After two lawsuits were filed, Tennessee has decided to release a $1.5 million taxpayer-funded report detailing recommendations on improving “government effeciencies,” the Tennessean reports. Private contractor Thomas Wesley filed suit against the Tennessee Department of Human Resources in December, followed by a second suit this month from Nashville Post parent company FW Publishing and reporter Stephen Elliott. The state’s decision to release the report, created by consulting firm McKinsey & Co., was made days before a show cause hearing was set in Wesley’s case. The hearing was canceled after the attorney general’s office said it planned to “grant public access” to the record. A show cause hearing in the Nashville Post’s suit, which was broader in scope, was still scheduled for this afternoon.

Applications are now being accepted for two vacancies on the Eastern Section of the Court of Criminal Appeals following announcements that Judge Norma McGee and Judge D. Kelly Thomas Jr. will not seek retention. Qualified applicants are licensed attorneys who are at least 30 years old, residents of the state for at least five years and current residents of the Eastern Section. Those interested should submit an application to the Administrative Office of the Courts by noon CST on Feb. 8. The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments will hold a virtual hearing for both vacancies via Zoom on March 3 and March 4. The hearing will be livestreamed on the AOC’s YouTube page. The AOC has more on application instructions and how to attend the hearing in person.  

The full state Senate will vote on whether to expel Sen. Katrina Robinson, D-Memphis, from office on Feb. 2, the Commercial Appeal reports. Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, announced the decision days after a Senate Ethics Committee recommended the expulsion, determining that Robinson violated the body’s code of ethics. Robinson is awaiting sentencing after being convicted on two counts of federal fraud charges relating to the mismanagement of federal funds connected to her nursing school.

Longtime Democratic Congressman Jim Cooper today announced he will not run for re-election as a Republican redistricting plan that will split Davidson County into three congressional districts moves forward, the Tennessean reports. Cooper’s announcement came less than 24 hours after the state House approved redistricting plans on a 70-26 party-line vote. Cooper, who has represented Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District for 32 years, in a statement said he “explored every possible way” to keep the General Assembly from “dismembering Nashville.” He said he chose to make the announcement now to allow others more time to campaign. The 5th District will now include parts of Davidson, Williamson and Wilson counties, along with rural Lewis, Maury and Marshall counties. “For everything there is a season, a time and place under the sun,” Cooper said. “My time in Congress is ending, but I can’t wait to start the next adventure.”

A private citizen has notified state wildlife officials of his intent to sue within 60 days should a plan to raze 2,000 acres of hardwoods on state-owned land in White County proceed, the Tennessee Lookout reports. The land sits on 16,000 acres that was gifted to the state by Bridgestone Americas. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) plans to raze the land and use it to create grassland habitat for the Northern bobwhite quail. In the Jan. 10 notice, Marvin Bullock, president of the Sparta/White County Chamber of Commerce, and his attorney, Austin Warehime of Nashville’s Ortale Kelley Law Firm, claim the plan may harm numerous protected species in violation of the federal Endangered Species Act. The plan has upset locals, environmental groups and a bipartisan group of state lawmakers, who are critical of TWRA’s lack of transparency and its plan to keep all profits from the sale of the timber. TWRA is the only state agency allowed to keep proceeds from the sale of the state’s natural resources.

Memphis attorney Janika White has announced she’ll run in the Democratic primary for Shelby County district attorney general, the Daily Memphian reports. At her campaign kickoff last month, White called for criminal justice reform and critiqued the “tough on crime” approach, saying it leads to “over-incarceration of a group of people with no actual results.” She says the DA’s office should prosecute when crimes are committed, but should also be involved in efforts to prevent crime. White is a partner at the Walter Bailey Law Firm in Memphis. She previously clerked for Chancellor Kenny Armstrong and U.S. District Judge Bernice, who is now on the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. She earned her law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law and is a 2018 graduate of the TBA’s Leadership Law program.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today suspended Hamblen County lawyer Alan C. Lee from the practice of law for three years. Lee knowingly failed to timely comply with an injunction issued by the U.S. District Court and misrepresented to the court that he was unaware of the court’s order. Lee entered a conditional guilty plea acknowledging his rule violations and must now comply with the Supreme Court’s requirements regarding the obligations and responsibilities of suspended attorneys and the procedure for reinstatement.

The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments is now accepting applications for a Tennessee Court of Appeals vacancy in the Middle Division following Judge Richard H. Dinkins’ decision not to stand for retention in the August 2022 election. Dinkins has served on the court since 2008. He previously served on the Davidson County Chancery Court and was in private practice for 26 years. He suffered a stroke in July 2020.

Those interested in being considered for the seat should be licensed attorneys at least 30 years of age, residents of the state for five years and residents of the Middle Grand Division. Applicants must complete the designated application and submit it to the Administrative Office of the Courts by noon CST on Feb. 3.  The council will hold a virtual hearing via video conference with all applicants on Feb. 14 and 15. The hearing will be live streamed for public viewing on the court’s YouTube page. Read the full vacancy notice.

Over the past few decades, the number of court reporters across the country has been in decline. But not everyone agrees that the shortage is a big problem, Law 360 reports. Differences in opinion are sharpest between those who advocate for traditional stenography and those who support use of electronic equipment. Advocates of digital reporting argue these services can solve any shortages given that the time required to train a digital recorder is shorter and courses can be offered online making it more attractive to new recruits. But stenographers see their profession slipping away with stenography schools closing and a high rate of retirement among colleagues. They argue strenuously that digital reporters are not properly trained, which puts the public at risk. Despite any disagreement about the scope of the problem, however, most everyone agrees that something must be done to save court reporting.

A group of federal prosecutors are investigating up to $90 billion in suspected CARES Act and Paycheck Protection Program fraud across the United States, the Nashville Business Journal reports. The investigation is looking to catch undeserving recipients of emergency stimulus funds approved by Congress as COVID-19 slammed the country's economy. Funding was intended to help employers meet payrolls, supplement state unemployment payments and ease or eliminate fines and fees. By late December, a total of 366 indictments, 294 arrests and 142 convictions had been recorded for a total of more than $460 million so far, according to the Small Business Administration inspector general.