Michael Glen Hatmaker of Campbell County was today disbarred from the practice of law by the Tennessee Supreme Court. According to the first complaint from the Board of Professional Responsibility, Hatmaker was paid $7,500 to represent a client in a criminal matter, but failed to refund the unearned balance to his client after he was suspended from the practice of law. He also failed to comply with the terms and conditions of his suspension. In the second complaint, Hatmaker set aside a default judgment without the knowledge or authorization of his client and took no action thereafter to prosecute his client’s action or reasonably communicate with his client about the status of her case. He also failed to respond to the BPR about either complaint. He executed a conditional guilty plea and is not eligible for reinstatement.

A new episode of the TBA Legislative Updates podcast is now streaming with TBA Public Policy & Government Affairs Director Berkley Schwarz and Adams and Reese attorneys and TBA lobbyists Brad Lampley and Ashley Harbin. Tune in for news on the Senate redistricting lawsuit ruling, updates on HB2438/SB2257 concerning revisions to the Uniform Arbitration Act, an update on the professional privilege tax and more! To see a list of all of TBA’s bills, visit our online bill tracker. Legislative Updates airs every Thursday on the TBA’s Facebook page. It is also released as a podcast on the same day and can be found on the TBA’s website or wherever you listen to podcasts.

A list of those who passed the February 2022 bar exam will be released tomorrow by the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners. Check the TBA’s website for the complete list of successful applicants.

The Tennessee Senate has two weeks to fix issues with its new redistricting plan after a ruling from a three-judge panel yesterday, the Tennessean reports. Three voters, backed by the Tennessee Democratic Party, sued over the Republican-led redistricting plan for numbering Senate districts nonconsecutively, a requirement included in the state constitution. The panel of judges will impose its own map for this year’s election should the Senate fail to fix the issues within 15 days. Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, said they expect to appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court, who he hopes will “reach down and deal with it quickly because it does impact the filing deadlines and can impact the election." The lawsuit also challenged the House redistricting map, which the panel did not block on Wednesday but ruled should go to trial to determine if the court should take action against it.

The U.S. Senate voted 53-47 today to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court, The Hill reports. She is the first female, Black high court justice and its first former public defender. Senators Susan Collins, R-Maine, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Mitt Romney, R-Utah, crossed party lines and voted in favor of Jackson, who was nominated by President Joe Biden in February. Jackson would still need to be sworn in before she’s officially a justice on the Supreme Court. Justice Stephen Breyer, who she is succeeding, has said he will step down over the summer, assuming his successor was in place. 

The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands will hold a free legal advice clinic on Saturday in Nashville. The in-person clinic will run from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. CDT at McHugh Clinic at Belmont, 2005 12th Ave. S., Nashville 37204. Those coming in-person are required to wear a mask. To volunteer for a clinic, contact Kendra Cheek, 615-780-7131. See all April clinics.

Hamilton County Commissioner Greg Martin was officially sworn in as the newest member of the Tennessee House of Representatives on Monday, Chattanoogan.com reports. He was appointed by the Hamilton County Commission on March 30 to represent House District 26, which includes part of Hamilton County. He fills a vacancy left by former Rep. Robin Smith, who resigned in March after being charged with wire fraud. Martin, who has also worked as a realtor and Hamilton County School Board member, holds a master’s and doctoral degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

The Biden administration announced last week that it would rescinded Title 42, the Trump-era policy that allows for expulsion of migrants at the border and blocks them from seeking asylum due to health concerns from the COVID-19 pandemic. The order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will take effect May 23. On Monday, attorneys general for Arizona, Missouri and Louisiana announced they were suing the administration over the decision. The Hill has more on both stories.

Williamson County lawyer Kathryn Goff Brinton was reinstated to the practice of law effective on March 7. She had been placed on inactive status in November 2006. The Board of Professional Responsibility reports that it found the reinstatement petition to be satisfactory. The Tennessee Supreme Court issued the order on March 22.

The Tennessee Court of Appeals recently held in-person oral arguments at Belmont College of Law, two years after the court held its last pre-pandemic appearance there in March 2020. “We’re back where it all ended two years ago,” said Judge Neal McBrayer. “It’s amazing to see the transformation that has happened to the Tennessee Courts since 2020. Who would have thought all of this was possible? We now have the technology that allows us to do that. It’s an amazing transformation that’s taken place in a short amount of time, in an institution that’s typically resistant to change.” Judge Andy Bennett and Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Jill Ayers also participated in the event, which included a question and answer session with students after the arguments. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more on the event.