The Tennessee Supreme Court last week set the execution dates of two death row inmates. The high court set an execution date of April 21, 2022, for Oscar Franklin Smith, who was convicted of murdering three family members in Nashville in 1989. Smith was originally scheduled to be executed in June 2020, but the execution was stayed due to COVID-19. Today’s order lifted that stay. An execution date of June 9, 2022, was set for Harold Wayne Nichols, who was convicted of rape and murder in Chattanooga in 1988. Nichols was scheduled to be executed in August 2020, but Gov. Bill Lee issued an executive reprieve last summer. That reprieve expired on its own terms in December. Read more from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

A new report from the New York State Bar Association Task Force on Attorney Well-Being recommends law firms cap billable hours, encourage full vacations and manage client expectations to promote well-being, the ABA Journal reports. The state bar report found that law firms should cap billable hours at 1,800 per year and should not exceed the cap when determining bonus eligibility. Three thousand eighty nine lawyers responded to the bar’s survey and, on a scale of one to five, gave their overall satisfaction with law practice a 3.42. When asked what problems impact well-being the most, the top three answers were no down time, client expectations and demands and financial pressures in the business of law. Those with 101 to 200 lawyers in their firms were the least satisfied, while those with 21 to 50 in their practices were most satisfied. Judges were the most satisfied among practice types.

Despite new legislation that would allow the state attorney general to ask the Supreme Court to replace local district attorneys who refuse to enforce certain laws, Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk says he’ll continue to consider cases the same way, Axios Nashville reports. The measure, which cleared the General Assembly over the weekend and is awaiting the governor’s signature, is thought to be in response to Funk’s public refusal to enforce state laws limiting abortion access and requiring businesses to post signs if they allow transgender people to use the bathroom. He has also publicly stated he would not prosecute those found in possession of small amounts of marijuana. 

The TBA Juvenile & Children’s Law Section will host a virtual forum on Dec. 3 at 9 a.m. CST. The program, worth two general and two dual hours of CLE credit, will offer enhanced resource guidelines, a discussion of the issues faced by LGBTQ youth and the impacts of racial diversity in rural communities. Register for this event by 7 a.m. CST on Dec. 3 to receive the Zoom Webinar link.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division is now accepting applications for its Diversity Leadership Institute (DLI) Class of 2022. DLI is a six-month leadership and mentoring program for Tennessee law students in their second, third or fourth years of study. Class size is limited to 20 to 25 students selected from across the state. The goal of the program is to have a diverse class, so selection is based in part on race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, background, geographical factors and law school attended. The application deadline is 5 p.m. CST on Nov. 24.

Nashville attorney Kyle Mothershead estimates that roughly 200 people filed a total of 300 claims to receive a portion of the $11 million settlement that came as a result of a class-action lawsuit against Rutherford County for wrongfully detaining juveniles, the Daily News Journal reports. That number is significantly lower than the estimated 1,450 people who were believed to be eligible for a portion of the settlement, but doesn’t include the hundreds, possibly thousands, of people illegally arrested whose incidents are outside the statute of limitations. Oct. 29 was the deadline to file claims, which were worth $1,000 per illegal arrest and $4,800 for illegal incarceration. Mothershead and fellow plaintiffs’ attorneys Mark Downton and Frank Brazil reached the class-action settlement in June. The suit was filed in 2017 after the illegal incarceration of children at Hobgood Elementary School in Murfreesboro, but expanded to others jailed at the juvenile detention center after the case revealed it was violating state law regarding the pretrial incarceration of children.

U.S. Rep. David Kustoff, R-Shelby County, this morning announced that bipartisan legislation has been drawn up that would alter the NCAA’s infractions and investigation process, the Commercial Appeal reports. The bill is a direct result of the fallout over the case of University of Memphis basketball player James Wiseman, who was suspended for 12 games after the NCAA ruled him “likely ineligible” due to inducements his family received before he enrolled at Memphis. The new bill, the NCAA Accountability Act of 2021, would establish and administer due process protections for NCAA member institutions, student-athletes, coaches or administrators who are involved in investigation related to alleged NCAA bylaw infractions. Kustoff is hopeful this legislation will put the NCAA’s enforcement and infractions protocols more in line with the traditional legal system.

A Roane County grand jury will hear a report on a criminal investigation into the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and its 2008 Kingston coal ash spill and subsequent cleanup, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. The report from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is the first major criminal proceeding against the TVA and Jacobs Engineering since the environmental disaster. More than 7 million cubic tons of coal ash spilled at the TVA’s Kingston plant in 2008. Jacobs was hired to clean up the spill, but was accused by workers of not providing them with sufficient protective gear. An ongoing federal lawsuit claims that at least 47 disaster relief workers died and 400 were sickened from exposure to the coal ash during cleanup. The TBI is set to present its report the grand jury on Nov. 15.

Jefferson County General Sessions and Juvenile Judge Dennis “Will” Roach II has announced he is seeking another term. Roach was initially elected to the position in 2014 and during his time on the bench has played a vital role in developing the county’s Safe Baby Court program, which aims to help struggling parents get back on their feet and to help babies in the foster care system get back to a permanent home. “It would be an incredible honor to be re-elected so that I may continue to serve Jefferson County for the next eight years," Roach said in an email.

Vance Dennis, assistant district attorney for the 24th Judicial District, this week announced he will be vying for the Republican nomination in the district’s Circuit Court judge race, the Paris Post-Intelligencer reports. Dennis, a Hardin County native, was partner at McGee and Dennis for more than 10 years before eventually becoming the county’s chief prosecutor. He also previously served as state representative for the 71st District from 2008 until 2014. “Having been both in private practice and serving our community as a prosecutor, I am committed to following the law and ensuring fairness in the courtroom,” Dennis said of his candidacy. The 24th Judicial District includes Hardin, Henry, Benton, Carroll and Decatur counties.