Tennessee attorney Luther H. Icenhour passed away on Sept. 28. He was 87. Icenhour graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law and practiced law for 58 years. He is survived by his wife of 64 years and enjoyed traveling, boating, football and fishing. Icenhour was interred at Glenwood Cemetery in Virginia. Donations can still be made in Icenhour’s name to St. Lukes United Methodist Church in Bristol, Virginia, or to a local animal shelter of your choosing.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti joined 21 states in filing a petition for rulemaking, asking the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to repeal the federal vaccine mandate for healthcare workers. “Evidence continues to mount that the ongoing mandate is an unprecedented overreach of the Federal government and has exacerbated shortages of healthcare workers in Tennessee and other states,” Skrmetti said. The petition asks HHS and CMS to repeal the vaccine mandate and withdraw any related guidance. Read more from the AG’s office.

Just City, a Memphis-based criminal justice reform nonprofit, has released a new report grading four Shelby County judges on timeliness, neutrality, how often a public defender was appointed, dignity, sensitivity, the ability to hear a judge, and access to the courtroom. Judges Lee V. Coffee, Chris Craft, Karen Massey and Ronald Lucchesi were observed by court watchers who scored each judge between a one and four in each category. Coffee averaged the best score across the categories, followed by Lucchesi, Massey and Craft. Just City’s Yonée Gibson says she hopes the report will hold judges accountable and lead to changes at the courthouse. Three more reports are expected to be published. Read more from the Commercial Appeal.

The Tennessee Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights this week recommended that the state expand access to absentee voting, citing apparent “deficiencies” found in a study of the state's voting laws and barriers to the ballot box. The ongoing study is also looking at restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic and the civil rights impact of SB008, a controversial bill passed in 2020 that criminalized some protests in the state. In its interim memo, the committee pointed to the state’s use of “excuse” absentee voting, which requires absentee voters to have an approved reason to obtain the ballot, as a barrier to voting. It also referenced the state’s requirement that absentee ballots be returned by mail by the close of polls on Election Day. Secretary of State Tre Hargett pushed back on some of the recommendations, mentioning the state’s “generous” early voting period. The commission may now choose to send the memo to the General Assembly and Gov. Bill Lee as a formal request. The Tennessean has the story. 

The Tennessee Supreme Court today issued an order amending Rule 25, Section 5.01. Section 5 deals with meetings of the Tennessee Lawyers Fund for Client Protection. The new amendment states there will “be no personal appearances except upon request of the Board” or “written authorization of the Board Chair, pursuant to a written request” that is submitted 14 days prior to the meeting. Read the order.

The University of Memphis is now accepting applications for associate university counsel. The position will provide consultative, advisory and representative legal services on matters affecting the university with a particular focus on labor and employment matters involving faculty, staff and student employees, including general HR matters, faculty and tenure matters, Title IX and equal opportunity matters. Candidates must have seven years of relevant experience in a law firm or as in-house counsel in the labor and employment, academic and educational affairs, research compliance, business transactions, governance and public accountability, intellectual property, civil rights or Constitutional law practice areas. The TBA’s JobLink site has more information on the position and application instructions.

The TBA’s 2022 Ethics Roadshow will kick off in Knoxville on Dec. 8. This year’s program is again presented by Memphis attorney Brian Faughnan, owner of Faughnan Law. The theme is “While You Were Sheltering,” because while most of us were “sheltering in place” during the last couple of years, there have been some significant changes to Tennessee's ethics rules. Each program will offer three components: an update on which rules have changed, an overview of important rules that remain unchanged, and a look ahead at rules changes that may be on the horizon. The Knoxville program will take place at Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law from 9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. EST. The roadshow will also take place in Chattanooga on Dec. 9, Memphis on Dec. 14 and Nashville on Dec. 15.

Woolf, McClane, Bright Allen, and Carpenter PLLC has added two lawyers to its health care and transactional practice. Patti T. Cotton and Jason P. Lambert will join the firm’s Knoxville office as partners. Woolf McClane Managing Partner Richard S. Matlock said Cotton and Lambert’s “considerable experience in health care and business law complements and enhances the firm’s existing practice.” Cotton and Lambert were previously with Knoxville firm London Amburn. Read the press release from Woolf McClane.

A member of the board overseeing the Rutherford County Juvenile Detention Center is recommending the facility undergo a name and logo change following its past violations of detaining children, the Tennessean reports. Michael McDonald suggested the rebranding effort during a board meeting this month, also calling for the facility to change its logo, which includes a pair of handcuffs. Former Juvenile Court Judge Donna Scott Davenport retired in August after facing federal lawsuits for the court’s illegal detention of children. The board also discussed adding a grant writer to the detention center’s staff in order to “pursue dollars for these young people” to help with things like “mental health.” One board member also suggested a policy that would require the county’s new Juvenile Court Judge Travis Lampley or magistrates trained in the law to make probable cause determinations on immediate detentions.

According to a new report from the Knoxville News Sentinel, the city of Knoxville has admitted it tried to sidestep Tennessee’s open records law during its search for police chief by commissioning a firm to handle the hiring. The Sentinel sued the city in July to see records from the search. During an Oct. 7 hearing, court records show the city’s hired attorney, Chris McCarty, told Knox County Chancellor John Weaver the police chief search was conducted in such a way that there would be no records of certain things. McCarty said the city did this to “eliminate the possibility that those candidates would fear that their names would be disclosed to the public, therefore, questioning and threatening their current jobs, therefore not having them apply in the first place.”