The American College of Trial Lawyers’ Task Force on Advocacy in the 21st Century has released five papers designed to help judges and lawyers address the legal and practical issues arising from the use of remote video. Topics include using remote video for depositions, hearings, nonjury trials and appellate arguments. The task force includes judges and lawyers from the United States and Canada with a broad range of experience in criminal and civil law. It was established to address the administration of justice in a post-pandemic world. Tennessee attorney John Day is serving as chair of the task force.

Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III has joined a coalition of 23 other attorneys general in filing a motion that asks the federal district court to consider the interests of the 23 signatory states when ruling on a challenge to the Trump administration’s Navigable Waters Protection Rule. The rule, according to Slatery, gives greater certainty to farmers and landowners with predictable and reasonable lines between waters subject to federal and state regulation. The motion also asks the court to oppose an effort to keep the rule from going into effect while the case is pending. Read more in a release from the AG’s office.

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands will hold its June legal clinics over the phone due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Local attorneys will offer advice on questions about housing and renters’ rights, bankruptcy, medical bills, debt collection, domestic violence, SNAP benefits and unemployment benefits. Those needing assistance may call 800-238-1443 on one of these dates to speak to an attorney. Please contact Andrae Crismon or Kendra Cheek, 615-780-7131, for more information or to volunteer. Phone clinics planned for this week will take place tomorrow from 11-1 p.m. and 4-6 p.m., Thursday from 4:30-6 p.m. and Saturday from 9:30-11:30 a.m. CDT. 

Recent University of Tennessee College of Law graduate Brooke Spivey has been named a 2020 Fellow with Equal Justice Works, the law school’s website reports. Spivey is one of 78 fellows chosen from more than 430 applicants. She will help launch a federal civil reentry program to address legal obstacles of employment, housing and restoration of voting rights for federal offenders on probation in the Eastern District of Tennessee. Spivey will work to develop an individualized plan for each client, by identifying the civil legal impediments and applying for relevant eligible relief. Additionally, she will be petitioning for Certificates of Employability, representing participants in housing hearings, and aiding in the restoration of voting rights. Read more on the project at EJW’s website.

GOP leaders will tour Nashville on Thursday as they consider moving the 2020 Republican National Convention to the city, WPLN reports. The convention is still currently scheduled for Charlotte, North Carolina, but its future there is uncertain after North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper told the party it could only move forward if strict social distancing measures were put into place. Gov. Bill Lee said conversations with the National Republican Committee about the possible relocation have just started. “Nashville is the best place in America to have a convention, and we certainly would be interested in welcoming that to our city,” Lee said. “It would be a great opportunity for us to build upon the economic recovery that is already occurring.”

The Memphis branch of the NAACP says it will coordinate legal representation for people arrested last week while participating in protests over the death of George Floyd, the Daily Memphian reports. Memphis branch president and attorney Van Turner said at a press conference on Monday that Victoria Jones will be among those represented after her arrest and treatment by police over the weekend sparked an investigation request from Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland. Thirteen people were arrested on disorderly conduct and related charges last week prior to an estimated two dozen arrests overnight Sunday in a fifth night of protests in the city. “We have to have this conversation right now. … We have to not abandon them while they are undertaking this endeavor,” Turner said of the protesters. “Now the cities are on fire and people are waking up.” Turner, who also serves as a Shelby County commissioner, said the NAACP will be pushing locally and nationally for better equipped review boards and changes in police training and procedures.

The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands announced today that Russ Overby, lead attorney for its health, income and education practice group, has retired after 46 years of lending “his voice to the voiceless.” LAS paid tribute to Overby in a YouTube video titled “46 Years a Zealot," which highlights his landmark work in juvenile law and social security law and his advocacy for fair Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) policies in Tennessee. “There is a reason that we have staff members who stayed here for 48 and 50 years, because our work changes lives,” Overby said, “I think that is what sets Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands apart." Legacy gifts to honor Overby’s work can be made here.

Three Rutherford County Jail employees and 21 inmates have tested positive for COVID-19, triple the number reported last week, the Daily News Journal reports. Spokeswoman for the jail, Lisa Marchesoni, had reported on May 20 that a jail kitchen contract worker and an inmate who worked in the kitchen had tested positive for the virus. In this week’s report, Marchesoni said the virus “spread from the same source.” All 679 inmates at the Rutherford County Jail have been tested and no female inmates have tested positive. The inmates are being quarantined away from other inmates and new detainees are screened by medical staff before they are booked and quarantined for 14 days.

The Tennessee Court of Appeals will livestream remote oral arguments this week on Wednesday and Thursday. Judge Frank G. Clement Jr. will preside over the June docket for the Court of Appeals Middle Section. He will be joined by Judges Andy D. Bennett, Richard H. Dinkins and W. Neal McBrayer. Four cases will be heard on Wednesday at 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. CDT. On Thursday, another four cases will be heard at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. CDT. Those hearings can be accessed through the Tennessee State Courts YouTube page. The Court of Appeals Eastern Section is expected to hear remote oral arguments the week of June 8 and the Court of Appeals Western Section is planning remote oral arguments toward the end of the month.

The Tennessee Coalition for Open Government has joined 55 organizations in filing a petition that asks the Tennessee Supreme Court to protect the public’s right of access to court proceedings during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a TCOG press release on the petition, of the 30 judicial district plans that have been approved by the high court, very few provide “any reasonable level of compliance” with the Constitutional right of access and several violate the Constitution by only allowing access to court personnel, parties, witnesses and lawyers. The petition asks the court to use its emergency powers to mandate that all courts and judges allow citizens to be present for in-person court proceedings or allow the public to view or listen to proceedings electronically. Petitioners are represented by former TBA president, Lucian Pera and the law firm of Adams and Reese LLP. Read the full press release.