Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III has joined a multi-state lawsuit challenging the Biden administration’s recent mask requirements for toddlers and COVID-19 vaccinations for staff and volunteers in Head Start Programs. The states allege that the mandate goes beyond the executive branch’s authority and violates laws that require notice and comment times for proposed executive actions.

Knox County Chancellor John F. Weaver received the “Courage in the Face of Adversity Award” from the Knoxville Bar Association (KBA) during the group’s recent annual meeting. The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) reports on the debilitating injuries Weaver suffered to both of his legs in an accident last March, and how he “had to get creative” in managing his court docket during recovery. The award is presented periodically to a member of the KBA who “exhibits exceptional courage, charity, grace, unselfishness and professionalism in the face of adversity.” Other awards presented at the meeting were highlighted in a previous story.

Davidson County lawyer Melissa June Anderson was censured today by the Tennessee Supreme Court after the court found that she violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.15 and 5.1. Anderson failed to create and maintain appropriate trust account bookkeeping protocols for her law office, breaching her managerial obligation to ensure that her office acted in compliance with the Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct. As a result of this conduct, a check drawn on the firm’s trust account was returned for insufficient funds.

Georgia lawyer Christina Elisabeth McCloskey was reinstated to the practice of law in Tennessee on Dec. 8. She had been placed on inactive status more than five years ago, the Board of Professional Responsibility reports. The court issued the order on Dec. 17.

North Carolina lawyer Hugh Stanley Harris Jr. was reinstated to the practice of law in Tennessee on Dec. 1. He had been placed on inactive status more than five years ago, the Board of Professional Responsibility reports. The Tennessee Supreme Court issued the reinstatement order on Dec. 21.

A U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit panel on Monday denied the Knox County School Board’s request to pause a mask requirement while litigation on the issue makes its way through the courts, the Associated Press reports. U.S. District Judge J. Ronnie Greer had ruled in September that the school system must adopt a mask mandate to help protect children with health problems that make them more susceptible to the coronavirus pandemic. The school system had offered remote learning as an alternative to those with health concerns, but both courts said they were “not persuaded that virtual schooling is a reasonable alternative to universal masking.” The school system did not adopt a mask policy for the 2021-2022 school year. Parents of children with health concerns challenged that decision.

Rutherford County will pay $6 million for illegally arresting and detaining hundreds of children, WPLN reports. The settlement is less than the $11 million that was estimated earlier this year because not as many plaintiffs filed claims. By the deadline, about 500 claims were filed — about a quarter of what attorneys originally hoped according to plaintiffs’ counsel Kyle Mothershead. For those who did file a claim, the county will pay $1,000 for each illegal arrest and about $4,800 for each illegal incarceration. Earlier this year, WPLN News and ProPublica published an investigation on the Rutherford County juvenile justice system and the judge who oversees it.

The Metro Nashville Council yesterday gave final approval to a bill naming the plaza in front of the Historic Metro Courthouse in honor of civil rights activist Diane Nash. The new "Diane Nash Plaza” will encompass the steps and large fountains in front of the building, the Tennessean reports. The honor comes almost 62 years after Nash joined thousands at the courthouse to protest the bombing of attorney and civil rights activist Z. Alexander Looby's Nashville home. Nash also confronted then-Mayor Ben West on the courthouse steps, asking if it was wrong to discriminate based on race or skin color. West agreed it was wrong, a key symbolic victory for the movement, according to the paper.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced yesterday that thousands of federal inmates who were released from prison to complete their sentence from home as a preventative measure to combat the spread of COVID-19, will be allowed to remain on home confinement. WRCB-TV reports that since March 2020, the federal Bureau of Prisons has placed more than 36,000 inmates on home confinement. More than 25,000 since have completed their sentences. The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel had previously said that when the pandemic emergency ends, bureau officials would have to recall all prisoners placed in extended home confinement. The office reversed that ruling Tuesday. The station has more from CNN Newswire.

Vince Dean announced yesterday that he will seek another term as the Hamilton County Criminal Court clerk, Chattanoogan.com reports. Dean has served in the role since leaving the Tennessee General Assembly in 2014. He was appointed as the District 30 state representative in 2006. Prior to that appointment, Dean spent 27 years as a Chattanooga police officer, served as a member of the East Ridge City Council and then as mayor of East Ridge.