A Davidson County inmate has died after contracting the COVID-19 virus, the Tennessean reports. The 64-year-old woman, who has yet to be identified, had been hospitalized at Nashville General Hospital since Aug. 18. The woman was arrested on July 7 for failure to appear on a fourth-offense driving under the influence charge and was being held on $500,000 bond. Spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office Karla West said today that two of the jail’s 1,197 residents had tested positive for COVID-19 and 324 had recovered.

Nine hundred seventy four inmates have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus at South Central Correctional Facility in Clifton, a private prison managed by CoreCivic, the Tennessean reports. The Tennessee Department of Correction said the cases were uncovered after a second round of mass testing. Of the 1,410 inmates tested for the virus, 168 results are still pending. Both staff members and inmates were showing symptoms of the virus, but it was unclear how many staff members from the facility had tested positive. This is the largest outbreak reported at a state prison in months, following Trousdale Turner Correctional Center in Hartsville and Bledsoe County Correctional Complex in Pikeville, both of which were among the country's largest coronavirus clusters with hundreds of active cases inside the prisons.

Lawyers, judges and government officials in Shelby County and Memphis have implemented a new program to help both tenants and landlords who have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Eviction Settlement Program connects tenants in danger of being evicted with attorneys who work with their landlords to negotiate a financial agreement and prevent eviction. The program is managed by Neighborhood Preservation Inc., with the cooperation of Memphis Area Legal Services and the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law’s Clinical Program, which is providing faculty, staff and students to work on cases and assist volunteer attorneys in completing the program’s work. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more details on the new program.

The TBA’s 2020 Administrative Law Annual Forum will be held virtually this year on Nov. 20 from noon until 3 p.m. CDT. Speakers will include Travis Brown from the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office, Patricia Newton from the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, Joe Sanders from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and Laura Chastain from the Board of Professional Responsibility. Attendees will receive one dual credit and two general credit CLE hours. Learn more and register now.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee sought to downplay two conservative groups' lawsuit challenging his legal authority to delegate executive powers to county mayors to combat the coronavirus this week, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. "We worked really hard to make sure our decision-making process falls within the authority that's given to the governor constitutionally and our statute," Lee said. The governor has given mayors in all Tennessee counties leeway to implement restrictions such as mask-wearing mandates to battle spread of the virus.

When Knoxville attorney Sarah Sheppeard took the oath of office in June 2019, she became the first in what will be a string of at least four females to lead the Tennessee Bar Association. Jackson attorney Michelle Greenway Sellers took the gavel to lead the organization in June, and she will be followed by President-elect Sherie Edwards of Brentwood in 2021 and Knoxville lawyer Tasha Blakney in 2022. The terms of Sheppeard and Sellers both have included the challenge of leading during times of crisis, with the COVID-19 pandemic following on the heals of tornadoes in Middle and East Tennessee, and incidents of racial injustice leading to protests across the state, nation and globe. Learn more about how they have faced these challenges and the future they point to.

Gov. Bill Lee today issued Executive Order 61 to extend authority for remote notarization and remote witnessing of documents, subject to compliance with certain procedures, through Sept. 30. The order also encourages users of these tools to make preparations to implement best practices for a safe return to in-person transactions beginning Oct. 1. In addition, Lee issued Executive Order 60 to extend authority for remote meetings and Executive Order 59 to extend provisions from earlier orders to help facilitate the continued response to COVID-19.

The Nashville Bar Association filed a petition with the Tennessee Supreme Court today to require two hours of continuing legal education each year in the areas of diversity, inclusion, equity and elimination of bias. The association argues that mandatory training on these issues will (1) help lawyers understand the impact of racism, discrimination and implicit bias in the legal system, (2) enhance cultural competence, (3) aid in efforts to root out and dismantle systemic racism and other forms of discrimination that deny equal justice to all, and (4) encourage broader engagement and participation in these efforts by lawyers.

The Chattanooga Bar Association recognized two individuals with the 2020 Liberty Bell Award at its virtual Law Day celebration on Aug. 18. The first award was presented to JoAnne Humphries Favors, a former legislator, nurse and community servant. In addition to being the first African American female elected to the Hamilton County Commission, Favors served seven terms as a state representative. The second award went to retired U.S. Army Gen. B.B. Bell, who served in the armed forces for 39 years. In Chattanooga, Bell has served on the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Alumni Board of Directors and with the Charles H. Coolidge Medal of Honor Heritage Center. The Hamilton County Herald has more about the association's Law Day celebration, which was broadcast live from multiple locations in Chattanooga and Nashville and incorporated tributes to the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment.

Knoxville lawyer Claude Leon Franks died Monday at 71. A 1984 graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law, Franks spent two years in private practice and then joined the Knox County District Attorney’s Office. He served there until retiring in 2015. Franks also had 30 years of military service, including  during Vietnam and Desert Storm. A graveside service with full military honors will be held at 9:30 a.m. EDT Monday at the East Tennessee Veterans Cemetery, 2200 John Sevier Highway, Knoxville 37920. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Lung Association or Heifer International.