Circuit Court Judges Deanna Johnson, Mike Binkley and Woody Woodruff, who all serve in the 21st Judicial District, recently announced reelection campaigns, the Williamson Herald reports. Each will run for reelection in the May 2022 Republican primary. Johnson began her service on the bench when appointed in November 2014 and was unopposed in her first election. Binkley was elected in a 2012 special election and retained his seat in the 2014 election. Woodruff was elected in 2014 and has served since then. All three were in private practice before joining the bench.

The legal profession may struggle to identify lawyers experiencing cognitive decline, partly because lawyers are good at hiding their problems and redirecting conversations, according to the ABA Journal. The chair of the ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs also tells Bloomberg Law that lawyers tend to think they are invincible and find their identities closely intertwined with their work, both of which make it difficult to recognize when it is time to retire. Though no statistics exist regarding the prevalence of dementia in the profession, the number of practicing lawyers older than age 65 has increased more than 50% over the last decade and the legal field has double the percentage of older individuals than the general working population — all of which suggests this issue could be worse for the legal field. States vary on whether they require lawyers to report or intervene when another lawyer is impaired. At least a dozen have issued ethics opinions on duties, as has the American Bar Association.

Don’t miss this highlight of next week’s TBA Convention! The annual Lawyers Luncheon will take place June 18 at noon CDT at The Peabody in Memphis and via livestream for virtual registrants. Make sure to join in as colleagues from across the state are honored with awards, including the Justice Frank F. Drowota III Award, the Justice Joseph W. Henry Award for Outstanding Legal Writing, the Judge Pamela L. Reeves Tennessee Professionalism Award, and still to be announced Claudia Jack Award, Fourth Estate Award, YLD Fellows William M. Leech Jr. Public Service Award, and President’s Awards for those who served with distinction this past year. The lunch also will include passing of the gavel from TBA President Michelle Greenway Sellers to President-elect Sherie Edwards and oath of office administered by Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Jeffrey S. Bivins. It’s not too late to register for the virtual experience.

A one-hour virtual seminar set for Friday will examine the recent Tennessee Supreme Court decision in Yebuah et al. v. Center for Urological Treatment, a health care liability action involving application of the statutory cap on non-economic damages to loss of consortium claims. Join Nashville attorney Donald Capparella, who argued the appeal, and Knoxville attorney, former TBA president and past Appellate Practice Section chair Buck Lewis to learn more about the case. The program will include time for Q&A.

A Tennessee court will soon decide whether it will set an execution date for Christa Pike, one of the youngest women ever sentenced to death and the only woman on the state’s death row, the Nashville Scene reports. Pike’s attorneys yesterday filed arguments against scheduling their client’s execution, clearing the way for the court to make the final decision. Pike was 19 when she was sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of Colleen Slemmer during a youth job-training program in Knoxville both women were attending. Her attorneys argue that a history of mental illness, brain damage, abuse and multiple rapes led Pike to becoming the “the teenager who committed a terrible crime.” State and federal governments have executed only 17 women since 1976. If the court decides to set a date, Pike would be the first female executed in Tennessee in roughly 200 years.

Applications are being accepted for Circuit Court Judge in the 25th Judicial District, which includes Fayette, Hardeman, Lauderdale, McNairy, and Tipton counties. The opening was created by the retirement of Judge Joe H. Walker III. Licensed attorneys who are 30 years of age, have been residents of the state for five years and are currently residents of the 25th Judicial District are welcome to apply. Submit the Trial Court Vacancy Commission application to the Administrative Office of the Courts by noon CDT on June 22. The commission will consider applicants at a hearing on July 22 at 9 a.m. CDT. The location will be announced at a later date. The AOC’s website has more on the application process.

A June 14 trial date has been set in the federal wire fraud and money laundering case against Sen. Katrina Robinson, D-Memphis, the Daily Memphian reports. This is the second set of federal charges brought against Robinson, who will also stand trial on Sept. 13 for the first wave of charges, which include stealing, converting and intentionally misapplying funding for her own use. She was indicted in July 2020 on charges of stealing more than $600,000 in federal grant money intended for The Healthcare Institute, which she founded. U.S. District Court Judge Sheryl Lipman will hear next week’s trial, which could last three to four days. Robinson and two other co-defendants could each face a possible sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release.

Five attorneys have applied for the vacancy in the 7th Judicial District Circuit Court, which covers Anderson County. Dail R. Cantrell, Elizabeth Mitchell Capps, Karen G. Crutchfield, Brian J. Hunt and Ryan Michael Spitzer submitted applications and will be interviewed by the Trial Court Vacancy Commission at a public hearing on July 16. The meeting will take place at 9 a.m. EDT in the Commission Chambers of the Anderson County Government Office Building located at 100 North Main Street, Suite 312, Clinton, TN 37716. The commission will take a vote immediately following the hearing and will forward the names of three applicants to Gov. Bill Lee for his consideration. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more on each candidate. 

Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk Heidi Kuhn has announced that she is seeking a second four-year term, the Daily Memphian reports. Kuhn hosted an opening fundraiser at Neil’s Music Room in East Memphis with a guest list that included Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland, former U.S. Rep. John Tanner and several Shelby County judges. During the event, Kuhn touted the several thousand criminal record expungements her office has processed and called for an “expungement court” that would take a “holistic approach” to the process that would help those eligible to also find and keep jobs.

Chief District Judge Pamela L. Reeves will be honored posthumously this month with the Tennessee Bar Association’s (TBA) prestigious Justice Frank F. Drowota III Award. Her family will accept the award in her honor during the Tennessee Bar Association’s Lawyers Luncheon on June 18 at its annual convention in Memphis. Named in honor of former Tennessee Chief Justice Frank Drowota, the Drowota Award is the TBA’s highest award for service to the judiciary and has been given annually for more than a decade.