The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments is now accepting applications for an upcoming vacancy on the Court of Criminal Appeals, Middle District. Judge Thomas T. Woodall will be retiring on Jan. 1, 2021. Interested applicants must be licensed attorneys who are at least 30 years of age, residents of the state for five years, and residents of the Middle Tennessee Grand Division. Applications are due by noon CDT on Oct. 6. A date for a hearing on applicants is pending. Access details and the application here.

The Administrative Law Annual Forum will be a virtual event held on Friday, Nov. 20 from 12 to 3 p.m. CT. This program will offer attendees 2 general and 1 dual CLE hours. The program will start with a session focused on the process of removing monuments and memorials from public lands and explain how the Tennessee Historical Commission is involved. The next session will explore the relationship between compliance and the practice of law. The program will end with a dual credit session featuring Laura Chastain from the Board of Professional Responsibility, as she will discuss ethical considerations for lawyers using social media. 

Learn more or register now!

On Monday, the Memphis legal community gathered on the steps of the Shelby County Courthouse to celebrate and honor the memory of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The event was organized by attorney and TBA member Jessica Indingaro, who is the assistant county attorney and disproportionate minority contact coordinator for Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris’ office. Indingaro spoke to the Daily Memphian about Ginsburg, saying the justice had an unconventional career “because she had to be unconventional. Women in the South can really relate to that." Indingaro earned her law degree from Syracuse University College of Law and was previously an attorney with Glankler Brown in Memphis. She is a member of the Junior League of Memphis and the TBA’s Juvenile & Children’s Law Section.

Vanderbilt Law School Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs Susan Kay has been appointed to a three-year term on the American Bar Association’s Council of the Section on Legal Education and Admission to the Bar, the school announced this week. The council is the national accrediting agency for law degree programs. It also advises the section, which works to improve legal education and lawyer licensing. Kay has headed the school’s clinical and experiential legal education program since 2001. She joined the faculty in 1980. She also is president of the Clinical Legal Education Association, a national association that represents more than 600 law faculty.

Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III announced today that his office has secured nearly $15 million in loan forgiveness on 2,068 loans for former ITT Tech students in the state. The agreement is part of a settlement with 43 attorneys general and the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Nationally, the settlement will result in $330 million of debt relief on about 43,000 loans. The relief will be provided by PEAKS Trust, a private loan program run by ITT and affiliated with Deutsche Bank entities. ITT filed bankruptcy in 2016 amid investigations by state attorneys general and following action by the U.S. Department of Education to restrict its access to federal student aid. The settlement puts an end to PEAKS loan collection and requires it to stop doing business, the attorney general said.

The Tennessee Supreme Court Administrative Office of the Courts and Access to Justice Commission, Tennessee Housing Development Agency and Tennessee Department of Human Services will host a first-of-its-kind virtual eviction summit on Oct. 1 to help facilitate solutions across the state to address the coming residential eviction crisis. According to organizers, the free event is designed for all stakeholders in the eviction process, including judges, court clerks, attorneys, tenants, landlords, mediators, law students and law school faculty, nonprofits, social workers, homelessness prevention and assistance agencies, legislators, and state and local government employees. The program will begin at 10 a.m. CDT. Register here to watch on Zoom. Morning plenary sessions will be livestreamed on YouTube and can be watched there without registering.

Six applicants have applied for the circuit court judge vacancy in the 6th Judicial District, the Trial Court Vacancy Commission announced today. They are: Joshua J. Bond, Toby Ray Carpenter, E. Jerome Melson, J. Myers Morton, Welsey D. Stone and Joshua R. Walker. The commission will hold a hearing via video conference on Oct. 28 at 9 a.m. EDT. It will be livestreamed on YouTube as well as at the Knoxville Supreme Court Building, 505 Main St., Ste. 200, Knoxville, TN 37902. Those who would like to address the commission to express support or opposition to an applicant should contact Ceesha Lofton, 615-741-2687 by 4 p.m. CDT on Oct. 14. The commission is expected to vote immediately following the interviews and forward three names to the governor for his consideration. The candidate selected will fill a vacancy created by the appointment of Judge Kristi Davis to the Court of Appeals, Eastern Section.

A Kentucky grand jury announced today that it is not recommending any criminal charges related to the death of Breonna Taylor, instead announcing three lesser counts of wanton endangerment against one police officer who shot into an adjacent apartment. Each count could carry up to five years in prison. The grand jury found that the other two officers who entered Taylor’s apartment were justified in firing their weapons because Taylor’s boyfriend shot at them first. Taylor was shot six times but investigators could not say with certainty which officer fired the fatal shot. The Hill has more on the developing story. During a press conference announcing the decision, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said he would form a task force to look at the search warrant process.  A video of the press conference is available here. Last week, the city of Louisville announced a $12 million civil settlement with the Taylor family that also included a range of criminal justice reforms the city agreed to implement.

Arkansas lawyer Kimberly Ogden Sutton was disbarred from practicing law in Tennessee on Monday. She consented to the action, according to the Tennessee Supreme Court, because she could not “successfully defend herself against charges” pending against her. Under new rules, she is permanently disbarred and cannot apply for reinstatement.

A well-being pledge that started two years ago with 13 law firms now has nearly 200 signatories, including firms, law schools, corporate legal departments and state agencies. The pledge asks legal employers to commit to a seven-point framework to combat substance use and mental health issues in the profession. Steps include bolstering education on mental health, well-being and substance abuse; reducing the expectation of alcohol at professional events; and providing confidential access to addiction and mental health experts. Some employers say they have had to get creative to get employees to participate. One firm, for example, allows lawyers to count mindfulness activities as part of their billable hour requirement. Read more from the National Law Journal on how the pledge is making a difference.