The Trial Court Vacancy Commission is accepting applications for a circuit court judge in the 20th Judicial District following the death of Judge Phillip E. Smith on Sept. 4. The commission will hold a hearing with applicants on Oct. 18. Applicants must be licensed attorneys, at least 30 years old, a resident of the state for five years and a current residents of Davidson County. Those interested in the position should submit the Trial Court Vacancy Commission Application by noon CDT on Oct. 3. Complete application instructions are available at www.TNCourts.gov. The hearing will take place at 9 a.m. CDT in Senate Room I located in the Cordell Hull Building, 425 Rep. John Lewis Way N., Nashville 37243.

Jackson, Mississippi, residents — represented by Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, the Law Office of Larry D. Moffett, Kershaw Talley Barlow and Gibbs Travis — have filed the first federal class action lawsuit for neglect, mismanagement and maintenance failures that have left Jackson-area residents without access to safe running water. The suit, filed in the Southern District of Mississippi, seeks injunctive relief and monetary damages against various government and private engineering defendants. Nashville-based Lieff Cabraser partner Mark P. Chalos says the suit seeks to “bring justice — and safe, clean water — to the Jackson community.” Read more in a press release from the legal team or the court filing.

Lawyers are talking about the Netflix new show “Partner Track,” which is based on a novel by Helen Wan, a former associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. “Love it or loathe it — there seems to be little middle ground — the series is sparking debate about whether it captures what it’s like to be a woman of color in the legal profession,” one commentator writes. Meanwhile, Marvel has introduced a new superhero, and this time she's a lawyer. “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law,” steaming on Disney+, portrays assistant DA-turned superhero Jennifer Walter as she uses her super strength inside the courtroom and out. According to Reuters, both of these shows demonstrate law firms’ diversity problems. “Both feature a woman lawyer working at an elite law firm who is more competent, ethical and hard-working than her white male counterparts — only to be slighted, excluded or trotted out in a show of tokenism.” Bloomberg Law also weighs into the debate with its piece, “Is Partner Track too White Centric?”

A reception to honor the retirement of West Tennessee Chapter 13 Trustee George W. Stevenson and office attorney Debbie Stevenson will take place Saturday from 5-7 p.m. at the home of Ellen Fite, 8285 Poplar Ave., Germantown 38138. Refreshments and appetizers will be served. RSVP to david@sweeneylawpc.com if you plan to attend.

The police officers who fatally shot a Tennessee man walking along Interstate 65 in Nashville will not face criminal charges, Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk announced last Friday. Funk said that Landon Eastep’s actions “were designed to cause officers to perceive an immediate threat” and thus “all shots fired were legally justified.” Eastep’s wife has filed suit against the police, alleging they used excessive force and should be liable for her husband’s death. The Tennessean has more on the suit. Eastep was shot 12 times in the front and the back, the Associated Press reports.

The U.S. Senate will not vote on legislation to codify same sex marriage rights until after the midterm elections, bipartisan negotiators announced last week. The move follows weeks of behind-the-scenes discussions among five U.S. senators from both political parties who have been drafting an amendment to the House-passed legislation that they hoped would secure more Republican votes. The U.S. House passed the Respect for Marriage Act in July by a bipartisan vote that received the backing of 47 Republican lawmakers. The legislation would also protect interracial marriages, Tennessee Lookout reports.

Five of Tennessee's congressional representatives and its junior senator, Bill Hagerty, traded corporate stocks while in office, according to an investigation by The New York Times. Several members also traded in industries directly related to their Congressional committee work. The Nashville Post covers the story, which involves Reps. Steve Cohen, Chuck Fleischmann, Mark Green, Diana Harshbarger and John Rose.

U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett, a Republican from the Knoxville area, is calling on Congress to pass a bill he introduced earlier this year known as the “Fentanyl Traffic Elimination Act.” It’s an effort to bring forward more serious penalties after a smuggler is caught. “It really is going after the drug cartels and the heavy pushers that are doing it, and if they’re caught it increases their criminal penalty to life in prison,” Burchett said. WATE News reports that Tennessee ranks fifth in the country for overdose deaths. The Centers for Disease Control say nearly 106,000 people across the country died from drug overdoses in the last year.

The Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility has released a proposed formal ethics opinion regarding attorneys working remotely as in-house counsel, and what constitutes a “systematic and continuous presence in Tennessee for the practice of law.” The board is seeking comments about the proposal. The deadline to submit written comments is Oct. 16. Comments may be emailed to lchastain@tbpr.org or mailed to The Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee, 10 Cadillac Dr., Ste. 220, Brentwood, TN 37027. Submissions should reference Opinion Number 2022-F-168. Read more on the board’s website.

All federal appellate courts but one and the federal circuit courts plan to continue live audio feeds of their proceedings post-COVID, Bloomberg News reports. The one exception is the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. The U.S. Supreme Court has yet to reveal whether its live streaming will continue. At an event this week in New York, Justice Elena Kagan said she expects the justices to discuss the future of live streaming when they gather for the first conference of the new term. Prior to the pandemic, just the D.C. Circuit and the 9th Circuit regularly provided a live feed of arguments. The 9th Circuit also went a step further, offering live video for arguments.