TBA's Local Government Practice Section will host its annual forum virtually on May 23. Topics are expected to include parliamentary procedure updates, public records and contracts. Registration will open soon, so keep an eye on the course webpage as more information is announced!

The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), as well as all courts and state offices, will be closed March 29 in observance of the Good Friday holiday. Many city and county offices across the state also are closed.

The Tennessee Innocence Project will host an event on April 18 in Chattanooga highlighting the work of the organization. Roger Dickson with Miller & Martin and Andrea Hayduk with the Hamilton County Public Defender’s Office will discuss the mission of the Tennessee Innocence Project and attendees will hear from exoneree Joyce Watkins, who spent 27 years in prison for a crime she did not commit. Wine, beer and light hors d’oeuvres will be served. View the invitation and RSVP here.

The Judicial Conference of the United States has authorized the appointment of a full-time U.S. magistrate judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The district court is now accepting applications for the position, which will serve a term of eight years. Application forms are available on the court’s website or may be obtained from the court clerk’s office. Applications must be saved as a pdf and emailed to Human_Resources@tned.uscourts.gov no later than 5 p.m. EDT on April 5. For more information contact Merit Selection Panel Chair Zac Greene with Miller & Martin. Read more in the court’s announcement.

Williamson County lawyer Melanie Valunas Dillender has been reinstated to the practice of law. Dillender had been on inactive status since Jan. 3, 2007. The Board of Professional Responsibility reviewed the reinstatement petition and reported to the Tennessee Supreme Court that it was satisfactory. The court issued the reinstatement order today and made the action retroactive to March 22.

Memphis Mayor Paul Young kicked off the first part of crime summit with U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty this week. The event comes as residents and businesses are concerned about the ongoing crime problem and just days after Young announced his Black Mayors’ Coalition on Crime initiative, Local Memphis reports. Young said initial conversations focused on “things that we know we would have some bipartisan agreement on,” while Hagerty said he was optimistic that the group could “make some real progress.” The second part of the summit is taking place today as Young meets with 21 mayors from across the country to finalize his response. The Commercial Appeal has the list of participants.

Tennessee Attorney General’s Office has issued a warning to consumers in advance of the upcoming solar eclipse, set for April 8. In its advisory, the office writes that while the Volunteer State is not in the path of totality for eclipse, “past eclipses have resulted in viewers sustaining eye injuries, some severe and permanent, due to either looking directly at the sun with no protection or by using eclipse viewing glasses that had been falsely marketed as providing protection.” The office also warns consumers to be careful where they buy viewing gear, noting that events of this nature bring out “unscrupulous sellers.” Read more from the alert.

The American Bar Association (ABA) this week filed amicus briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court in two cases. In the first, the group asks the court to require the U.S. government to provide a factual basis, beyond citing a general federal statute, to deny visa applications of a U.S. citizen's noncitizen spouse. The case of Department of State v. Sandra Muñoz is set for argument on April 23. In the second case, the ABA asks the court for the second time to take up a Texas death penalty case in which the defendant was convicted on DNA evidence and testimony from a police laboratory that was later deemed unreliable by the state. Read more about this case, Escobar v. Texas.

A nearly $2 billion tax and refund for businesses passed the Senate last week on a vote of 25-6, the Associated Press reports. “This bill will put this issue behind us and address it in a responsible way,” said Sen. Ken Yager, R-Kingston, adding that doing so could make the state more competitive in attracting businesses to move to Tennessee. At issue are concerns that the state’s franchise tax violates a U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause provision, which bans states from passing laws that burden interstate commerce. Further adding to the legal woes is a 2015 case involving the U.S. Supreme Court striking down down Maryland’s tax that the justices ruled had the effect of double-taxing income residents earn in other states. The proposal is designed to prevent threats of a potential lawsuit. Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, told reporters that the House version will be different.

Make plans now to join us on May 2 for a one-hour webcast with Jeff Foster from the Tennessee Department of Revenue about Tennessee's franchise and excise tax. This informative program will feature an overview of the basic legal principles of Tennessee franchise and excise tax. The overview will include a brief history of the tax, its importance to the state’s revenue, and an examination of the very significant legal changes to the tax that have occurred in the last decade or so. The webcast begins at noon CDT and offers one hour of general CLE credit. As a reminder, your section membership provides a discount on all Tax Law Section-sponsored CLEs, so be sure to take advantage of that before the bar year is over!