The Knoxville Bar Foundation is holding a ceremony to unveil the portraits of former Knox County Criminal Court Judge Bob McGee and Chancellor Mike Moyers on Oct. 13 at 3 p.m. EDT in the Main Assembly Room of the City County Building. Attendees are asked to register for the event and masks will be required regardless of vaccination status. McGee retired at the end of 2019. Moyers stepped down from the bench earlier this year to join the Knoxville law firm of Bernstein, Stair & McAdams.

Make plans now to attend the TBA’s Environmental Law Forum set for Dec. 10 from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. CDT. The forum will be presented virtually. Watch for more information coming soon and thanks to Chattanooga attorney and section chair Jennifer Brundige with the Tennessee Valley Authority for producing this year’s event.

Karla M. McKanders, a clinical professor of law and associate director of the clinical program at Vanderbilt University Law School, has been named chair of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Immigration. She announced the news on Twitter. In an open letter to the commission, McKanders writes that she recognizes the divisions that exist around immigration, but believes that immigration is, and has always been, an engine of growth, development, diversity and ingenuity for the country. She also talks about her passion for issues such as access to counsel, due process safeguards, protecting families and minors, and ensuring a fair and efficient immigration court system.

A number of lawyers were reinstated recently after being suspended for administrative violations. Seven were reinstated after failing to complete required CLE hours: six in 2020 and one in 2017. In addition, two lawyers have been reinstated after paying their 2020 professional privilege tax. Finally, 18 have been reinstated after paying required fees: 15 who were suspended in 2021, two in 2020 and one in 2013. The TBA has records of all administrative suspensions and reinstatements going back to 2005. See all lists here.

Britney Spears may receive relief from a 13-year old court-ordered conservatorship, as her father James Spears this week filed a petition to terminate the arrangement. Attorney Adam R. Banner retraces the history of Spears' conservatorship and the pop culture response to it in a recent issue of the ABA Journal. From the “FreeBritney” social media movement to “The New York Times Presents: Framing Britney Spears” documentary, fans have obsessed over Spears’ situation. During the pandemic, some reportedly scoured her Instagram account looking for clues, hints and “secret codes” they believed the singer was using to liberate herself from the conservatorship. While these popular responses may be entertaining, they often lack legal analysis. Banner fills in the gaps with his latest column.

The Tennessee House Select Committee on Redistricting held its first meeting yesterday, the Nashville Post reports. Those appearing before the committee included U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Nashville, who asked members to keep Nashville’s congressional district intact. “In previous redistricting rounds, the general feeling was let’s keep districts as close as you can. I hope and pray for Nashville’s sake that that’s done this time,” Cooper said. Others who testified included representatives from the NAACP, League of Women Voters and Equity Alliance, who asked lawmakers to conduct a transparent process. The meeting was the first of several expected hearings. Members of the public and community organizations can submit proposed maps of their own through a sitting member of the legislature until November. The General Assembly is expected to approve new maps shortly after returning to session early next year.

The American Bar Association has approved the nation’s first online-only law degree program, Above the Law reports. The new program will be run by St. Mary’s University School of Law, which already operates a law school in San Antonio, Texas. According to the school, additional specifics are not yet available. “We are still working through the approval process ... and look forward to sharing more information ... next month,” said Jennifer Lloyd, senior director of communications at St. Mary’s University. “Once approved, St. Mary’s will release the details for this innovative proposed program.”

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing to examine the U.S. Supreme Court's use of the so-called shadow docket, which refers to when the justices make decisions on emergency applications without full briefing or argument. The docket, critics argue, is increasingly being relied on in high-profile public policy disputes. The court recently used the truncated process to rule on significant disputes over immigration policy and federal eviction protections, and to leave intact a new Texas law that bans most abortions, The Hill reports. No date has been set yet for the hearing.

The Jackson City Council this week voted to fund a full-time gang prosecutor, making a previously grant-funded position permanent, the Jackson Sun reports. The position had been funded by a federal grant since 2013, but that funding ended in June. Madison County District Attorney General Jody Pickens said losing the position would “have been a step backward” in dealing with gang issues. The new funding will allow Pickens to reinstate Bradley Champine, the assistant district attorney who had been serving as the gang prosecutor under the grant. The office also says it will continue an educational component that was part of the grant that supports local nonprofits working alongside the Jackson Police Department to educate children on the dangers of gang involvement.

The Shelby County Juvenile Justice Consortium, a citizen-led board created to hold the juvenile justice system accountable, is recommending that the U.S. Department of Justice conduct a new evaluation of the juvenile court and reopen its memorandum of agreement with the court. The previous memorandum of agreement ended in 2018. The consortium presented its recommendation to the county commission this week saying that while progress has been made, questions remain about transfers to adult court, disproportionate impact to Black youth, lack of mental health programming, and reports of youth fearing for their safety. It also presented a list of proposed actions that could be taken to address concerns if the commission does not support a new federal review. The commission deferred a vote on the recommendations until Sept. 22, the Commercial Appeal reports.