Vanderbilt University this week named a new advisory board for its Project on Unity and American Democracy designed to help bridge the gap of political polarization in the United States. Chairing the board will be former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and two Vanderbilt faculty: presidential historian Jon Meacham and political science and law professor Samar Ali. Other members include former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, former U.S. Attorney General and current Belmont University Law School Dean Alberto Gonzales, Bill Clinton's former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles, former U.S. Ambassador to China and Washington state Gov. Gary Locke, and country music artists Martina McBride, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. Read more in a release from the school.

Tennessee House Republicans on Monday passed legislation targeting "obscene" materials in school libraries. Democrats and school librarians criticized the bill as overly broad and unnecessary, the Tennessean reports. Rep. Scott Cepicky, R-Columbia, sponsored the bill, which establishes a review timeline schools must follow if a parent or guardian reports material they believe to be obscene or "harmful to minors," including removing the book for at least 30 days while the local board of education or charter school governing body conducts a review. The legislation now awaits action in the Senate.

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton said Monday he gave “factual information” to a grand jury investigating political corruption and confirmed he is not a “target” in the federal probe. Sexton was among at least five lawmakers subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury, Tennessee Lookout reports. They include Republican Reps. Jason Zachary of Knoxville, Bud Hulsey of Kingsport, Patsy Hazlewood of Signal Mountain and Esther Helton of East Ridge. Legislative Administration Executive Director Connie Ridley also made an appearance. Former Rep. Robin Smith is also cooperating with prosecutors. Federal agents are reportedly building a case alleging kickbacks and possibly bribery centered around a fake organization that marketed itself as a campaign and direct mail consultant.

The Tennessee Supreme Court this week denied an appeal by Eric Boyd, the fifth and final suspect to be convicted in the 2007 torture slayings of a Knox County couple, Tennessee Lookout reports. Boyd was convicted by a Knox County Criminal Court jury in August 2019 of kidnapping, raping and killing Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom. He was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences plus another 90 years for related, underlying crimes. Four others involved in the crime are also in prison. Lemaricus Davidson is on death row, Letalvis Cobbins is serving life without parole and Vanessa Coleman is serving 35 years. George Thomas was originally sentenced to 127 years but agreed in 2018 to testify against Boyd in return for a 50-year sentence.

Tennessee Senior Judge Walter Kurtz today dismissed a motion to declare death row inmate Byron Black as intellectually disabled, News Channel 5 reports. Kurtz said that because federal courts had previously determined Black was not intellectually disabled, he was not eligible to have the decision considered again. Black’s attorneys had argued the 65-year-old should be spared, citing a 2021 law that made Tennessee’s prohibition against executing people with an intellectual disability retroactive. Black is scheduled to be executed on Aug. 18 for his murder convictions in the 1988 killings of his girlfriend and her daughters.

There is a lot we cannot control about our lives, but we can develop good habits to improve our work life. A recent article from Reuters highlights five habits specifically designed to help lawyers. First, make the most of institutional knowledge. Tap into the knowledge of colleagues to get a head start on new tasks. Second, stay informed and build accuracy checks into your workflow. The law is constantly changing; developing a process for staying informed will save time and heartache. Third, sharpen your legal research skills. Learn how to effectively research a legal issue and utilize trusted sources of information. Fourth, never leave your work vulnerable. Take advantage of available resources to make sure your work is ironclad. Fifth, believe in yourself. Once you’ve done your due diligence and made certain your work is as solid as possible you have earned the right to move on to the next task with confidence.

Nominations for the 2022 Judge Pamela L. Reeves Tennessee Professionalism Award are due next Monday. The annual award is presented by the Tennessee Bar Association and Tennessee’s American Inns of Court to a lawyer or judge whose life and practice display sterling character and unquestioned integrity, coupled with ongoing dedication to the highest standards of the rule of law and the highest standards of the legal profession in Tennessee. The award is presented to a lawyer or judge residing in the grand division of the state where the TBA's Annual Convention is held (this year, the Middle Grand Division). Nominees must be alive when their nomination is submitted but need not be an active member of an American Inn of Court or the TBA. The TBA Annual Convention will be held in Nashville the week of June 13.

Voting in the 2022 TBA election will end at 5 p.m. CDT on Friday. Access to the electronic ballot was emailed on March 1 and 22 from the email address TBA.Election@intelliscanvotes.com. Please check spam filters if you did not receive a ballot notification. Please reach out to elections@tnbar.org by the close of business on Thursday if a ballot is still needed.

The TBA Adoption Law Forum will take place in person on May 16 at the Nashville Public Library. The program will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. CDT and offer one dual and three general CLE credits. Topics will include updates on adoption assistance, civil and juvenile court rules, appellate updates and bonding and trauma. Lunch will be provided. Produced by Jennifer Williams, speakers include Meredith Brasfield, Douglas Dimond, Susan Kovac and Kevin Weaver. Register here.

Knox County lawyer Brian Chadwick Rickman was suspended from the practice of law for one year by the Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday. The court took the action after finding that during litigation of a contentious child custody matter, Rickman “intentionally and knowingly engaged in abusive and obstreperous conduct intended to disrupt the proceedings of the tribunal and continued this unethical behavior despite multiple warnings from the court.” The court also found that Rickman made statements in open court and in pleadings that were knowingly false or made with reckless disregard to the truth, impugning the integrity and reputation of the presiding judge. His actions were determined to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 3.5(e), 8.2(a)(1) and 8.4(a) and (d).