Hamilton County businessman and Republican activist Greg Vital announced yesterday that he will vie for Tennessee’s House District 29, the Chattanoogan reports. Vital joins Democrat DeAngelo Jelks in the race for late Rep. Mike Carter’s seat in the General Assembly. Vital is chairman, president and co-founder of Morning Pointe Senior Living and Independent HealthCare properties. In 2012, Vital lost the Republican primary for state senate to Sen. Todd Gardnehire by 40 votes. The Democratic and Republican primary elections are July 27. The general election is Sept. 14.

Shelby County General Sessions Civil Court Judge John Donald has announced he will retire effective July 7, the Daily Memphian reports. Donald took office in 1986 and was last re-elected in 2014 for a term that was set to expire on Aug. 31, 2022. The Board of Judicial Conduct publicly censured Donald in 2014 for violating the code of judicial conduct for retaliating against an attorney who had filed a complaint against him. Donald received a public censure and paid court costs, but remained on the bench. The Shelby County Board of Commissioners may or may not appoint a new judge to the position at its next meeting this week.

A number of lawyers were recently reinstated after being suspended for administrative violations. They include nine suspended for CLE violations (one in 1994, one in 2016, one in 2018 and six in 2020); 17 suspended for professional tax non-payment (one in 2010, three in 2020 and 13 in 2021); and 13 suspended for non-payment of fees and/or failure to file the required IOLTA report (one in 2012, one in 2013, two in 2018, one in 2019, three in 2020 and five in 2021). View all administrative suspensions and reinstatement lists here.

Leon Gray, special assistant to Juvenile Court Judge Dan Michael and legislative assistant for the Shelby County Commission, died on Friday, the Commercial Appeal reports. He was 62. In addition to his role with Shelby County courts, Gray was a news broadcaster for Memphis-area radio station WLOK. "Leon, as many of us knew, was a man of faith and dedicated his life as a champion for many causes,” Michael said on Facebook. “The Court has indeed lost a hero.” Visitation will be held on Thursday from 3 to 8 p.m. CDT at Serenity Funeral Home, 1638 Sycamore View Rd., Memphis, TN 38134. A second visitation will be held on Friday from 11 a.m. until noon CDT, followed by the funeral and burial, all taking place at New Sardis Baptist Church, 7739 E. Holmes Rd., Memphis, TN 38125. Read more on funeral arrangements for Gray.

A new report from the U.S. Sentencing Commission shows that federal courts in Tennessee granted 18% of the compassionate release requests they received from federal prisoners seeking early release in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tennessean reports. Most of the 336 motions for compassionate release were filed by the defendants themselves and only 61 were granted. Of the three districts in the state, Middle Tennessee released 28% of those who petitioned the court, East Tennessee released 16.6% and West Tennessee released 7.7%. Another report from the Vera Institute of Justice shows that incarceration rates in the state’s jails and prisons were down 18% in mid-2020 from where they were in late 2019. That figure dropped another 2% by spring of this year, signaling a slowing downward trend.

Over the course of two days last week, the Tennessee Supreme Court welcomed the newest members of the bar and administered them the oath of office. TBA President Michelle Greenway Sellers was on hand to introduce a number of the new lawyers to the court. According to the court, the University of Memphis School of Law had the most alumni taking the oath, followed by the University of Tennessee College of Law and Belmont College of Law. New attorneys making Tennessee their home state went to law school as far away as the University of Maine, Brigham Young University, the University of Chicago, and Pepperdine University. The justices acknowledged the “particularly arduous” journey this group faced in graduating from law school and passing the bar exam during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Tennessee Bar Association this week will honor Hamblen County Assistant Public Defender Willie Santana with the Claudia Jack Award for his work promoting criminal justice reform. His case challenging bail practices in Hamblen County has "sent ripples throughout the criminal justice community in Tennessee,” former TBA President Buck Lewis wrote in his nomination of Santana. “Judges are beginning to focus upon whether their practices are legal and whether the system of cash bail, even legally imposed, makes sense for the taxpayers, the courts, and the accused." Santana also authored "Cash on the Barrelhead" in the July/August 2020 issue of the Tennessee Bar Journal, which also brought awareness to the issue. The award will be presented Friday during the TBA Annual Convention in Memphis.

Bone McAllester Norton attorney I’Ashea Myles has announced she is running to succeed Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle — who announced last week she would not seek re-election — the Nashville Post reports. Myles earned her law degree from Belmont University College of Law in 2014. During law school she clerked with the Tennessee Court of Appeals, Tennessee Attorney General’s Office and the district attorney’s office in Rutherford County. Following graduation, Myles practiced with the Hagan Law Group and Leitner, Williams, Dooley & Napolitan before joining Bone McAllester in 2018. Her practice is focused on construction, business and real estate litigation. Myles was a member of the TBA Diversity Leadership Institute class of 2014. 

Former Memphis University School of Law professor Alena Allen has joined the faculty of the University of Arkansas School of Law. The school announced the hiring on Friday. Allen joins the faculty as associate dean for research and faculty development and professor of law. Her research interests center on the intersection of health policy and critical feminist theory. Allen resigned from the University of Memphis in May citing the school’s lack of commitment to diversity and inclusion.

The special election for Tennessee's House District 29 seat has its first formally announced candidate, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. Democrat DeAngelo Jelks, an Iraq War veteran, U.S. Army Reserve captain and former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga police officer, has announced his intention to run for the seat held by the late state Rep. Mike Carter, R-Ooltewah, and now Carter’s wife. He currently is employed as a human resources recruiter. The paper reports that Republicans Greg Vital and Hoyt Samples also have picked up nominating petitions. Vital is chairman, president and co-founder of Morning Pointe Senior Living and Independent HealthCare properties. Samples is a long-time local attorney and has a practice in commercial and business litigation, personal injury and estate planning. The Democratic and Republican primary elections are July 27. The general election is Sept. 14.