Make plans now to attend the TBA’s 2023 Administrative Law Forum on Dec. 8 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. CST. Thanks to Jonathan Fly, administrative judge for the Tennessee Department of Human Services, for producing this program. Watch for program topics and speakers coming soon.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today issued an order adopting a new Court of Appeals Rule 17. The rule deals with the signing of notices of appeal, applications for permission to appeal, applications for extraordinary appeal, petitions for recusal appeal, briefs, motions, representations to the court, and sanctions. The amendment takes effect immediately.

The Tennessee Supreme Court ordered that the disciplinary case of Hamilton County lawyer Ruth Helen Delange be referred to the Board of Professional Conduct for whatever action it deems warranted. Delange agreed to a negotiated Alford plea and judgment of guilty in the state of Georgia for the misdemeanor of disorderly conduct. She was sentenced to 12 months and placed on probation.

The Tennessee Supreme Court dismissed a reinstatement petition from Sumner County lawyer Judith-Anne Ross St. Clair on May 31. St. Clair had filed the petition after being suspended for three years on July 20, 2018. She was to serve six months on active suspension. The Board of Professional Conduct reported that St. Clair has not paid a required advance cost deposit of $2,000. The court dismissed the petition without prejudice. St. Clair may re-file when she pays the deposit.

Shelby County lawyer Ronald K. Anderson was reinstated to the practice of law on May 1. The Tennessee Supreme Court issued the order on June 2. Anderson was placed on inactive status in May 2014. The Tennessee Board of Professional Conduct informed the court that Anderson’s petition was satisfactory.

A press release issued by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti yesterday announced a fundraising effort for crisis pregnancy centers as a way to mark the one-year anniversary of the Dobbs decision. "Tennesseans have made clear, through their elected representatives, the desire to support mothers and children,” Skrmetti said. “In celebration of the Dobbs decision, I’m proud to highlight the organizations in our state who go above and beyond to provide resources and care for mothers-to-be.” The effort is being held in conjunction with the attorneys general of eight other states, but some are questioning the appropriateness of the effort. Gov. Bill Lee had sought to put $100 million toward pregnancy centers in the state budget, but the legislature cut it to $20 million, Tennessee Lookout reports.

Registration is now open for the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services (TALS) Equal Justice University (EJU) conference. The annual event, co-sponsored by the TBA, is set for Aug. 30 to Sept. 1 at the Embassy Suites in Murfreesboro. This year’s conference will include more than 30 CLE sessions, basic 101 skills sessions for those new to particular practice areas and presentation of the Access to Justice Awards. Learn more online or contact Laura Brown, (615) 775-9684, with questions. As a reminder, it is not too late to nominate colleagues for the three Access to Justice Awards presented at the conference. The nomination deadline is June 30.

Petitioner, Martiness Henderson, appeals from the Shelby County Criminal Court’s order denying his petition for post-conviction relief, in which he alleged that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel at trial. Having reviewed the entire record and the briefs of the parties, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Federal prosecutor Brent Hannafan has joined the Nashville office of Sanford Heisler Sharp, the Nashville Post reports. Hannafan was criminal chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee from 2017 to 2023. He will chair the firm’s trial practice and will represent local governments in lawsuits targeting the opioid industry as well as plaintiffs suing UnitedHealth Group. Hannafan graduated from Vanderbilt University and Washington University School of Law. Sanford Heisler Sharp opened a Nashville office in 2017 with the hiring of former federal Judge Kevin Sharp.

RONALD LEE GILMAN, Circuit Judge. Following separate jury trials, defendants George Oscar Messer (Oscar) and his son Jake Messer (Jake) were each convicted on two counts of kidnapping, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1201(a)(1). They were both sentenced to terms of life imprisonment because of various sentencing enhancements, including one for sexual exploitation.

Both defendants appeal their convictions, arguing that the federal kidnapping statute is (1) an unconstitutional exercise of Congress’s power under the Commerce Clause, and (2) unconstitutionally vague. Jake also appeals his sentence as procedurally and substantively unreasonable. For the reasons set forth below, we AFFIRM the judgments of the district court.