The Board of Judicial Conduct has issued an order of suspension for Roane County General Sessions Judge Dennis W. Humphrey. The suspension stems from an October 2021 incident in which Humphrey received citations for having an open container of alcohol in his vehicle and for failing to use due care and a February 2022 incident in which he was charged and pleaded guilty to a DUI. Humphrey will be suspended for 30 days effective July 1. He will also be monitored by and adhere to the recommendations of the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program for a period of five years consistent with his Substance Use Disorder Recovery Monitoring Agreement. Read the order from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Memphis law firm Nahon Saharovich & Trotz PLC is seeking an associate attorney to represent clients in social security disability matters. The candidate will help screen potential clients, prepare clients for administrative hearings, advocate for clients at administrative hearings and handle appeals. Some training will be provided, but prior experience is preferred. To apply, send resume, cover letter and references to Greg Coen. Find this position and others like it on the TBA’s JobLink page.  

Memphis attorney Colby Shannon Morgan Jr. died May 24. He was 73. A graduate of Vanderbilt University Law School, Morgan’s legal career included years of service with the Jackson Lewis law firm, FedEx and Holiday Corporation and private practices in New York and Memphis, including Apperson Crump PLC. He received several awards for his litigation successes during his time with FedEx, including the Five Star Award, FedEx's highest honor, as well as multiple Bravo Zulu and Star Rating awards for outstanding performance. Morgan was admitted to practice in Tennessee and New York, as well as 15 federal district courts, seven U.S. Courts of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. Funeral Services will be held at Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis, with a visitation on Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m. CDT, followed by a memorial service on Friday at 1 p.m. CDT.

In-person CLE programming at the TBA’s Annual Convention will include a 2022 Legislative Update with the TBA Government Affairs team. Worth 2.25 hours of general CLE, the session will provide a live recap of the legislation that is impacting lawyers from the most recent session of the Tennessee General Assembly. TBA Director of Public Policy and Government Affairs Berkley Schwarz and TBA lobbyist and Adams and Reese attorney Brad Lampley will talk to a panel of legislators that will include Rep. Bill Beck, D-Nashville; Rep. Johnny Garrett, R-Goodlettsville; House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland; and Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, R-Franklin. Read more on all in-person programming here.

Highlights from the TBA’s 2022 Tort & Insurance Law Forum are now available on-demand as a one-click CLE package. Programming in the package includes an overview of case law and statutory changes impacting litigation surrounding the Health Care Liability Act. The package also includes a session featuring ethical issues with errata sheets and the use of Zoom in depositions, and a panel of attorneys discussing evidentiary rules every litigator needs to know. Earn one dual and two general CLE credits with just one click. Read more and purchase the CLE here.

The Tennessee Supreme Court last week dismissed a “Notice and Motion for Stay of Proceedings” from Knox County lawyer Mark Steven Graham. The court suspended Graham on May 20 after finding he was in substantial noncompliance with his Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program monitoring agreement. Graham had been reinstated in January 2022. Following the suspension, Graham filed the motion for a stay. The court dismissed the motion, finding that Graham’s exclusive remedy is to request dissolution or amendment of the suspension and show that good cause exists for the request.

The lack of an ethics code for U.S. Supreme Court justices is “unimaginable,” U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton said during a conference in Chicago on the independence of the federal judiciary. Walton said some might consider his remarks "heresy" but he saw no reason justices should not be subject to the conduct code as lower-court judges. "If the perception of the American public is that we have a segment of our judiciary that's not policing itself adequately because it has no rules that dictate how they are to conduct themselves, I think it does create a real problem," Walton said. Reuters has more on the story.

Knoxville lawyer Anna Carylon Fox Hinds died Wednesday at 83. Hinds earned her law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1967 and formed her own firm in Knoxville. During her career, she developed a reputation as a preeminent legal provider in the areas of estate planning, probate, trusts and strategies regarding the preservation, allocation and disposition of assets. She was serving as “of counsel” with the firm of Owings, Wilson, Coleman at the time of her death. Hinds was active in the local and state legal community, serving as president of the Knoxville Barristers, treasurer of the Knoxville Bar Foundation and co-chair of the Tennessee Bar Association’s Jury Reform Commission. She also was active in the American Bar Association and its Young Lawyers Section. A graveside service will be held June 2 at 1 p.m. EDT at Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery, 5901 Lyons View Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral.

A review of state executions records by the Tennessean has found that the state has not followed its own policies for carrying out lethal injections since it resumed executions four years ago. The paper says it reviewed thousands of pages of records and found that the state’s lethal injection protocol is “fraught with problems.” It also found that the state uses a “troubled Texas-based pharmacy to obtain its lethal cocktail of drugs.” Two executions have taken place under these protocols: Billy Ray Irick in 2018 and Donnie Johnson in 2019. Issues with the process came to light when Gov. Bill Lee halted the execution of Oscar Franklin Smith last month. He has suspended executions through the end of the year while an investigation is conducted. The governor’s office and the Department of Correction did not respond to the paper’s questions citing the review by former U.S. Attorney Ed Stanton.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is bound by a trial court’s order expunging criminal charges and must comply even if it disagrees with the order. The case involves an unnamed citizen of McNairy County, who negotiated a guilty plea that provided his charges would be expunged if he successfully completed four years of probation. At the end of the probationary period, the court expunged the charges. The plaintiff later learned that the TBI had not removed the records because it believed the charges were “ineligible for expungement.” The Supreme Court found that the TBI lacked authority to refuse to comply since under the state’s expungement statutes, it is the trial courts — not the TBI — that decide whether an offense is eligible for expungement. Read more from the court.