Federal District Court Judge Sheryl H. Lipman has denied the release of "medically vulnerable" detainees awaiting trial inside the Shelby County jail, the Commercial Appeal reports. The ruling recognized "grave areas of concern” at the jail but found that problems could be “cured." Based on that finding, Lipman declined to rule whether detainees' rights had been violated by the county. The suit was brought by detainees over age 55 and those with chronic conditions. In June, a court-appointed inspector said procedures at the jail were "inadequate to protect the vulnerable inmates." The county says its response to the pandemic is "evolving." The ACLU represented the plaintiffs and had this response.

The Metro Nashville Police Department issued its first citation for a mask violation in the city’s entertainment district on Wednesday night. But it did not cite any of the young honky tonk-goers crowding the sidewalks, instead citing and arresting a 61-year-old homeless man, WPLN reports. Court records show Joseph Bryant was booked on a $500 bail but charges were dropped at a hearing the next day. The Nashville Community Bail Fund criticized the police decision to single out a homeless person while hundreds of mask-less revelers frequent Lower Broadway each night with impunity. The group paid Bryant’s bail.

Joe Brown, a former Memphis City Council member who ran unsuccessfully in 2019 for city court clerk, beat Paul Boyd, a former probate court clerk, in the race yesterday for Shelby County General Sessions Court clerk. With all 166 precincts countywide reporting, unofficial totals show Brown with 64,230 votes to 42,073 for Boyd, the Daily Memphian reports. Brown, who was a council member for 21 years, succeeds outgoing Democratic clerk Ed Stanton, who decided not to seek re-election.

Incumbent Circuit Court Judge Bonita Jo Atwood fended off a challenge from Murfreesboro attorney Jack Mitchell yesterday to keep her seat, the Daily News Journal reports. According to unofficial results, Atwood won with 63% or 23,667 of the votes while Mitchell garnered 13,922. Earlier in the election cycle, a poll of Rutherford-Cannon County Bar Association members showed strong support for Mitchell. Atwood was appointed to the seat in May following the retirement of Judge Royce Taylor. She is the first woman to fill the seat. She will serve two years and then stand for an eight-year term in 2022.

The Nashville Bar Association has moved to a new suite within the One Nashville Place building, located at 150 4th Ave N., Nashville, TN 37219. The office, which remains closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, moved from Suite 1050 to Suite 1350 on Aug. 1. In a message to members, NBA President Laura Baker said the office is still being set up and photos of the finished product will be available soon, but she offered a sneak peak of the space with these pictures.

Paris attorney Vicki Hoover defeated Hardin County attorney Ben Harmon for chancellor of the 24th Judicial District, the Paris Post-Intelligencer reports. Hoover pointed out that her election represents the first time a woman from Henry County will serve as chancellor and the first time in 52 years that the seat will be filled by someone from Henry County. Hoover said she is looking forward to getting to work, starting with cleaning up a backlog of cases. Hoover will serve the remaining term of Judge Carma Dennis McGee, who was appointed to the Court of Appeals in April 2019. McGee easily won her retention election.

Former ambassador Bill Hagerty won the Republican primary yesterday in the race to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander. His resounding victory over challenger Manny Sethi came as a surprise as late-breaking polls suggested the race had tightened. In the Democratic primary, Marquita Bradshaw pulled off an upset victory over former prosecutor and Nashville lawyer James Mackler, who reportedly was the Democratic party establishment's choice. In the race for the 5th Congressional District, former public defender Keeda Haynes fell short in her bid to unseat incumbent Jim Cooper. The long-serving Cooper almost certainly will return to Congress for a 16th term, as no Republicans qualified for the race. Both Bradshaw and Haynes emphasized progressive policies, criminal justice reform and racial injustice as key elements of their campaigns. The Nashville Post has more on both of those contests. The race to fill the 1st Congressional District seat of retiring Rep. Phil Roe also drew widespread attention. In the crowded field of state legislators such as Sen. Rusty Crowe and Reps. Timothy Hill and David Hawk, as well as several mayors, political newcomer Diana Harshbarger won with 19% of the vote. In November, she will take on Democrat Blair Walsingham. Knoxcom has that story.

Earlier this week, the American Bar Association's House of Delegates voted 256-146 in favor of a resolution urging states to find alternatives to in-person bar exams amid the pandemic. The alternative arrangements suggested included supervised practice program, remote bar exams and emergency diploma privilege. The resolution was among the most controversial during the two-day House of Delegates meeting, the ABA Journal reports. Supporters argued special arrangements are necessary in the midst of an unprecedented pandemic. Opponents, including the National Conference of Bar Examiners, said the resolution could open the door for graduates of non-ABA-accredited law schools to practice without taking the bar exam, including those who previously had failed the exam.

During the past three decades the Tennessee Bar Association has benefited from strong female leaders throughout the association — in sections, committees, the House of Delegates, Board of Governors and on specific issues and projects. This month we are celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment that granted women the right to vote in the United States. Each week we are featuring some of the women who have stepped forward to lead the Tennessee Bar Association. This week we begin with the first two women who served as TBA president — Pamela Reeves and Kathryn "Katie" Reed Edge.

The General Sessions Music City Community Court is holding a Virtual Expungement and Legal Clinic from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CDT on Aug. 15. Attorney volunteers are needed and should register by Monday at 5 p.m. Each attorney will be provided with a 30-minute instructional session and be assigned two to three participants the day of the clinic. Get more details on Judge Rachel Bell’s website.