The Tennessee Supreme Court penned a letter today thanking all those who have celebrated the life and legacy of late Supreme Court Justice Cornelia “Connie” Clark. The justices wrote that they have decided to leave the Nashville courtroom draped in mourning throughout the month of October in honor of Clark. The public has access to the courtroom and can still sign the book of remembrances there or continue to leave comments through the Administrative Office of the Courts website. All remembrances will later be given to Clark’s family. The high court also reminded the public of a video which honors Clark and her “unwavering commitment to Access to Justice.” Read the full letter here.

Several faculty groups at the University of Tennessee are urging the school to reinstate former professor Anming Hu after he was tried and later acquitted of fraud-related charges, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. The U.S. Department of Justice had accused Hu of being a Chinese spy and prosecuted him twice on charges of wire fraud and making false statements. A federal judge threw out the charges in September. Hu’s lawyer, Phil Lomonaco, told the paper that after the university suspended him without pay, the federal government revoked his work authorization, leaving him in Knoxville apart from his family until he works out his employment status.  

Join the Federal Law Section on Dec. 8 as they take a deeper look into U.S. v Hu.

Longtime Nashville attorney Paul Ney has joined Momentus Inc., a startup planning to offer infrastructure services in space, the Nashville Post reports. Ney is the company’s new chief legal officer and corporate secretary. He previously served as general counsel for the Department of the Navy and deputy general counsel of the Department of Defense during George W. Bush’s second term. He returned to Nashville to lead the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Community Development under then-Mayor Karl Dean and later became general counsel for the Department of Defense under the Trump administration. In 2016, he was named chief deputy to Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III.

Chattanooga attorney Brian Bush yesterday announced that he is running for Chattanooga City Court Division I judge, the Chattanoogan reports. A campaign release said Bush “has a new vision for our city court that includes a system of rehabilitation and restoration that saves taxpayers both money and time.” After earning his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law, Bush became the legal liaison for the House of Refuge in Chattanooga and later served more than two years as an assistant district attorney. Bush is now an attorney at Spears, Moore, Rebman & Williams PC.

The Association of Corporate Counsel and Legal Aid of East Tennessee are partnering on a virtual event that will create and identify pro bono opportunities for in-house counsel and other legal staff in the Chattanooga area. LAET pro bono attorneys Caitlin Torney of Knoxville, Mary Frances of Chattanooga and Development Director Suzanne Wisdom will share and discuss ways you can offer volunteer pro bono services that will match your interests and abilities. The event will take place on Oct. 12 at noon EDT. Join the meeting via this Zoom link.

The Tennessee Supreme Court is set to hear four cases tomorrow, two of which will be livestreamed. State v. William Eugene Moon will begin at 9 a.m. CDT and Donna Cooper et al. v. Dr. Mason W. Mandy et al. will begin at 10:30 a.m. CDT. Both cases will be livestreamed on the Administrative Office of the Courts YouTube page. The final two cases will be submitted on briefs. Read details on all four cases on the AOC’s website.

Attorney General Herbert Slatery is leading a coalition of 52 attorneys general who today announced their strong support of U.S. Senate committee hearings addressing the protection and safety of kids and teens using social media. In a letter to the Congressional committee, the AGs wrote of their frustration with Facebook’s efforts to increase youth engagement despite internal studies that show “increased mental distress, bullying, contemplation of suicide, and other self-harm” for a large number of children. The coalition hopes the committee will “uncover critical information about the business practices that social media companies are using to gain the attention of more young people on their platforms.” 

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