A former Memphis police sergeant has been indicted on three felony counts of official misconduct stemming from acts allegedly related to his employment, WREG reports. Records show that Eric Kelly took an unauthorized taxpayer paid trip to Alabama in June 2018 with a known gang member who had been arrested 11 times and with whom he was accused of having sex. Four months later, he took a statement from the woman in connection to a homicide. Kelly allegedly admitted the relationship, but said he did not use sex as leverage in the murder investigation. He retired in November 2019 to avoid disciplinary action by the department.

A U.S. district judge has found that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) employees are not adequately trained to screen asylum claims, National Public Radio reports. For nearly 20 years, officers from Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) have conducted all interviews with asylum-seekers to make "credible fear determinations" for those arriving at the border. In January, the Department of Homeland Security delegated that authority to CBP agents, arguing that CBP training was comparable to that of CIS. But U.S. District Judge Richard Leon disagreed calling the department’s argument "Poppycock!"

Did you know that in 1946 Thurgood Marshall came to Tennessee to help Z. Alexander Looby and others defend a group of African American men accused of rioting? The September/October issue of the Tennessee Bar Journal has that story, which includes an alarming incident when the future justice was nearly handed over to a mob with lynching on their minds. You can also read in this issue about past epidemics and what the Tennessee Supreme Court had to say about them. President Michelle Greenway Sellers writes about the many initiatives the TBA is involved in this year, including the new Diversity Task Force, focusing on members in our publications, and upcoming Town Hall meetings. 

The Ben F. Jones Chapter of the National Bar Association held a press conference yesterday with groups and individuals supporting DNA testing in the death penalty case of Pervis Payne, Tennessee Lookout reports. Payne, who was convicted of killing a woman and her daughter in 1988, is scheduled to be executed Dec. 3. The coalition of victims’ and civil rights groups, churches and professional organizations called on District Attorney General Amy Weirich to permit DNA testing of items from the crime scene they say were never tested. In July, however, Weirich said the evidence is not from the Payne case.

The ABA Standing Committee on Disaster Response and Preparedness will offer a free five-part series on the intersection of disasters and race throughout the month of September, which is recognized as National Preparedness Month. The first program addresses the issue that recovery efforts after natural disasters can be discriminatory. A panel of experts discuss the policy considerations of recovery, the intersection of race and policy in disasters, and how the confluence of COVID-19 and future disasters may impact this issue. Watch it here.

The Tennessee Supreme Court adopted an order today soliciting written comments on proposed amendments to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9, Section 27.4. The changes pertain to the status of an attorney seeking to transfer to disability inactive status during the course of disciplinary proceedings, according to the court. Comments are due by Oct. 1 and should be emailed to appellatecourtclerk@tncourts.gov or sent to Clerk James M. Hivner, Tennessee Appellate Courts, 100 Supreme Court Building, 401 7th Ave. N., Nashville, TN 37219-1407.

The TBA’s Tax Law Section will offer its Annual Tax Law Forum as a live virtual event on Sept. 25. Join colleagues from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CDT for updates on hot topics and current tax law concerns. Speakers include Nashville lawyer Michael Goode with Lewis Thomason and Chattanooga lawyer Terrence Olsen with the Olsen Law Firm.

Nashville lawyer C. Raymond Myers Jr. died Aug. 14. A graduate of the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, he earned his law license in 1983 and according to his family, “cared deeply about his clients and was known to accept payment in firewood.” Myers served as president of the Williamson County Bar Association, did significant pro bono work and supported marginalized communities. He and his wife hosted 13 exchange students over the years and loved taking their children and visiting students on camping trips. In recent years, he hiked the full Appalachian Trail and John Muir Trail. The family says it will announce details of a memorial service soon. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy or the First Church of Christ Scientist in Nashville.

Knoxville lawyer Philip J. Lawson died over the weekend. He was 77. Lawson earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1975 and was a founding member of Wimberly Lawson where he specialized in labor and employment law. For many years, Lawson served as a hearing committee officer of the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Tennessee Supreme Court, and he served as an arbitrator and mediator with the American Arbitration Association. He lectured and taught widely on a variety of aspects of labor, employment law and leadership. A celebration of life will be held tomorrow at 6 p.m. EDT at Corryton Church, 7615 Foster Rd., Corryton, Tennessee. Interment will be held at 1 p.m. EDT on Wednesday at Mountain View Cemetery, 1019 E. Valley Dr. Bristol, Virginia.

The Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board announced today it will hold oral arguments in four cases on Oct. 15 by phone or “other remote means” yet to be determined. Arguments will begin at 9 a.m. CDT with each argument typically lasting around an hour. Click here to see the docket.