Nashville lawyer William Robert "Bob" Pope Jr. died April 29 at 75 after a brief illness. Originally from New York, Pope grew up in North Carolina. After serving in the U.S. Army from 1968 to 1970, he attended the University of Tennessee College of Law. As a lawyer, Pope was a partner at Gullet Sandford Robinson & Martin PLC for more than 20 years and at White & Reasor. He was a founding member and chair of the American Bar Association's Tax Section on Bankruptcy and Workout Committee, a trustee of the Tennessee Federal Tax Institute, a member of the Dean's Council for the University of Tennessee College of Law, and a regent of the American College of Tax Counsel. Memorial donations be made to The Sarah Cannon Cancer Fund, 1100 Martin L. King Blvd., Ste. 800, Nashville, TN 37203; Friends of Warner Parks, 50 Vaughn Rd., Nashville, TN 37221; Avalon Hospice, 2525 Perimeter Place Dr., Ste. 105, Nashville, TN 37214; or Hillsboro Presbyterian Church, 5820 Hillsboro Pk., Nashville, TN 37215.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today held that the state’s Education Savings Account Pilot Program does not violate the home rule amendment of the state constitution. The pilot program allows a limited number of eligible students to directly receive their share of state and local education funds to pay for a private school education. The Davidson and Shelby county governments challenged the law. The trial court and intermediate appellate court agreed with the counties. The Supreme Court disagreed, saying that the law is not rendered unconstitutional by the home rule amendment because the amendment does not apply to county governments — only to local education agencies. The court remanded the case to the trial court for consideration of remaining claims. Justices Sharon G. Lee and Holly Kirby joined in a separate opinion, concurring in part and dissenting in part. They agreed with the court that the counties had standing to sue but found that the law violates the home rule amendment because it is local in effect and application, and gives the counties no choice in whether to participate. Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III applauded the ruling, saying the law “has always been about helping Tennessee students.”

Abbie Hudgens, administrator of the Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, has reappointed Judge Joshua Davis Baker to the Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims. Judge Baker sits in Nashville. This will be his second full term. In announcing the reappointment, Hudgens said, “Judge Baker has played a pivotal role in the Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims since his contributions to the process of converting proposals into legislation in 2012 and 2013. As one of the first judges, he played a role in the ensuring that the legislative intent was fulfilled,” Hudgens said. He will serve for six years and will be eligible for a third reappointment in 2028. 

Belmont University College of Law has announced the winner of its third annual Legal Fiction Workshop. This year’s winning entry is “An Uncomfortable Familiarity” written by Ally Hicks, a 3L student at the school. The piece follows an attorney as she navigates a complicated case that brings up traumatic memories. The winning entry was selected by an outside community reader, Nashville lawyer Wendy Harkness, through an anonymized review process. Harkness said that “from the first sentence, the imagery grabbed the reader’s attention and held it through the tale's satisfying end” and that the story “adeptly captured the very real compromising situations in which attorneys occasionally find themselves.” The writing workshop is conducted over the spring semester as an extracurricular activity for a limited number of 2L and 3L students, and is taught by Professor Kristi Arth.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and Healthline.com has a new Mental Well-Being Hub to provide holistic, actionable and useful resources for those looking to achieve their mental health goals. Among the many organizations that have resources for the month are the National Council for Mental Health, National Alliance on Mental Illness and the Anxiety & Depression Association of America. 

Legal Aid of East Tennessee (LAET) is seeking a full-time staff attorney for its Cleveland or Chattanooga office. This is an entry level position with the ideal candidate having three years of experience or less as well as a demonstrated commitment to high-quality legal work and equal access to justice. Candidates must be admitted to the Tennessee Bar or admitted to the bar of another state with the ability to waive into Tennessee. Salary is dependent upon experience. To apply, submit a letter of interest, resume, three references and writing sample by email to Deputy Director Deborah Yeomans-Barton. dyeomans@laet.org. Deadline is June 15. See the full posting on TBA’s Job Link.

The U.S. State Department yesterday announced the launch of a new program to gather and analyze evidence of war crimes and other atrocities allegedly perpetrated by Russia in Ukraine, Reuters reports. In a statement, the State Department said the Conflict Observatory will encompass documentation, verification and dissemination of open-source evidence of Russia's actions in Ukraine. Reports and analyses will be made available through the observatory's website. President Joe Biden has accused Russia of "major war crimes" while the Ukrainian government says it has identified more than 10,000 possible crimes.

Officials with the Tennessee Democratic Party say they will host three gubernatorial debates ahead of the upcoming August primary election, the Associated Press reports. According to a news release, Democratic candidates Jason Martin, Carnita Atwater and JB Smiley Jr. will participate in all three of the debates which will take place on May 26 in Knoxville, June 21 in Nashville and July 12 in Memphis. Whoever wins the August primary will face off against Republican incumbent Gov. Bill Lee, who is running for a second term. WBBJ TV.com has the story.

U.S. District Court Judge Aleta Trauger has struck down a Tennessee law requiring businesses to post special signs if they allow transgender individuals to use a bathroom of their choice. The move comes after she issued a temporary halt to the law soon after it was signed. A challenge to the law was brought by the ACLU on behalf of Nashville business owner Bob Bernstein, who owns Nashville coffee shops Bongo Java and Fido. Trauger's decision rejected state arguments that the law does not target transgender individuals and does not prohibit anyone from using a restroom of their choice. Instead, she wrote: “Transgender Tennesseans are real. The businesses and establishments that wish to welcome them are real. And the viewpoints that those individuals and businesses hold are real, even if they differ from the view of some legislators or government officials. While those government officials have considerable power, they have no authority to wish those opposing viewpoints away.” WPLN has the story.

An unresponsive female inmate at the Silverdale Detention Center died this week, Chattanoogan.com reports. On Monday at approximately 2 p.m. EDT, Hamilton County Emergency Medical Services was called to the Silverdale facility in response to a medical emergency where a 53-year old female inmate was found unresponsive. She was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead. At the request of the Hamilton County District Attorney’s Office, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office is conducting an investigation.