Davidson County Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal last week ruled that the city of Forest Hills could change the names of Confederate-themed streets, overruling the state's Historical Commission, which said the names were protected under the Heritage Protection Act, which specifically seeks to preserve Civil War-era monuments. The Tennessee Lookout reports that attorneys for the city have long argued the act should not apply to streets within subdivisions that were built on private property by private developers who constructed and named roads before they were formally recognized and adopted as public streets. State attorneys argued that the language of the act does not address this issue, and that the act requires that any street with a historic name that is now a public street remains subject to the law.

The TBA was recognized today with two major awards from the National Association of Bar Executives (NABE) at the annual NABE Communications Section Workshop in Raleigh, North Carolina. First, it earned a Luminary Award for “Authored Article” for Journal Editor Julia Canada Wilburn's article about former Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon G. Lee’s time on the bench. “A Justice for the People,” which ran in the July/August 2023 issue of the Journal, looks at a career that took Lee from rural Tennessee to state’s highest court. The TBA also was honored with an award for its 2023 year-end CLE marketing campaign, which offered a creative appeal to lawyers to take advantage of educational opportunities in days leading up to the compliance deadline. The “What’s Your CLE Mood?” and “12 Days of Ethics” series of social media and TBA Today posts used humor and nostalgic holiday imagery to market TBA’s CLE programs. See photos from today's award ceremony.

The Tennessee Board of Law Examiners has released statistics about the state's July 2024 bar exam. According to the board, 759 individuals — 647 first time test takers and 112 repeaters — took the exam. They represent 103 different law schools and saw an overall pass rate of 72%. For first time test-takers at Tennessee law schools, Vanderbilt University Law School saw a 97% pass rate followed by Belmont University College of Law at 94.8%, the University of Tennessee College of Law at 91%, University of Memphis School of Law at 78.7%, Nashville School of Law at 70% and Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law at 64.2%. See all statistical information released by the board.

Indiana joins a growing number of states in exploring innovative approaches to expand delivery of legal services, including through regulatory reforms. This month, the Indiana Supreme Court issued an order responding to recommendations from its innovations commission's July report, including directing development of "initial parameters for a legal regulatory sandbox," Reuters reports. Sandbox programs provide a controlled venue allowing entities to offer legal services that may otherwise run afoul of existing regulations, while still protecting the profession and consumers by maintaining a professional discipline process. Indiana's program follows initiatives in other states that allow alternative business structures, including early innovators Arizona and Utah. Reuters has an update on Arizona's program, which now has over 100 approved entities that allow non-lawyers to have an economic interest in law firms. Utah, the first state with a regulatory sandbox, continues to review and update its program, writes the ABA Journal.

The Community Legal Center (CLC) in Memphis will host an estate planning clinic at City View Towers, 256 S. Camilla St., Memphis 38104, on Oct. 28 at 11 a.m. CDT to help seniors with wills, powers of attorney and more. Attorneys and licensed notaries are needed to volunteer. Contact Melissa Hamilton at melissah@clcmemphis.org or (901) 543-3395 x209 for more information.

The Tennessee Innocence Project (TIP) recently announced that Lead Counsel and Executive Director Jessica Van Dyke will transition into the role of legal director. Jason Gichner has been appointed as the new executive director, effective Oct. 14. “I am honored to step into this role and continue building on the foundation that Jessica has laid,” says Gichner, who has served as deputy director since 2019. Chief Operating Officer Becca Morris states, “Jason’s deep commitment to justice and our cause makes this transition an exciting new chapter for TIP as we continue our fight for the exoneration of the wrongfully convicted.” Read more in a press release from the organization.

The defendant, Cornelius Williams IV, was convicted by a Shelby County jury of seconddegree murder and convicted felon in possession of a handgun, and the trial court imposed an effective sentence of twenty-five years in the Department of Correction. On appeal, the defendant argues: (1) the evidence is insufficient to sustain his convictions; (2) the trial court committed plain error in providing the jury with an erroneous instruction; (3) the trial court committed plain error by allowing the State to introduce a pro se pleading purportedly filed by the defendant; (4) the defendant is entitled to relief based on cumulative error; and (5) the defendant’s sentence for convicted felon in possession of a handgun is illegal. Following a thorough review of the record, the briefs, and oral arguments of the parties, we affirm the judgments of the trial court, but we remand for entry of a corrected judgment in count two indicating the statutorily authorized release eligibility of eighty-five percent on the handgun conviction.

Petitioner, Steven Skinner, appeals the Shelby County Criminal Court’s summary dismissal of his fourth untimely petition for writ of error coram nobis and his motion to reopen post-conviction proceedings. He argues on appeal that the post-conviction court erred in summarily dismissing the petition because he presented newly discovered evidence in support of actual innocence; therefore, the statute of limitations should be tolled. Alternatively, he argues that the lower court improperly denied his motion to reopen postconviction proceedings. After review, we affirm the summary dismissal of the coram nobis petition and conclude that we are without jurisdiction to consider the propriety of the denial of the motion to reopen and dismiss the appeal in that respect.

Petitioner, William Rolandus Keel, filed a pro se “Motion to Reopen Post Conviction Petition in Conjunction with Writ of Error Coram Nobis” (“the Petition”). The trial court found that the Coram Nobis Petition, on its face, failed “to establish that there is newly discovered evidence that would give rise to coram nobis relief” and summarily dismissed the Coram Nobis Petition. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm the summary dismissal of the Coram Nobis Petition. Because Petitioner failed to comply with the statutory requirements for seeking appellate review of the denial of the Motion to Re-open, we lack jurisdiction to consider the Motion. Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-30-117(c).

Tennessee's early voting period for the Nov. 5 general election begins today and runs through Oct. 31. In addition to voting in the presidential, congressional and state legislative races, some local seats and referendums are on the ballot. The Tennessee Secretary of State has more election information, including for early and absentee voting, at GoVoteTN.gov. Specific times and polling place details vary by county. USA Today has more on early voting across the country.