Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Monte Watkins has denied a change of venue request in the murder trial of Metro Nashville Police Officer Andrew Delke, the Tennessean reports. Delke, who is white, is charged with premeditated first-degree murder after shooting Daniel Hambrick, who is Black, in the back following a foot chase in 2018. His defense team argued yesterday that anti-police sentiments in Nashville have tainted the jury pool. "Although the case has received extensive pretrial publicity, this Court is of the opinion that jurors can be fair and impartial," Watkins wrote in his order. Delke has pleaded not guilty to the charge and claims he was acting in self-defense. Jury selection in the case is set to begin in in early July.  

Longtime Vanderbilt Law School professor and Nashville resident Allaire Urban Karzon died Sunday. She was 95. Karzon earned her law degree from Yale Law School before working as an attorney with the Office of Alien Property at the U.S. Department of Justice and in the legal department of RCA Corp. After moving to Nashville, Karzon served as counsel to Performance Systems Inc. and Aladdin Industries and practiced as a partner in Neal Karzon and Harwell. She joined Vanderbilt’s law faculty as a lecturer in 1971 and taught tax law until her retirement in 1995, in the process becoming Vanderbilt’s first tenured female law professor. Contributions in her memory may be made to the Visiting Nursing Association of Western New York Inc., 650 Airborne Parkway, Cheektowaga, N.Y. 14225.

The University of Tennessee College of Law's Legal Clinic is connecting its students with entrepreneurs and community members to provide them with the legal assistance needed to launch their start-ups and more. Professor Brian Krum spearheaded a collaboration between his Business Clinic law students and aspiring Knoxville entrepreneurial fellows. In this partnership, students advise entrepreneurs on intellectual property issues, types of legal entities they should form and financial options. Students in Professor Eric Amarante’s Community Economic Development Clinic are also getting hands-on experience through assistance they’ve offered a fellow student in forming non-profit foundation that helps those in Uganda refugee camps. The College of Law’s website has more on the work students are doing through both clinics.

Maryville attorney Charles David Deas on Tuesday received a public censure from the Board of Professional Responsibility. Deas deposited his own funds in his trust account in order to issue a cashier’s check from that account. He also failed to adequately protect the bank checks for his trust account, and he failed to have proper procedures in place to make sure his assistant was in compliance with the Rules of Professional Conduct. These acts were found to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 1.15 and 5.3. A public censure is a rebuke and warning to the attorney, but it does not affect the attorney’s ability to practice law.

Clerk of the Appellate Courts James M. Hivner and Dodson, Parker, Behm & Capparella attorneys Donald Capparella and Kimberly Macdonald will lead E-Filing Appeals in Tennessee on Feb. 25 from 1 to 2 p.m. CST. The trio will discuss tips and best practices regarding Tennessee's TrueFiling system for appellate briefs. Members of the Appellate Practice Section will receive discounted pricing. Not a section member? Join today!

The Legal Services Corporation received $465 million in the omnibus FY 2021 appropriations legislation signed into law at the end of the year. The funding represents a $25 million boost from last year and the largest appropriation in actual dollars in the organization’s history. Funding for the LSC was not included in the latest COVID-19 relief package, although the bill did include rental assistance and extended the eviction moratorium through Jan. 31. LSC President Ron Flagg thanked Congress for the support and urged legislators to include additional funds for LSC in the next COVID-19 relief legislation citing a surge in legal needs due to the pandemic.

Next week, the Center for Women in Law at the University of Texas School of Law is launching the “Ginsburg Initiative” to advance gender-neutral initiatives that support systemic change, Above the Law reports. As part of the launch, the center will hold a virtual panel discussion on the life and legacy of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. NPR legal correspondent Nina Totenberg will moderate the discussion among four of Ginsburg’s former clerks. The free event will take place Feb. 2 at noon CST. Register here.

Arguments were heard again this week on whether the trial of a white police officer charged with murdering a Black man can be held fairly with a Nashville jury, the Tennessean reports. Metro Nashville Police Officer Andrew Delke has been charged with one count of premeditated first-degree murder in the 2018 shooting death of Daniel Hambrick. Delke has pleaded not guilty, saying he was acting in self-defense after he saw Hambrick holding a gun. In 2019, Delke’s legal team argued that anti-police sentiment that erupted after the event tainted the potential jury pool. That motion was denied and the Court of Criminal Appeals declined to intervene. The team argued on Monday that months of civil unrest this past summer have further shifted public opinion against police in the city.

Nashville-based LOGICFORCE recently released the results of its 2021 Law Firm IT Scorecard, a national study of mid-size law firms designed to educate the legal industry on the current state of law firm technology usage and related protocols. The scorecard is designed to help legal professionals better understand how IT environments have evolved and what new demands on technology have arisen. In releasing the report, LOGICFORCE CEO Gulam Zade said the company predicts another year of transformation and innovation, and law firms that quickly embrace technology will have a strategic advantage in the market.

Legal organizations in Knoxville will hold a virtual Veterans Legal Advice Clinic on Feb. 10 from noon to 2 p.m. EST. The clinic is a general advice and referral clinic which serves between 20 and 30 veterans each month with a wide variety of legal issues. To volunteer, sign up online. For questions, contact Access to Justice Committee Co-Chairs Spencer Fair or Luke Ihnen.