The Hamilton County Election Commission this morning received the official Writ of Elections to fill the vacancy in State House of Representatives District 29, Chattanoogan.com reports. The primary election to replace Rep. Mike Carter will take place July 27 with the general election following on Sept. 14. Petition pickups begin immediately with the qualifying deadline set for June 17 at noon EDT. The county commission is set to meet a week from today to consider an interim appointment. County Commissioner Sabrena Smedley said she plans to nominate Joan Carter, the widow of Mike Carter, for the post.

Hawkins County Sessions Court Judge Todd Ross is asking for an additional $3,000 in the 2021-22 county budget to insure and maintain an activity van for his Recovery Court program, but what he really wants is a halfway house for the court. Ross is hoping that dream may get a jump-start with some of the county’s federal stimulus funding, the Times News reports. The goal is to create a place for recovering addicts to live in community and support each other after leaving the recovery court. The county is slated to receive $11 million dollars.

Third Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Thomas J. Wright has notified the governor of his intent to retire effective Sept. 1, the Rogersville Review reports. Wright has served as circuit court judge since 2006. He previously served as the Greene County General Sessions and Juvenile Court judge from 1998 to 2006. Wright, who previously announced his intention not to seek reelection, cited his desire to travel to visit grandchildren as one of the main motivations for his decision to step down before his term ends. “Serving the State of Tennessee and the people of the Third Judicial District has been one of the greatest honors of my life. I am so incredibly grateful to God and the people of Greene, Hawkins, Hamblen and Hancock counties for giving me the opportunity. I love my job but it is time for me to go,” he said.

Assistant District Attorney Blake Sempkowski has announced his candidacy for Hamblen County General Sessions Judge, Division II, the Citizen Tribune reports. A graduate of the University of Memphis School of Law, Sempkowski first practiced law with his father, Edward, in Morristown, handling a variety of civil, juvenile and criminal cases. In 2007, he began working as an assistant public defender. After 12 years, he was named to his current position as assistant district attorney for the Third Judicial District.

Prosecutor Caroline Knight is running for 13th Judicial District Circuit Court Judge, Part II, Tullahoma News reports. A Tennessee native, Knight has lived and worked in the district since 2008. She has served as an assistant district attorney general for 10 years and as a child crimes prosecutor for the last five years. Knight was licensed to practice law in 2006 and represented Upper Cumberland clients in domestic cases, adoption, property disputes and estate planning until 2011. She also has served as a hearing officer for the Crossville Housing Authority.

The National Conference of Bar Examiners is not planning to make a remote bar exam available to jurisdictions for the February 2022 exam, instead offering materials only for an in-person exam. The National Conference, which develops the three main bar exam components, has given states the option to choose between remote and onsite exams since October 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Law.com has the story from the National Law Journal.

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals this week denied a request by a group of landlords to resume evictions, leaving the nationwide eviction moratorium intact for now, The Hill reports. The move follows a ruling last month by U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, who struck down the moratorium after finding the Department of Health and Human Services overstepped its authority, but agreed to delay her ruling from taking effect to allow time for the administration to appeal. The coalition of landlords asked the appeals court to lift Friedrich’s stay. A three judge panel of the court denied the motion, saying the department had “made a strong showing that it is likely to succeed” in the appeal.

As the world starts to get back to “normal,” it may be beneficial to keep in place some of the activities we've employed during the pandemic, says Michelle Wax, the founder of American Happiness Project, a provider of corporate mental health programs. “During the shutdown, we went from an emphasis on external factors, such as going to a job or attending events, to a more internal focus,” she says. With more time at home many of us created new morning rituals. Wax recommends keeping these in place, even if we take just a minute or two to set up the day for success. She also recommends continuing to take breaks and getting outside throughout the day. Finally, she recommends continuing to unplug from the news cycle — either permanently or with small breaks — to reduce the constant bombardment of stress coming through our devices. “The pandemic forced us to take a look in the mirror and ask ourselves if we were finding joy and fulfillment,” Wax says. Now it’s time to make sure those positive emotions stay with us over the long term. Read her full article from Fast Company.

As of July 1, the Knox County Circuit, Chancery, Probate, Juvenile and General Civil Sessions court clerk’s offices will be using the schedule of fees included in T.C.A. 8-21-401 for all fees and court costs. The courts’ fees had previously been controlled by T.C.A. 8-21-409 but the General Assembly deleted that section in the past legislative session. The change brings the fees charged by all Knox County courts into alignment with other counties in the state. One other significant difference is that under T.C.A. 8-21-401 costs are charged and collected at the time the services are requested, except as otherwise provided in the code. Revised fee schedules are available here: Circuit Court, Chancery Court, General Sessions Court and probate fees.

Giles County officials have agreed to end the use of private probation companies as part of a $2 million settlement of a 2017 lawsuit that claimed the county’s probation tactics amounted to an “illegal extortion scheme.” The class action suit, brought by the Civil Rights Corps, alleged that two companies operating in the county “transformed the … misdemeanor probation system into a machine for generating their own profit on the backs of Giles County’s most impoverished residents.” The system worked like this: when county residents were arrested for misdemeanors and could not afford to pay probation fees, they faced re-arrest for probation violations, often meaning they had to post even more bail to secure release. Probationers were routinely threatened with jail time if they could not pay. People sold their possessions, went without medications, skipped rent and became homeless, Tennessee Lookout reports. The settlement still must be approved by the federal judge overseeing the case, but once approved will waive all debt incurred by residents for misdemeanor probation and require the county immediately halt enforcing any outstanding warrants for misdemeanor probation violations. It also prohibits the county from keeping people on supervised probation solely due to their inability to pay. While the suit ends the use of private probation companies in Giles County, 25 companies continue to supervise misdemeanor probationers in 19 other Tennessee counties, the Lookout reports.