The state is making progress in reducing the backlog of untested rape kits, however, some say more progress is needed. ABC 24 reports that the state has cut the backlog in half, thanks to the hiring of 44 new crime lab scientists and the outsourcing of some tests to Florida. At the state lab in Jackson, staff has cut turnaround time from one year to 18 weeks. “We need these scientists to keep that turnaround time low,” State Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Memphis says, so that “we never get back in the situation we were in just a year ago.”

This appeal is the latest development in a protracted custody and visitation dispute between Loring Justice and Kim Nelson. After the Juvenile Court for Roane County (“the Juvenile Court”) entered a judgment awarding Ms. Nelson custody and severely restricting Mr. Justice’s parenting time, Mr. Justice filed a complaint in the Circuit Court for Knox County (“the Trial Court”). He alleged various claims against Ms. Nelson and the lawyers and law firms that represented her in the Juvenile Court. Ms. Nelson and her attorneys filed motions for sanctions, alleging that Mr. Justice’s complaint violated Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 11. Months later, Mr. Justice filed a notice of voluntary dismissal. After entering an order of dismissal, the Trial Court granted Ms. Nelson and her attorneys their Rule 11 motions and ordered Mr. Justice to pay their attorney’s fees and expenses. Mr. Justice has appealed. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm the Trial Court’s judgment in all respects.

A plaintiff filed suit alleging that the defendant’s negligence caused her to sustain personal injuries in an automobile accident. The plaintiff filed the complaint within one year of the accident, but she failed to have process issued within one year from the filing of the complaint. Thus, the defendant sought summary judgment based on a statute of limitations defense. In response, the plaintiff claimed that the defendant should be estopped from asserting a statute of limitations defense because the parties had agreed that issuance of process was unnecessary. The trial court rejected the plaintiff’s estoppel argument and granted summary judgment to the defendant. Discerning no error, we affirm the trial court’s decision.

The Tennessee Supreme Court and the Access to Justice Commission are hosting a free CLE and pro bono recognition event Oct. 10 at Belmont School of Law. TBA and ATJ Committee Chair Linda Seely will present Tackling Difficult Pro Bono Questions. The session will take place from 4-5:15 p.m. CDT, immediately before the recognition ceremony. Participants are invited to stay for both events. The recognition event will start at 5:30 p.m. Members of the Tennessee Supreme Court will be on hand to honor pro bono recognition recipients. Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht will serve as the keynote speaker. Light refreshments will immediately follow the presentations. RSVPs are requested. 

The East Tennessee Lawyers Association for Women (ETLAW) is celebrating 40 years of advancement with a gala dinner event on Nov. 17 at the Cherokee Country Club in Knoxville. Knox County Circuit Court Judge Deborah Stevens will lead the festivities and programming, which will include remarks from former Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee. View the invitation or purchase tickets.

The Nashville legal community welcomed newly installed Supreme Court Justice Dwight E. Tarwater with a reception last week at the Nashville School of Law. A native of Knoxville, Tarwater earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee, where he previously earned his undergraduate degree in political science. He has had a long career in private practice with the Knoxville firms of Egerton, McAfee, Armistead and Davis and Paine Tarwater Bickers LLP. He also served as general counsel to former Gov. Bill Haslam. The event was jointly sponsored by the Tennessee Bar Association, the Lawyers' Association for Women, the Nashville Bar Association and Nashville School of Law. See photos from the event.

Legal Aid of East Tennessee is co-hosting a Name Change Filing Party on Oct. 12 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT at Edney Innovation Center in Chattanooga. The community event is presented in partnership with the Chattanooga Trans Liberation Collective where clients from the Virtual Pro Se Name Change Clinic can receive free notary and printing services, be matched with emotional support volunteers and apply for filing fee scholarships. All are welcome. For more information, email mdevoe@laet.org.

The Tennessee Bar Association has a new resource for test-takers who were not successful on the bar exam. Faith Watson, a YLD Board member and professor at the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law in Memphis, has pulled together the resources, which include strategies, tips for understanding the results and alternative careers that don't require a law license. If you know someone who did not pass the bar, this information is both helpful and encouraging.

Can the academic rigor of the law school education take place in an online environment? In this TBJ Select exclusive, Claire Perez makes the case for hybrid law schools. 

Blackbaud software company has reached a settlement with Tennessee and 48 other states for its deficient data security practices and response to a 2020 ransomware event that exposed the personal information of millions of consumers across the United States. Blackbaud will pay $49.5 million to states as part of the settlement, with Tennessee receiving $882,312, according to a release from the Tennessee Attorney General's office.