to target minority businesses” and pointed to allegations of the assistant DA using racial slurs during speaking engagements. "We want these investigated to the highest levels of the government,” Crump said.

Rutherford County senior judicial commissioner Jacob Flatt has announced he will be running as a Republican for Juvenile Court judge, WPLN reports. A Nashville School of Law graduate, Flatt became the county’s senior judicial commissioner in 2019. He was previously in private practice and is a former clerk for Rutherford County General Sessions Judge Ben Hall McFarlin Jr. Flatt’s campaign marks the first time in 20 years current Juvenile Court Judge Donna Scott Davenport has been challenged for her seat.

Nashville attorney Rachel Buckley has been appointed general counsel for the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, the Nashville Post reports. Buckley began working for the state in 2013 as a lawyer for the Department of Children’s Services and the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office. She joined the comptroller’s office in 2017, working on open records cases, and was later named assistant general counsel. In her new role, Buckley will field requests from businesses, governmental entities and schools seeking exemptions to newly passed laws banning COVID-19 precautions like mask and vaccine mandates. She drafted the exemption guidelines and will continue to provide legal advice as determinations are made.

A Roane County grand jury yesterday decided it would not bring state criminal charges against the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and a contractor for the 2008 toxic waste spill and subsequent cleanup, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. The grand jury made its decision after being presented with the findings of a criminal investigation into the incident conducted by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. After a nine-hour hearing, the grand jury voted 10-2 not to bring state criminal charges against the TVA and Jacobs Engineering, but added it found evidence about the cleanup and worker safety to be “very concerning.” The grand jury also commented that “the evidence (is) better suited for federal authorities to investigate and prosecute."

Mark your calendars for the 2022 Estate Planning & Probate Forum set for Feb. 18 from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. CST. The event will offer an in-person and virtual option, providing the insights needed to stay on top of key developments in the practice area. The program offers one dual credit and six general credits of CLE. The program will cover legislative updates, ethics and recent developments to rules on estate and gift taxes. A Clerk and Masters’ panel will also be included in the programming. Get more information and register here.

A portrait of retired Davidson County Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman has been completed and is on permanent display at Nashville’s Chancery Court. A gift to the Nashville Bar Association, the portrait was created by Nashville illustrator and storyboard artist, J. William Myers. Bonnyman retired in January 2019 after serving on the Davidson County Chancery Court for 15 years. She was appointed by former Gov. Phil Bredesen in 2003 and won election three times, most recently in 2014. Bonnyman hopes to hold an official portrait unveiling ceremony in the future. Read more from the Administrative Offices of the Courts.

The Tennessee Supreme Court suspended 26 attorneys on Friday for failure to pay the annual registration fee. Ten of those also failed to file proof that client funds were held in an IOLTA-compliant account. View the fee suspension order or the IOLTA suspension order. See the list of all lawyers suspended for fee and IOLTA violations in 2021 or access all administrative suspensions dating back to 2005.

Chancellor George R. Ellis died today, just one day after his 73rd birthday, the Administrative Office of the Courts reports. Ellis served the 28th Judicial District, which includes Crockett, Gibson and Haywood counties, since 1993. During his tenure, he chaired the Tennessee Judicial Conference Security Committee. Prior to joining the court, Ellis served as a judge on the Gibson County General Sessions Court and Dyer County Municipal Court, worked as an attorney for Harrell & Harrell, and was campaign coordinator for the late U.S. Rep. Ed Jones. Ellis earned his law degree from the University of Memphis School of Law. He later served on the law school alumni association’s board of governors.

Services will be held this Friday and Saturday for Memphis lawyer and Tennessee Supreme Court Access to Justice Commissioner Sean Hunt, who died last week at the age of 56. Visitation will take place on Friday from 5-7 p.m. at Serenity Funeral Home, 1638 Sycamore View Rd., Memphis 38134 and on Saturday from 10-11 a.m. at Christ the King Lutheran Church, 5296 Park Ave., Memphis 38119. The funeral will take place Saturday at 11 a.m. at the church. All times central. Read more about Hunt's career.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today named three new members to the Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission. They are: Marc Harwell with the Harwell Law Group in Chattanooga, Linda Warren Seely with Butler Snow in Memphis, and John R. Tarpley with Lewis Thomason in Nashville. Each will serve a three-year term beginning Jan. 10, 2022. Commission members Frank S. Cantrell and Leslie M. Gattas, and chair Richard Ladd Jr. will step down in January. The court also named commission member Stephen L. Shields as the new chair. He will take over on Jan. 10, 2022, and serve for two years.