The Knoxville Bar Association announced this week that it will seek its members’ input on whether they support retaining the justices of the Tennessee Supreme Court and judges on the Court of Appeals and Court of Criminal Appeals. The Appellate Court Retention Election Candidate Member Survey will be released June 13 with responses due on June 27. The KBA notes that the survey is voluntary and does not represent a scientific sampling of members. Tennesseans will vote on whether to retain these jurists on Aug. 4. The KBA says it provides feedback from lawyers to help voters assess those on the ballot and make wise choices in the elections.

Democratic candidates for governor are tallying new endorsements in their campaigns, the Nashville Post reports. In the race to take on Gov. Bill Lee, Nashville doctor Jason Martin has released a list of endorsements from 10 state lawmakers, while Memphis City Councilmember JB Smiley Jr. has won the support of Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris and U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis. In the open race to succeed state Sen. Brenda Gilmore, D-Nashville, candidate Charlane Oliver has secured the support of several prominent Nashville Democrats including former mayor Megan Barry, Metro Public Defender Martesha Johnson and Conexión Américas co-founder Renata Soto. Oliver will face former Metro Councilmembers Jerry Maynard and Ludye Wallace, Barry Barlow and Rossi Turner in the primary. Maynard has the backing of Gilmore, former Mayor Karl Dean, four Nashville members of the state House and a number of other current and former local officials.

The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands has named Jordan Stringer as the new managing attorney and pro bono director in its Nashville office. Stinger will supervise staff, oversee administrative functions, help coordinate client services and assist in oversight and quality assurance systems. He also will serve as director of the Volunteer Lawyers Program, developing strategic initiatives and managing staff to support pro bono lawyers. Stringer most recently was legal counsel for Equifax Inc. He also has experience working for nonprofit organizations, international law firms and industry. He earned his law degree from Emory University School of Law. Read more about Stringer in this release.

Shelby County lawyer Aaron Anthony Neglia was suspended from the practice of law yesterday. The Tennessee Supreme Court took the action after Neglia pled guilty and was convicted in state court of bribery of a public servant, and in federal court of conspiracy to violate the travel act. The court referred the matter to the Board of Professional Responsibility to determine the extent of final discipline.

The Tennessee Supreme Court unanimously held today that the Tennessee Republican Party and its State Executive Committee did not violate the Tennessee Open Meetings Act when they determined that Robby Starbuck would not be added to the ballot in the upcoming primary election for the U.S. House of Representatives 5th Congressional District because the law did not apply. The court found that the party was acting as a state executive committee when it determined Starbuck was not a bona fide Republican and removed him from the ballot. The Open Meetings Act applies to state boards but not to state executive committees, the court said.

The Tennessee Supreme Court in a unanimous decision issued today clarified the appropriate legal standard to be applied in post-conviction cases involving allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel due to counsel failing to seek suppression of evidence on Fourth Amendment grounds. The court ruled in the case of Tommie Phillips v. State of Tennessee that such claims must meet a three-prong test to proceed: prove that a suppression motion would have been meritorious, that counsel’s failure to file such a motion was objectively unreasonable, and that, but for counsel’s objectively unreasonable omission, there is a reasonable probability that the verdict would have been different absent the excludable evidence. In this specific case, the court found that Phillips failed to establish a successful claim of ineffective assistance of counsel.

U.S. District Judge Mark S. Norris this week granted a stay in federal court proceedings for Tyrone Chalmers, who was convicted in 1997 of robbing and killing a man in Shelby County, and is now on death row. The stay allows Chalmers to once again pursue arguments in state court that Tennessee lacks authority to execute him because of an intellectual disability, the Associated Press reports. Previous attempts have failed, and the Tennessee Supreme Court has rejected efforts to reopen post-conviction proceedings for him. Norris said the state’s recent law allowing retroactive application of a prohibition on execution of the intellectually disabled now provides a mechanism for Chalmers to pursue a mental disability claim.

More than $4 million of Nashville's latest round of federal COVID relief funding will help Davidson County renters and immigrants secure legal services, the Tennessean reports. Metro Council unanimously approved two American Rescue Plan Act funding resolutions, allocating $1.8 million to expand legal services for immigrants and $2.6 million to provide legal representation to low- and moderate-income renters facing eviction. Funding for immigrant services will be awarded to the Tennessee Immigration and Refugee Rights Coalition and Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors for pro-bono legal clinics and assistance with DACA, asylum, residency and citizenship applications. Funding for renters’ services will be awarded to the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands and Conexion Americas for a two-year pilot program providing outreach, education and legal aid to qualifying renters.

Admission ceremonies for those who passed the February 2022 Tennessee Bar Exam continued today virtually. Ceremonies took place at 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Page administered the oath at the first morning event while Justice Sharon Lee administered the oath at the second morning ceremony. Justice Jeffrey Bivins presided over the lunchtime ceremony. Justice Sarah Campbell wrapped up the day's events, administering the oath at the afternoon session. TBA Executive Director Joycelyn Stevenson was on hand at each event to virtually introduce several attorneys. See photos from today's ceremonies.

Former longtime editor of the Tennessee Bar Journal, Suzanne Craig Robertson, will be honored next week during the TBA Annual Convention for more than 30 years of service with the TBA. Robertson announced earlier this year that she would be leaving TBA in the spring after 34 years as editor. Join colleagues next Friday from 5 until 6 p.m. CDT for a reception at the Downtown Nashville Hilton as we toast to Suzanne’s good work.