In two articles published last week, the Administrative Office of the Courts explores the 90-year history and ongoing impact of African American bar associations in Tennessee. The historical review focuses on the trailblazing work of former Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Adolpho A. Birch Jr., Judge Benjamin Hooks and Judge Bernice B. Donald; the formation of Tennessee’s first African-American bar association, the  Napier-Looby Bar Association; and the many challenges faced by early African American attorneys. The second piece focuses on the more recent impact of Tennessee’s African American bar associations, including the creation of the Tennessee Alliance for Black Lawyers (TABL) and the rise of diversity-focused committees and conferences among other bar associations in the state.

A group of public school parents and community members in Nashville and Memphis today filed a lawsuit challenging the Tennessee Education Savings Account (ESA) voucher law, alleging that diversion of millions of dollars to private schools violates public school students’ rights to adequate and equitable educational opportunities. The suit also argues that the law — which could take effect as early as the 2020-2021 school year — violates the state constitution’s “Home Rule” provision, which prohibits the legislature from passing laws that apply only to certain counties. The plaintiffs are being represented by the ACLU of Tennessee, Southern Poverty Law Center, Education Law Center and the law firm of Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd. Read more from the ACLU.

Join your colleagues for the 2020 Dispute Resolution Forum on April 24 and hear from a distinguished group of speakers discussing current legal, ethical and practical issues relating to ADR practice, as well as an update on case law. This forum has been carefully crafted to provide timely and practical information for both lawyers and mediators. It also will touch on a variety of practice areas, including a session on mediating family law cases and a session on designing an enforceable employee dispute resolution system. The course provides 4 general credits and 2.25 dual credits for both CLE and CME.

"It is fair for citizens to question why they should abide by mandatory isolation and quarantine orders in light of this country's historic emphasis on personal freedoms," William O. Shults and Michael Caskey write in the new Tennessee Bar Journal. "However, clear explanations, both in advance of an outbreak and at the time of such an event, of why these steps are critical to preservation of life ... could serve to allay fears concerning loss of constitutional rights." As the coronavirus spreads, you'll want to know more. Read the very timely article, "Tennessee Law in the Time of Pandemic Disease: Balancing the Needs of Society with Personal Liberties."

Voting began today in the 2020 TBA election. Two candidates are competing for the vice presidential office — Knoxville attorneys Shelly Wilson and Tasha Blakney — with voting continuing through April 1. The vice president will serve in that role in the 2020-2021 bar year, then as president-elect the following year, and TBA president in 2022-2023. Access to the electronic ballot box was sent to all TBA members today from the email address vote@electionsonline.com.  Please check your spam filters if you did not receive a ballot notification. Please feel free to reach out to elections@tnbar.org if you have any questions or concerns. 

In preparation for the upcoming TBA Elections, the profiles of the two candidates in a contested race for the office of vice president (Shelly Wilson and Tasha Blakney) were emailed to the membership on Friday. Voting begins on March 2 and members should receive an email on Monday with voting instructions. All current members will be able to vote in the race for vice president. Ballots will come from the vote@electionsonline.com email address, so please check your spam filters if you do not receive a ballot notification. Please feel free to reach out to elections@tnbar.org if you have any questions or concerns. Voting ends April 1.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced this week that it has created a stand-alone denaturalization section to remove citizenship from those who fail to disclose their criminal past or otherwise lie during the naturalization process. The department said it created the section in anticipation of a growing number of referrals from law enforcement agencies and will focus on "terrorists, war criminals, sex offenders and other fraudsters who illegally obtained naturalization." Immigration advocates worry the move is an attempt to "manufacture crises to institute draconian policies." The ABA Journal has more on the story.

A measure seeking to reverse Gov. Bill Lee’s decision to participate in the federal refugee resettlement program passed out of the House State Committee on Tuesday. According to WATE.com, Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver, R-Lancaster, attempted to downplay the resolution’s focus on refugees and instead focus on the legislature’s role in budgeting tax dollars. According to Weaver and other Republican members, the federal government is unconstitutionally forcing Tennessee to pay for resettlement costs.

Shelby County officials say they are well aware of deficiencies with the county jail and plan to seek an assessment this year on whether the facility needs to be remodeled or rebuilt. According to the Daily Memphian, the sheriff’s office plans to ask the state County Technical Assistance Service to do the needs assessment and present the findings to the Board of Commissioners. In its most recent inspection report, the Tennessee Corrections Institute in Nashville said the nearly 40-year-old facility is outdated, antiquated and noticeably deteriorating. The facility failed its first inspection in 2018 and 2019. Both years it passed re-inspection after meeting the “minimum standards.”

The Tennessee Supreme Court recently granted review to several cases. Civil cases include the Teacher Tenure Act, products liability, pre-suit notices and the economic loss doctrine. Criminal cases include illegal sentences and money laundering. The Raybin Supreme Court Hot List reviews them here.