JustCity and the Justice & Safety Alliance are co-hosting a Shelby County DA Candidate Forum on Thursday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. CDT. The event will take place at the Christ Missionary Baptist Church, 480 S. Parkway East, Memphis 38106. Organizers say they are hosting the forum to give the community one last opportunity to hear from district attorney candidates before election day on May 3. Each declared candidate from both political parties has been invited to the event. Those who would like to attend are asked to register in advance.

Former public defender and congressional candidate Keeda Haynes won’t be running for the state Senate after all, the Nashville Post reports. Haynes withdrew from the open District 19 race yesterday and did not respond to a request for comment. She had joined the race earlier this month when Sen. Brenda Gilmore, D-Nashville, announced her retirement and tapped Haynes as her chosen successor. That move triggered an extension in the filing deadline due to the state’s anti-skullduggery law. Since then, two more Democrats have entered the race: Charlane Oliver and Jerry Maynard.

Two East Tennessee police chiefs and a police lieutenant are facing complaints they violated the federal Hatch Act in endorsing 8th Judicial District Criminal Court judicial candidate Graham Wilson, Tennessee Lookout reports. The complaints allege that Tazewell Police Department Chief Jeremy Myers and New Tazewell Police Department Chief Ben Evans used departmental letterhead in issuing their endorsements while Myers, Evans and New Tazewell Lt. Gary Ruszhowski posed with Wilson in their uniforms for photos used on Wilson’s campaign website. The complaints were filed last week with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which is tasked with enforcing the Hatch Act. Penalties for violating the act can include removal from office, loss of federal funds and fines.

Knoxville lawyer Linda Jean Hamilton Mowles died last Wednesday. She was 74. Funeral services were held at West Hills Presbyterian Church with burial following at Highland Memorial Cemetery. Mowles received her law degree from the University of Tennessee Law School in 1983 and spent her career at Lewis, King, Krieg & Waldrop arguing cases at the federal courts of appeal and the U. S. Supreme Court. She retired in 2013 as a shareholder after 30 years of practice. In her free time, Mowles wrote a personal blog, was an embroiderer and crafter, and enjoyed making clothes for children served by a local children’s nonprofit. Condolences may be shared on the funeral home's website.

The TBA Entertainment & Sports Law Section will hold its annual CLE on May 19 from 12:30 to 4:45 p.m. CDT at Belmont College of Law. This year’s program will provide updates on some of the hottest topics in the entertainment and sports industries including: blockchain technology and the role it plays in the music industry, including NFTs and the metaverse; trademark and licensing issues within the Web 3.0 world; legal considerations related to the explosion of unlicensed music being used on social media; and ethical guidelines when negotiating new music contracts. Following the program, attendees are invited to attend a networking reception.

Hamilton County District Attorney Neal Pinkston is asking the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate alleged excessive use of force during a traffic stop in Collegedale and alleged crimes being committed at the Silverdale Detention Center, which is operated by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office. Since the first of the year, there have been three rapes inside Silverdale, as well as a stabbing, an alleged severe beating, and reports of multiple drug overdoses, Chattanoogan.com reports.

The General Assembly has passed a number of bills that now await Gov. Bill Lee’s signature. Among them are measures to strictly limit the shackling of pregnant inmates, outlaw mail delivery of abortion pills and hold drunk drivers who kill a parent responsible for child support. The Associated Press and The Hill have more on each of these bills.

Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III and District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine have announced creation of bipartisan coalition of 53 attorneys general who are urging Congress to pass The Public Safety Officer Support Act of 2022. The legislation addresses gaps in support for public safety officers who become disabled by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or lose their lives to trauma-linked suicide, the pair say. In a letter to members of Congress, the attorneys general praise the work of public safety officers who respond to stressful and potentially traumatic situations and note, that compared to the general public, these public servants are 25.6 times more likely to develop PTSD and face increased risks of suicide. The coalition joins a number of law enforcement groups also on record supporting the legislation.

Francis M. “Trey” Hamilton III took office as the new U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee after being appointed by the U.S. District Court. He will serve in this capacity until the vacancy is filled by a presidentially-appointed, Senate-confirmed nominee, Chattanoogan.com reports. Hamilton had been serving as interim U.S. attorney by appointment of U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland following his service as the district’s acting U.S. attorney. A native of Nashville, Hamilton joined the office as an assistant U.S. attorney in 2002. Since then, he has served in numerous leadership positions, including first assistant U.S. attorney, deputy criminal division chief and senior litigation counsel. He earned his law degree from Washington & Lee University School of Law.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee welcomed Rachel Ralston Mancl as a newly appointed bankruptcy judge for the district, Chattanoogan.com reports. District Judge Clifton L. Corker administered the oath of office to Mancl in a private ceremony. Mancl, who was selected by the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this month, will serve as the primary judge for the Greeneville Division. She succeeds Chief Judge Shelley D. Rucker, who has been the acting bankruptcy judge in Greeneville since former Chief Bankruptcy Judge Marcia Phillips Parsons retired in September 2020. Prior to her appointment, Mancl was in private practice at Hunter, Smith & Davis, with offices in Johnson City and Kingsport. Mancl is a former member of the TBA Board of Governors, former TBA Young Lawyers Division president and a former president of the Kingsport Bar Association. A public investiture will take place in the coming months, the court said in a release today.