A joint investigation into the Rutherford County juvenile justice system by Nashville public radio station WPLN and nonprofit newsroom ProPublica has been named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize’s feature writing category. WPLN’s Meribah Knight and ProPublica’s Ken Armstrong shed light on the county’s juvenile justice system in which children were being illegally arrested and jailed under a judge who had the highest rate of locking up children in the state. The reporters discovered that the county was jailing children in 48% of the cases referred to juvenile court, versus the statewide average of 5%. A follow up investigation revealed the county was jailing a disproportionately high percentage of Black children. WPLN has more on the story.

Testing sites for the July 2022 bar exam in Knoxville and Memphis are at capacity and the Nashville location is near capacity, according to an order issued today by the Tennessee Supreme Court. The order says that bar exam applications will close once the Nashville site hits max capacity. Those who have submitted a paid application will have until May 20 to complete the application process. If there are more applications than available seats, those without a seat will be placed on a waiting list. If no seat becomes available by June 15, applicants without a seat will be refunded and withdrawn from the exam. Read more about the situation and the court's order.

Retired Court of Appeals Judge Charles D. Susano Jr. died on May 7. He was 86. Susano was in private practice for 30 years before being appointed to the Court of Appeals by former Gov. Ned McWherter in 1994. Susano remained on the bench for more than 25 years. At the time of his retirement in April 2020, he was the longest serving appellate judge in Tennessee, authoring more than 1,000 opinions and serving as chief judge of the Court of Appeals from 2013 to 2015. For the last 30 years, Susano was confined to a wheelchair after a sleepwalking accident left him paralyzed from the waist down. “I’m only handicapped if I let myself be,” Susano once said. “At worst, I have been challenged, forcing me to reinvent new ways to negotiate the new times.” Susano’s family will receive friends on May 16 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. EDT at at the Cathedral Hall at Sacred Heart in Knoxville. A funeral mass will be held on May 17 at 10 a.m. EDT at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more on where the public may make donations in Susano’s honor.

The U.S. Senate yesterday approved a bipartisan bill to boost security for Supreme Court justices to ensure their families are protected, the Associated Press reports. The measure does not provide additional funding for security, but makes a technical change that allows law enforcement to provide round-the-clock security to immediate family members of the justices. The bill comes amid protests around the country over a leaked draft opinion that suggests the high court is poised to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. The measure now heads to the U.S. House for consideration.

Two top officials from the Metro Codes Department will be leaving the department to join a new land use practice at the Thompson Burton law firm. Director Bill Herbert and Deputy Director Emily Lamb will join Thompson Burton as partners. The two were recruited for the new practice by attorney Jon Michael, who started the land use division last summer. Michael also recently hired attorney Margaret Martin, who was once chief development officer for the Metro Nashville Airport Authority. The Nashville Business Journal has more on the story.

The TBA’s annual Court Square Series, designed to provide attorneys with the latest developments in multiple areas of the law, is underway and will be making a stop in Kingsport on May 26. The three-hour event will include an overview of updates in probate and real estate law led by incoming Chancellor Katie Priester, an ethics update from Board of Professional Responsibility Disciplinary Counsel Steve Chrisopher, and a session on self-care from Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program Executive Director Buddy Stockwell. The program will be held in Room 130 of Northeast State at Kingsport Center for Higher Education at noon EDT. The Court Square Series will also be making stops in Murfreesboro on May 17, Cookeville on May 19, Chattanooga on June 3 and Jackson on June 7. Read more on each session on the TBA CLE website.

Davidson County lawyer Katherine Elizabeth Curlee Hamblen was reinstated to the practice of law today after being placed on inactive status more than five years ago. The Tennessee Supreme Court reinstated Hamblen effective April 27.

The American Bar Association will hold its Law Practice Division Spring Meeting in Nashville this week and TBA members are invited to attend two sessions on Thursday for free. Thursday's program, which offers two hours of CLE credit, will focus on practical topics such as managing workload and cybersecurity ethics. The first session “Time, Task, Email & Distraction Management for Lawyers” will begin at 2:30 p.m. CDT followed by “Safeguarding Client Data in Today’s Emerging Hybrid Practice” at 3:45 p.m. Read more about the programs and register for free using the code “TBA.”

Davidson County lawyer Charles Martin Duke was suspended today from the practice of law for three years, with one year to be served on active suspension. The Tennessee Supreme Court also directed him to engage a practice monitor. The court found that while representing a client in a personal injury case, Duke failed to file an action within the statute of limitations and falsified a tolling agreement in an effort to mislead his client. Duke entered a conditional guilty plea acknowledging that his conduct violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1, 1.3, 1.4(a), 3.1, 3.3(a)(1), 3.4(b), 4.1(a), and 8.4(a), (b), (c) and (d).

The TBA Young Lawyers Division hosted a Debt Relief Clinic on April 30 to help low-income debtors in West Tennessee. Bankruptcy Judge Ruthie Hagan began the clinic with an overview of the bankruptcy system, and then clients met with volunteer attorneys in break-out Zoom rooms for counsel and advice about debt relief options. The award-winning clinic is supported by the TBA Bankruptcy Law Section, Tennessee Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission, Memphis Area Legal Services, and Legal Aid of East Tennessee. To learn more about pro bono opportunities with the YLD contact Alix Rogers.