The Knoxville Barristers will host the 2022 Knoxville regional high school mock trial competition, a joint competition between Districts 2, 3 and 4, in March. Rounds 1-4 will take place on March 4-5 at the Knoxville City County Building. The final round will occur on March 6 at Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law. Sign up to volunteer or contact the Knoxville Barristers' 2022 Mock Trial Committee Co-chairs Isaac Westling or Bridget Pyman for more information.

Rep. Michael Curcio, R-Dickson, received the Rod Bragg Recovery Hero Award earlier this month during the Tennessee Association of Recovery Court Professionals Conference. Twenty third Judicial District Recovery Court Coordinator Kevin Batts presented the award, lauding Curcio’s “unwavering support and advocacy on behalf of the recovery courts across Tennessee.” Curcio this year introduced House Bill 215 which, according to Batts, “ensured safe and efficient treatment to centers and sober living facilities for the people we work with.” The Administrative Office of the Courts has more on the story.

Technical glitches plagued many bar exams in 2021 after roughly 30 states were forced to administer the test remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bloomberg Law reports. Test takers reported computer crashes, being locked out of the exam or being wrongly flagged for cheating. The chaos prompted a National Conference of Bar Examiners task force to issue recommendations for a new bar exam that better reflects “real-world practice and the types of activities newly-licensed lawyers perform.” While those recommendations were approved by the examiners, they will take four to five years to be enacted. After the 2021 exams, states are determined to return to in-person testing, but with the omicron variant causing a spike in infection rates, states could possibly be forced to improvise again.

District Attorney Ray Crouch has been named the 2021 Dickson County Citizen of the Year by the Dickson Post for his work on two of the highest-profile cases in the county’s history. Crouch secured a second-degree murder conviction against Joseph Daniels for the murder of his son Joe Clyde Daniels and a first-degree murder conviction and death sentence against Steve Wiggins for the murder of Dickson County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Daniel Baker. Crouch was hired in 2002 as an assistant district attorney for the 23rd District and first won election as DA in 2007. The district includes Cheatham, Dickson, Houston, Humphreys and Stewart counties. Read more about Crouch and his work on both cases from the Dickson Post.

Initiatives dealing with recidivism, state election law and criminal fines are among a series of new laws set to take effect on Jan. 1., the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. Portions of Gov. Bill Lee’s Reentry Success Act will soon go into effect, including a law that will allow victims or their representatives to submit electronic “impact statement” videos to be played at an inmate’s parole hearing. Another portion of the act will allow local correctional facilities to develop programs to reduce recidivism. Changes to the state’s election procedures will also begin on Jan. 1. Under those laws, absentee ballots must now include an official watermark that must be verified by a counting board official. Another measure expands the application of convenient voting centers – a practice authorized as a pilot project in 2020 in Monroe, Williamson and Wilson counties. Beginning Jan. 1, criminal fines must go toward victim restitution. Victims will have up to two years to file a claim for the criminal injuries compensation fund. Streamlining the way disorderly students are disciplined, starting the payment of compensation for college athlete, controlling prescription drug pricing and several other laws will also take effect in the new year.

Tenth Judicial District Public Defender Richard Hughes has announced he’ll be retiring after 32-years, the Times Free Press reports. Hughes went to work as an assistant public defender in Cleveland in 1989, representing clients in Bradley, McMinn, Monroe and Polk counties. He was later appointed to fill the public defender role by former Gov. Phil Bredesen in 2005 and won a contested election the following year. Among his accomplishments as public defender, Hughes was a founding member of the 10th Judicial District Recovery Treatment Court, the Bradley County Juvenile Recovery Court and the 10th Judicial District Mental Health Court. "It's been a very good career for me here, but to avoid stagnation, to avoid complacency, I want to pursue some other opportunities that are out there," Hughes said. Assistant public defender, Donald Leon Shahan Jr., is the only person so far to announce a bid for the position.

Normally known as the Ethics Roadshow, TBA CLE’s popular ethics program is back as the “Homeshow,” with a two-part program hosted by Brian Faughnan of Lewis Thomason. Each part will feature a one-hour program that utilizes a game format to delve into 30 unique topics of ethical discussion. Part one of the program will replay on Dec. 31 from 9 to 10 a.m. and part two will play from 11 a.m. until noon CST. Register for one or both parts here.  

The ABA Journal has compiled its favorite 2021 articles from the “Your Voice,” “Mind Your Business” and “On Well-Being” sections that are sure to help you improve your practice and personal life in 2022. The sections cover a variety of topics, including tips for working with difficult clients, avoiding burnout, a guide to walking meditation, how to release self-destructive thoughts and more. Read the compilation of articles here.

The Diversity Committee of the TBA Young Lawyers Division has selected 20 law students for its 2022 Diversity Leadership Institute, a six-month leadership and mentoring program for law students. Now in its 12th year, the program is designed to help law students develop skills to succeed as a law student and attorney, empower students to contribute more to the legal community, match students to mentors in a variety of practice areas and build relationships among students of diverse backgrounds. View the entire 2022 class here.

The Defender Services Diversity Fellowship Program will place 12 fellows in federal defender offices across the country for two years — including in the Eastern District of Tennessee — during which time fellows will gain federal criminal defense training and experience in representing clients in non-capital Criminal Justice Act cases. Fellows will receive salary and benefits. The program is open to graduating 3L students and recent law school graduates. A successful applicant must be a talented advocate and legal writer, possess research skills, be team oriented, and be committed to public defense or related public interest law work. Apply here for the non-capital program through Jan. 7, 2022. The application process for the capital component of the program is expected to open in the summer of 2022. Learn more in this flyer.