Dr. Jason Martin, a pulmonary and critical care specialist in Nashville, is considering running for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2022, the Nashville Post reports. Martin has never run for office but, after working in a COVID-19 unit at Sumner Regional Medical Center, has become more outspoken about health care and critical of Gov. Bill Lee’s response to the pandemic. Carnita Atwater of Memphis is the only other Democrat in the race thus far, with Memphis City Councilmember J.B. Smiley also reportedly considering a run for the nomination. Martin has filed paperwork to establish a fundraising committee, but it has not yet been posted to the state campaign finance website.

Shelby County commissioners on Monday voted to appoint Judicial Commissioner Danielle Mitchell-Sims as the new Division 3 General Sessions Court Judge, the Daily Memphian reports. Mitchell-Sims will complete the term of retiring Judge John Donald, but has indicated that she’ll run for a full eight-year term in the 2022 county elections. She was selected by the County Commission on the third round of voting with a majority of seven required. Seven other applicants have announced they will also run for the post in 2022.

Metro Council last week voted unanimously to eliminate a monthly $35 probation supervision fee billed to those on probation, the Tennessean reports. The vote is part of a series of reform measures Metro Nashville is implementing to relieve financial burden on criminal defendants and to reduce recidivism. Councilman Brandon Taylor says the Council wanted to help those “already down on their luck” and “give people a chance to get back to society without being financially burdened.” Taylor chairs Metro’s 37208 special committee, which was created in 2019 to tackle the high incarceration rate in the neighborhood. The committee has recommended reducing fines and fees, a strategy that a 2020 study from the PFM’s Center for Justice and Safety Finance says is vital to reform. The probation supervision fee was established in 1991 at $20 a month before being increased to $25 in 2006 and to $35 in 2008. Revenue collected from the fee went into the city’s general fund. Metro has set aside $662,500 in the fiscal 2022 budget to make up for the revenue.

The TBA's Summer Business Education Webinar Series continues Thursday with a one-hour session on Using Core Financial & Productivity Reports. Attendees will learn how balance sheets, trust accounts, profit & loss statements, chart of accounts and more can be used to manage and improve their practices on a day-to-day basis. The virtual program will run from noon to 1 p.m. CDT and offer one hour of dual CLE credit.

Davidson County attorney Terry Renease Clayton yesterday received a public censure from the Board of Professional Responsibility (BPR) of the Tennessee Supreme Court. Clayton discovered that he had accidentally overpaid a client after issuing a check to himself for fees, resulting in an overdraft of the account. The client returned the overpaid funds, but Clayton delayed in removing his earned fee from trust, doing so in multiple payments over three months. He did not have a client ledger on this matter and his conduct resulted in the commingling of his funds with client funds for three months. In addition to the public censure, Clayton must also attend a Trust Account Workshop from the BPR.

Tony Parker, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC), today announced that he is retiring, the Tennessean reports. Parker began his career with the state 38 years ago as a prison guard in West Tennessee. A native of Union City, Parker was originally appointed to lead TDOC in 2016 by former Gov. Bill Haslam and was reappointed in 2019 by Gov. Bill Lee. The state comptroller last year found that TDOC leadership failed to ensure data on inmate deaths, assaults, medical treatment and day-to-day operations was accurate. Another audit also found that prison officials misclassified the deaths of eight inmates and improperly investigated allegations of sexual abuse. Parker advocated for prison employee pay raises and earlier this year supported legislation making it a felony for inmates to possess a cellphone inside a prison.

The Tennessee State Museum will allow the public to view three busts removed from the state Capitol last Friday. According to U.S. News & World Report, the busts of Confederate cavalry general and KKK leader Nathan Bedford Forrest; Union Navy Admiral David Farragut, who served during the American Civil War; and U.S. Navy Admiral Albert Gleaves, who served during World War I, are on display at the museum beginning today. Supporters of Farragut protested the placement, arguing he should have been placed in the Farragut Folklife Museum in east Tennessee, far away from Forrest.

The U.S. Justice Department will not seek to try former Pilot Company President Mark Hazelwood for a second time on charges of wire fraud and witness tampering, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. A motion was filed today with the U.S. District Court in Knoxville by acting U.S. Attorney Trey Hamilton asking for “the court’s leave” to dismiss all charges against Hazelwood and two Pilot Company subordinates. All three were convicted in 2018 of trying to defraud Pilot’s trucking customers, but the convictions were overturned by a federal appellate court, which ruled a judge was wrong to allow jurors to hear recordings of Hazelwood making racist and sexist remarks. Hamilton gave three reasons for the unexpected move: “personal circumstances” of the Pilot staffers who pleaded guilty, many of whom spent time in prison; the “challenge” of everything involved in a retrial; and “limited government resources.”  

Knox News reports that its investigation of Eighth Judicial District Circuit Court Judge John McAfee has led it to conclude that the judge is engaging in conduct that could be considered coercive. The investigation allegedly found that McAfee uses pretrial settlement conferences as an opportunity to engage in “never-before-tried and never-before-tested ‘mediation’ of criminal cases." The findings come from observing dozens of criminal cases — mostly involving poor defendants represented by court-appointed attorneys — in three East Tennessee counties. McAfee says he is not doing anything wrong and is just helping reduce the criminal case backlog after courts were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Union County defense attorney Keri E. Rule recently filed formal objections on behalf of seven clients.

The U.S. Supreme Court last week rescinded several orders it put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. On July 19, it rescinded its March 19, 2020, order regarding filing deadlines and its April 15, 2020, order regarding the filing of documents. The court clerk also provided updated COVID-19 guidance the same day. View the orders or read more about the action from Law360.