The U.S. Supreme Court last week declined to hear the case of Tennessee death row inmate David Keen, who claims he should not be executed because he is intellectually disabled. In a petition filed in January, Keen’s lawyers said tests from 2008 and 2010 prove their client’s intellectual disability but there is no procedural mechanism in Tennessee to reopen the case. Attorneys for the state opposed the petition, arguing that in 1997, Keen presented evidence that included a much higher IQ. Keen was sentenced to death for the 1990 rape and murder of an 8-year-old in Shelby County. WKRN has the story.

Gallatin attorney Guy Jones has been named executive director of the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference, the Nashville Post reports. Jones has been serving as deputy director of the conference since 1997. He succeeds Jerry Estes. Jones is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and Nashville School of Law. “Our team could not imagine someone better for the executive director position than Guy,” District Attorney General and TDAGC Conference President Amy Weirich said. “He has been a vital asset to our team for over 20 years, and I know he’ll be instrumental in our continued growth.”

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed an executive order late Friday that allows 89 counties that do not have their own health departments to mandate masks to slow the spread of COVID-19, Nashville Public Radio reports. The order will be in effect through Aug. 3. It also includes a number of exemptions counties can adopt. To date, Davidson, Hamilton, Knox, Shelby and Williamson counties have adopted requirements that masks be worn in public. Wilson County’s mayor has asked merchants to require masks for patrons. Earlier in the week, Lee extended a state of emergency order until Aug. 29 expressing concern about the rising number of infections in the state. In related news, all court personnel and members of the public now will be required to wear face masks at all 3rd Judicial District courthouses, according to the Greeneville Sun.

Davidson County general sessions court judges have approved an abbreviated docket schedule for the rest of the month after the county changed it reopening plans to reenter Phase 2. Only the following dockets will be open this month: felony and misdemeanor jail dockets, domestic violence jail dockets, orders of protection, emergency psychiatric committal docket, courtroom 1A civil docket, and state misdemeanor citation booking. For this week only, the metro traffic docket also will be open. No landlord/tenant cases will be heard through the end of the month. A statement from the judges indicates a determination will be made later if this reduced schedule will be necessary for the month of August.

For the first time in Tennessee history, as the coronavirus pandemic grips the world, courts are poised to try the accused with jurors behind masks and courtroom doors largely closed, Knoxnews reports. Knoxville defense attorney Joshua Hedrick argues that this approach is neither safe nor constitutional. He argues that most judicial reopening plans drafted by local judges and approved by the state Supreme Court either do not address or bar public access to trials, and that the use of masks violates the defendant’s right to confront witnesses and hinders the jury’s ability to judge witnesses’ credibility. In Knox County, the criminal courts are moving forward with cases and are mandating masks for jurors. Several other counties in state are gearing up for jury trials by the end of July, while others are holding off until at least August. Davidson County courts have suspended jury trials through September.

To vote in the state and federal primary and county general election on Aug. 6, Tennessee residents must register to vote by tomorrow, Secretary of State Tre Hargett said today. Visit the secretary of state’s online voter registration system GoVoteTN.com to check registration status, update your address or register to vote. Voters also can download a paper registration form from the site. Paper applications must be addressed to the applicant’s local county election commission office and be postmarked by July 7. Early voting for the August election begins July 17 and runs Monday through Saturday until Aug. 1.

The governor’s office is accepting applications to fill the post now held by retiring 28th Judicial District Attorney General Garry Brown. The appointee will serve until the next biennial election in August 2022. Applicants must have been residents of the state for five years and of the judicial district (which includes Crockett, Gibson and Haywood counties) for one year. Interested attorneys should submit a resume and cover letter to Lang Wiseman, Deputy and Chief Counsel to the Governor, State Capitol, First Floor, 600 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Nashville, TN 37243 or by email by 5 p.m. CDT on July 24. View the announcement from the governor’s office.

The TBA Business Law Forum, originally scheduled for this past spring, will now be a virtual CLE held over two days. This year’s forum will focus on a number of key tax matters relevant to business law practice in Tennessee. Lawyers may register for the full two-day forum, only for Day 1 or only for Day 2. The program begins on July 23, with a focus on state and local taxation issues, including sessions on tax considerations in choice of entity, state tax incentives, and how taxes affect the daily practice of Tennessee business lawyers. It also will include an ethics component. Day 2 on July 29 will focus on federal tax law and regulation, including the taxation of LLCs, “hot topics” in entity-based transactional tax planning, and opportunity zones. Each day’s programming will run from 9 a.m. to noon CDT. Day 1 will offer one dual and two general CLE credits. Day 2 will offer three general CLE credits. Special thanks to forum sponsors Bass, Berry & Sims and Miller & Martin.

A number of lawyers were recently reinstated after being suspended for administrative violations. The group includes 12 who were reinstated after failing to pay the annual fee in 2017, 2019 or 2020; 11 who were reinstated after failing to comply with continuing legal education requirements in 2006, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 or 2019; and seven who were reinstated after failing to pay professional taxes in 2018, 2019 or 2020. View all administrative suspensions and reinstatement lists here.

Williamson County lawyer Christopher D. Birkel was reinstated to the practice of law on June 25. He had been placed on inactive status in May 2009. California lawyer Tisha Leigh Morris was reinstated to the practice of law on June 24. She had been placed on inactive status in June 2013. On July 16, Sullivan County lawyer Kellye Lambert Walker was reinstated to the practice of law. She had been placed on inactive status in July 2012.