Nineteen female judges will be sworn into office next week by Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee during an event hosted by the Women’s Political Collaborative of Tennessee (WPC). The event will take place on Aug. 30 at 5 p.m. CDT at Nashville’s Hermitage Hotel – the site where much of the behind-the-scenes work to ratify the 19th Amendment in Tennessee happened. Admission is free and tickets can be reserved on WPC’s website. While Davidson County saw a historic number of female judges elected this year, Knox County female candidates did not fare as well. The Knoxville News Sentinel has more on that story.   

The TBA is headed to Greeneville on Sept. 7 as part of its annual Court Square Series! Start the afternoon with a lunch and learn networking session with TBA leadership, followed by an ethics update from the Board of Professional Responsibility Disciplinary Counsel for Litigation Eric Fuller, and later a judicial panel featuring Greene County General Sessions and Juvenile Judge Kenneth Bailey and Jefferson County General Sessions Judge Will Roach. Finally, end the day with Bristol Motor Speedway's Vice President & Legal Counsel Julie Bennett who will give an intro to sports betting following the 2020 passage of the Tennessee Sports Gaming Act. Learn more and get registered here. Not going to be in Greeneville on Sept. 7? Head over to the TBA CLE website to find other stops in the 2022 Court Square Series!

Juvenile justice advocates in Shelby County are pushing for a “third way” when it comes to sentencing juveniles, Local Memphis reports. Currently, juveniles are either transferred to adult court, where they face major sentencing for violent crimes, or they are released when they turn age 19 and are no longer under juvenile court jurisdiction. Advocates argue that a “blended sentence” — which would allow juvenile sentences to be extended through age 21 — would offer a better chance of rehabilitation. State Rep. G.A. Hardaway, D-Memphis, said yesterday he will introduce legislation this fall to make the county a pilot program for a blended sentencing program.

Madison County General Sessions Judge Hugh Harvey was arrested Wednesday for driving under the influence and being in possession of a firearm, Action 5 News reports. He was taken to the Madison County jail Wednesday night and was transferred to the Chester County jail Thursday morning. A graduate of the University of Memphis School of Law, Harvey has served on the bench since 1998.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Wednesday appointed Lynn Zehrt, professor of law at Belmont University College of Law, to its Advisory Commission on the Rules of Practice and Procedure. Zehrt replaces Jeffrey Usman, a Belmont law professor who recently was appointed to serve on the Tennessee Court of Appeals. Read the order.

A ceremonial investiture installing Katherine A. Crytzer as the newest member of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee will take place Sept. 30 at 1 p.m. EDT at the federal courthouse in Knoxville. The event will be held in the fourth floor courtroom. A reception will follow the ceremony. View the invitation. To attend, RSVP by Sept. 9 to https://bit.ly/CrytzerInvestitureRSVP. The courthouse is located at 800 Market St., Knoxville 37902.

Tennesseans will be asked to vote on four proposed amendments to the state constitution on Nov. 8. To pass, any amendment must receive more "yes" votes than "no" votes, and the number of "yes" votes must be greater than the majority of the total votes cast in the gubernatorial election. WBIR looks at each of the amendments, which include Amendment 1: Right-to-Work; Amendment 2: Assigning an Acting Governor; Amendment 3: Removing Slavery as a Punishment for Crime; and Amendment 4: Removing the Religious Minister Disqualification.

The Franklin Board of Mayor and Aldermen will hire a new city court judge next week after Judge Deana Hood announced her resignation effective Aug. 31. She has been appointed to serve as 21st Judicial District Circuit Court judge, the Williamson Herald reports. The city received 19 applications for the municipal judge, conducted first-round interviews with 15 interested individuals, and held second-round interviews with the top five candidates. Candidates were given a score based on their interviews and a writing assignment. The top five by score are: Jessica Borne, a former assistant district attorney who now works in private practice; Katie Zipper, a private practicing attorney in Franklin; attorney William Cohen; attorney Kim Thompson; and former public defender Vanessa Bryan.

State Rep. Andrew Farmer says he was caught off guard in circuit court a week ago when the judge started moving offenders off Community Corrections into state probation. “It just blew my mind,” says Farmer, a Sevierville Republican who chairs the state House Civil Justice Committee and serves on the Criminal Justice Committee. The judge overseeing the case in question said the legislature had cut funding for Community Corrections, leaving him no option but to shift non-probatable people out of the long-running program. Farmer says the legislature has taken no such action, and in fact, had encouraged the Department of Correction to keep the Community Corrections program in place. Sen. Todd Gardenhire, chairman of the Fiscal Review Committee, is promising to hold hearings on the administration’s handling of the program when the legislature reconvenes. Tennessee Lookout has more on the story. In a previous piece, the news source looked at how the Community Corrections program works.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and recently retired justice Stephen Breyer have been named honorary co-chairmen of a nonpartisan group devoted to educating the public about the Constitution. The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia said the pair will be spokesmen for civics education and civility in politics. The justices' decision to work together "is especially meaningful in this polarized time," said Jeffrey Rosen, the center's president. At the ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago earlier this month, Breyer said, "The nonpartisan work of the National Constitution Center is essential, and I look forward to working with Justice Gorsuch to promote civil dialogue and debate." Read more from the center.