The TBA Supreme Court Boot Camp is just around the corner! Join your colleagues on Nov. 4 beginning at 9 a.m. CST to observe real cases being argued in the Tennessee Supreme Court. Then join in a discussion about the preparation by the lawyers who provided the oral arguments. The program also will feature a judicial panel with former Tennessee Supreme Court Justices Gary Wade, Janice Holder and William Koch Jr., who will discuss judicial considerations and answer questions from attendees.

Marion County Juvenile Court Judge R. Jay Blevins II was charged with domestic assault after police responded to a call Thursday night at his home in South Pittsburg, the Times Free Press reports. Mike Taylor, 12th Judicial District Attorney General, said the call came during an altercation between Blevins and his wife. Judges in the county recused themselves from the bond hearing. Bond was set by a Hamilton County judge through a Zoom meeting and Blevins was released this morning on a $1,000 bond.

A Minnesota judge has dismissed a third-degree murder charge filed against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, saying there was not enough probable cause for that count to proceed to trial. He allowed the more serious charges of unintentional second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter against Chauvin to be pursued, the Associated Press reports. He also found probable cause to move forward with “aiding and abetting” counts against three other former officers involved in the incident that led to George Floyd's death.

A Knoxville woman was sentenced yesterday to 400 months in prison for her role in operating pill mills in Knoxville and Florida, the Daily Times reports. A federal jury found Sylvia Hofstetter, 56, guilty of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) conspiracy, drug conspiracy, money laundering offenses and maintaining drug-involved premises. Hofstetter was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Varlan. As part of her sentence, she must forfeit $3.6 million. Hofstetter had previously worked at a pill mill in Florida before coming to Tennessee to compete against her previous employers and co-defendants. The pill mills owned and operated by Hofstetter and her co-defendants distributed over 11 million tablets of oxycodone, oxymorphone, and morphine that generated over $21 million in revenue, with a corresponding street value of $360 million," the U.S. Department of Justice said.

Nashville lawyer Jamaal L. Boykin received a public censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court today. The court found that Boykin, after he was retained to represent a client in a bankruptcy proceeding, never filed a petition with the court but led his client to believe that he did. Boykin then ceased communicating with his client and effectively abandoned the representation. In mitigation, Boykin corrected the issues which led to his misconduct and provided a full refund to the client. His actions were determined to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.16 and 8.4(a)(c)(d).

Police use of force has long been a polarizing topic, but this year the issue has taken on new relevance. To help TBA members better understand the issue, the TBA Local Government Section will host a roundtable discussion on Monday from 2 to 3 p.m. CDT with Jeff Hughes, police chief for the city of Brentwood; Maggi Duncan, executive director of the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police; and John Buntin, Metro Nashville director of policy and community safety. The panel will examine use of force policies, tactics, training and community oversight. The event is free but registration is required.

The Knoxville Bar Foundation is raising funds to underwrite judicial portraits for two former Knox County judges. One portrait will recognize former Criminal Court Judge Bob McGee, who retired at the end of 2019. The other will honor Chancellor Mike Moyers, who will retire Jan. 22, and join the Knoxville law firm of Bernstein, Stair & McAdams. Donations are tax deductible and can be sent to J. William Coley, KBF Treasurer, Hodges Doughty & Carson, P.O. Box 869, Knoxville, TN 37901. Make checks out to the foundation and indicate funds are for “judicial portraits.”

The Tennessee Supreme Court today issued an order directing that the February 2021 bar exam be administered as a “remote, computer-based test.” The court states that with COVID-19 cases continuing to increase in Tennessee, an in-person exam “even with safety precautions in effect … cannot be justified at this time.” The order allows those who transferred their application for the July exam to the February testing date to transfer the application again with no additional fees to “a concurrent" Uniform Bar Examination. It also allows those who transferred their July application to February and now no longer wish to take the exam to withdraw their application by Nov. 10 and receive a refund of $400. Earlier this week, the National Conference of Bar Examiners announced that jurisdictions could choose to administer the February exam either in person or remotely on Feb. 23 and 24, 2021. Read more from the court.

Savannah lawyer William “Lee” Lackey, 78, died Oct. 11. After graduating from Vanderbilt University Law School, Lackey joined the U.S. Army and served for three years. His last assignment was serving as a legal officer for the Third Army at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. After leaving the Army, he joined his father’s law practice at Lackey & Lackey and, for more than four decades, was a prominent member of the West Tennessee bar. He served at the firm until his father’s retirement and then continued with a solo practice for many years. Lackey also served as Hardin County Attorney for more than a decade and as a member of the Tennessee Bar Association House of Delegates. Funeral services were held last weekend. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in support of cancer treatment work may be made to the Darryl Worley Foundation, 325 Main St., Savannah, TN 38372.

Memphis attorney Brian Faughnan has been named president-elect of the Association of Professional Responsibility Lawyers. He will serve in that capacity until August 2021 and then automatically become president for 2021-2022. He is only the second attorney from Tennessee to serve in this capacity. Faughnan is a shareholder with Lewis Thomason. He also serves as associate general counsel and handles ethics and professional responsibility matters for the firm. Faughnan speaks frequently on ethics and professional responsibility issues. He will be the speaker for TBA’s 2020 Ethics Roadshow Homeshow, which will be presented virtually this year.