Results from the October bar exam scheduled to be released Monday may be delayed following the discovery of a software error in Kentucky, which used the same exam and software. "We are confident that our results will be valid and accurate when released," officials from the Board of Law Examiners say, noting that there are "no issues with the actual scoring of the tests. The issue that arose is with a separate system that sent results to test takers. Tennessee is verifying each result to ensure test takers in our state receive their true and accurate score." Watch the TBA.org website for results when they become available.

Bob Covington, former professor at Vanderbilt Law School, passed away on Nov. 29 at 84. Covington received his undergraduate degree from Yale before earning his law degree from Vanderbilt Law School in 1961. He was offered a fellowship to teach and serve as a research fellow at Vanderbilt Law immediately after graduating and accepted an offer to join the law faculty permanently when the fellowship ended. Covington taught labor and employment law for 46 years until his retirement in 2007. Covington received Vanderbilt’s Thomas Jefferson Award in 1992 and when the law school was expanded and renovated in the early 2000s, the Covington Room was named in his honor. A small family memorial service will be livestreamed from St. George’s Episcopal Church on Dec. 11 at 11 a.m. CST. Donations in Professor Covington’s memory can be made to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee “Covington Quality of Life Fund,” which supports the Nashville symphony, opera, ballet and the Frist Art Museum; to Vanderbilt Law School; or to a charity of the donor’s choice.

The Tennessee Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission and the Tennessee Supreme Court Administrative Office of the Courts is sponsoring a free virtual training on implicit bias on Dec. 17 at 2 p.m. CST. This training is the first of several upcoming quarterly trainings on implicit bias, racial injustice, poverty and related topics. These trainings are designed for all judicial and legal stakeholders, such as judges, court clerks, private attorneys, legal service providers, mediators, interpreters, court reporters and other related stakeholders. In addition to key members of the Access to Justice Commission and the Administrative Office of the Courts, the steering committee planning these trainings includes TBA’s Chief Diversity Officer Mary Beard and Executive Director Joycelyn Stevenson. Register for the event here. 

A new lawsuit from voters’ rights advocates says the state’s current process for restoring voting rights to those convicted of a felony is “unequal, inaccessible, opaque, and error-ridden,” while stressing that it has resulted in a “disparate impact” on Black Tennesseans. The Associated Press also cites a report from the nonprofit Sentencing Project, which says the state’s disenfranchisement rate among Black adult voters — more than 20% — remains notably high while the national rate has seen declines.

A GOP-led panel of House and Senate lawmakers issued suggestions Tuesday that would give the legislature the power to limit or overturn emergency orders from the governor during future health crises, the Associated Press reports. Those recommendations would treat health-related emergency orders differently than others, with caps on how long a governor’s health state of emergency can stand before lawmakers would get a vote on it; power for lawmakers to override a state of emergency or executive order; requirements for notice and fiscal impact estimates of an emergency order; and more. Gov. Bill Lee, however, would be exempt from these rules, since they would only apply to the next administration.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today indefinitely postponed the execution of death row inmate Byron Black because of “multiple issues caused by the continuing COVID-19 pandemic,” the Associated Press reports. Black was originally scheduled for execution on Oct. 8, and the court had previously ordered a postponement until April 8. Three other Tennessee inmates have also had their executions put on hold because of the virus.

Tennessee lawyers may continue fulfilling their CLE requirements through approved distance learning courses through 2021, per an order issued today from the Tennessee Supreme Court. The order extends the temporary suspension of Rule 21, sections 3.01(c) and 4.02(c), and also allows for CLE hours from 2020 to carry over into the new year. It was issued in response to the ongoing state of emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and is effective immediately and through Dec. 31, 2021. Read the full order.

An article on general sessions court reform in Tennessee written by Hamblen County Assistant Public Defender Willie Santana has been published in the latest issue of the Lincoln Memorial University Law Review. In How to Make Better Sessions Judges: Appellate Review A Proposal to Reform Tennessee’s General Sessions Courts for the 21st Century, Santana writes about general sessions judicial misconduct and its negative impact on those involved in criminal cases. He also proposes ways in which the court can be reformed, including “injecting appellate review into the general sessions court” as a means of improving the system. Santana, a TBA member and member of the TBA’s Leadership Law Class of 2020, was featured in an article from the New York Times last year on overcrowding and poor conditions in the Hamblen County jail.

The TBA’s Dispute Resolution Section has produced a three-part series covering non-monetary issues that arise in family law disputes, business and commercial disputes and employment disputes. Coming up tomorrow from 1 to 2 p.m. CST, don’t miss Non-Monetary Issues in Family Law Disputes, which will walk attendees through a fact scenario, highlighting litigation tactics and strategy and discussing the process of negotiating a resolution. Then, on Dec. 14 from noon until 1 p.m. CST, catch Non-Monetary Issues in Employment Disputes, which will talk about settlement blockers and how a mediator can be prepared to handle them. Finally, Non-Monetary Issues in Business and Commercial Disputes is now available online and covers strategies a mediator could use to give a recalcitrant party closure. All three courses are virtual and worth one hour each of CLE and Continuing Mediation Education (CME) credit.

The holidays are coming up, and for many of us they will be very different than our traditional celebrations and gatherings. Experiencing sadness or disappointment around the holidays is normal even under the best circumstances, and we are far from that! A new podcast from Dr. Rick Hanson explores how to work through this year’s natural feelings of sadness and disappointment. Topics include “Experiencing and Working with Sadness,” “Letting in Good Experiences,” “Sadness vs. Depression” and “Dealing with Disappointment.”