The Tennessee Supreme Court today upheld the constitutionality of a healthcare liability statute after removing portions it considered unconstitutional. The language in question provided that a trial court must issue a qualified protective order when requested. The court found that provision violated the separation of powers clause in the Tennessee Constitution because it removed the inherent discretion of the trial courts to decide discovery matters. The court then concluded that the statute could be elided, making the provision no longer mandatory but permissive. Justice Holly Kirby authored a dissenting opinion arguing that the entire statute violates the separation of powers clause and therefore should be found unconstitutional.

The Southern Environmental Law Center recently announced the winners of its 2020 Phillip D. Reed Environmental Writing Awards. In the book category, New York Times opinion writer Margaret Renkl received the award for “Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss.” An Alabama native who now lives in Nashville, Renkl writes a weekly column for the Times in which she frequently uses nature to illuminate larger issues in politics and society. In the journalism category, Megan Mayhew Bergman received the award for her series “Climate Changed” in The Guardian. The awards are named for the late Phillip D. Reed, an attorney and committed environmental advocate, who was a founding trustee of the SELC.

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Nashville is celebrating its 35th birthday with a fundraiser on April 25 at Marathon Music Works. The 80s-themed birthday bash will run from 6:30 p.m. to midnight. Attendees are encouraged to dress in their best 80s attire. CASA serves hundreds of children each year who are in the court system due to abuse and neglect. It provides a voice for these children in court and works to find safe and permanent home placements. Learn more about CASA’s work or purchase tickets for the fundraiser.

Lipscomb University recently held two events paying tribute to 100 years of women’s suffrage in Tennessee. A daytime program for students featured legal legends while an evening event focused on the “Women of the Tennessee Supreme Court.” Audio recordings of both events are now available on the Tennessee Court Talk podcast (Episodes 8-10) while video of the afternoon panel and the dinner program are available here. Read more about the event from the court.

Nashville attorney William Henry Haile II died on Feb. 19 at the age of 76. Haile earned his law degree from Georgetown University Law School in Washington, D.C. Haile worked for Albert Gore Sr. before returning to Nashville and serving as the state’s Assistant Attorney General from 1972 to 1976. He led a trial team that successfully prosecuted James Earl Ray for the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., litigation that began in Memphis and ended in the U.S. Supreme Court. Over the course of his career, Haile practiced in civil, criminal and federal law, taught classes at Nashville School of Law and ran for Congress in 1978 as an independent from Nashville’s fifth Congressional District. A celebration of life will take place Saturday from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and a reception from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at West Harpeth Funeral Home and Crematory, 6962 Charlotte Pike, Nashville.

A new House “sports calendar” will now deal with bills before the General Assembly dealing with student-athletes, the Daily Memphian reports. Several of the bills before the House Higher Education Subcommittee were prompted by the NCAA’s suspension of University of Memphis basketball star James Wiseman, who opted to leave the team to prepare for the NBA draft after his suspension. On the calendar will be HB 2648 and HB 2649 from Rep. Joe  Towns, D-Memphis, and HB 1694 from Rep. Antonio Parkinson, D-Memphis. The bills focus on allowing student-athletes to get paid for endorsements or for use of their name, image or likeness, preventing universities from penalizing athletes for receiving gifts from boosters. The bills would also lead to the creation of a fund to make one-time payments to eligible athletes who don’t go pro after graduation.

Two Vanderbilt University Law School faculty members have been awarded the 2020 Morrison Prize for best scholarship in environmental law for their co-authored paper. Jim Rossi, the Judge D.L. Lansden Chair in Law and associate dean for research, and Christopher Serkin, the Elisabeth H. and Granville S. Ridley Jr. Chair in Law and associate dean for academic affairs, won the award for their paper titled Energy Exactions. The paper suggests extending “exactions” to include the cost of the additional energy burden each new real estate project creates. The Morrison Prize is administered through the Law and Sustainability Program at the Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Rossi and Serkin will be awarded a cash prize and will present their paper at the Sixth Annual Sustainability Conference of American Legal Educators in Phoenix.  

Gov. Bill Lee this morning announced plans to introduce legislation that would allow Tennesseans to carry handguns without a permit, the Tennessean reports. Under the bill, legal gun owners would be able to forego the state permit process requiring a background check and safety training. Lee said the measure would make the state safer as it also increases penalties for illegal gun possession and thefts. The announcement was quickly met with praise from the National Rifle Association and with pushback from Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk and Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich. A similar bill was introduced to the General Assembly in 2016, during which time officials from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Tennessee Highway Patrol spoke out against it.

Don’t miss the latest episode of Legislative Updates, hosted by TBA Director of Public Policy and Government Affairs Berkley Schwarz and Adams and Reese attorney and TBA lobbyist Brad Lampley. This week, Schwarz and Lampley touch on Uniform Administrative Procedures Act appeal situations with the Tennessee Department of Health, problem-solving with the Department of Children’s Services and more. The show livestreams on the TBA’s Facebook page every Thursday. Legislative Updates is part of the TBA Podcast Network and can be found on the TBA’s website or wherever you listen to podcasts.

The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change has announced that president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Kristen Clarke, will speak at the 2020 Join Hands for Change Luncheon on April 23. The Lawyers’ Committee is a nonprofit organization working to protect and advance civil rights. The luncheon will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the University of Memphis Holiday Inn, 3700 Central Avenue. Proceeds from the luncheon help the Hooks African American Male Initiative (HAAMI), the Hooks Lecture Series and more.  Find more information and get tickets on the university’s website.