State Rep. Robert Stevens, R-Smyrna, has requested a campaign finance audit and investigation into Murfreesboro Mayor Shane McFarland and Smyrna Mayor Mary Esther Reed. According to the Daily News Journal, Stevens wrote the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance a Jan. 25 letter pertaining to a $7,500 donation from McFarland on Nov. 23, 2022, to Tennesseans For Greater Accountability, a political action committee (PAC). The PAC then "on the exact same day" donated $7,500 to the campaign account of Reed. The Registry is scheduled to review the audit request on March 26.

The Tennessee General Assembly on Monday confirmed Shelby County Circuit Judge Mary Wagner to the Tennessee Supreme Court. Wagner will take her seat on the court after Justice Roger A. Page's retirement on Aug. 31. Wagner's confirmation passed the Tennessee House of Representatives 94-3 and the Senate 32-0 during a brief joint session. The Tennessean reports that members of the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved her selection last week, with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle hailing her as an excellent choice for the court. During the hearing, Wagner described herself to committee members as “both an originalist and a textualist" and said overturning precedents should be done "sparingly and cautiously." Read more from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Save the date for the TBA's Annual Dispute Resolution Forum, taking place May 9 in Nashville at the Tennessee Bankers Association in Nashville. An annual staple for Tennessee attorneys, this event provides insight from top professionals in the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) vocation while allowing attendees to meet with other mediators from across the state. More details coming soon!

The Tennessee Supreme Court last week abolished a common law rule that required testimony of a criminal defendant’s accomplice to be supported by other evidence. The change, which will apply prospectively, was made in an opinion upholding a first-degree murder conviction. The court found that the “accomplice-corroboration rule is effectively obsolete as a common law rule and that the General Assembly is better equipped to decide whether such a rule should exist in Tennessee.” Supreme Court Justice Sharon G. Lee agreed in a separate opinion that the conviction should be affirmed but disagreed with abolishment of the accomplice-corroboration rule. She argued that the rule has long served to safeguard against untrustworthy accomplice testimony. Justice Sarah K. Campbell also filed a separate opinion agreeing with much of the majority, but argued that abolishing the rule should have been applied retroactively. Read more about the decision from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

A new six-part series titled “Justice USA” from HBO Max will feature former Nashville Public Defender Dawn Deaner as well as stories from Nashville's criminal courts. The series, which begins Thursday, is being promoted as providing a real look at what happens when someone is arrested and subjected to the criminal justice system. The project began more than six years ago when Deaner was public defender. She worked with the producer Marshall Goldberg, who filmed much of the show inside Nashville’s jails and courtrooms. Deaner, who is now with Choosing Justice Initiative, writes in a recent email message that she hopes the series motivates the legal community to “work on creating different systems of justice rooted in restorative practices instead of punishment.” Watch a trailer for the show.

The Belmont University College of Law’s Legal Aid Society is holding a golf tournament on April 5 from noon to 5 p.m. CDT at the Towhee Golf Club in Spring Hill. Money raised during the "Putt for Pro Bono" tournament will be awarded to law students who commit their summers to working in unpaid, public interest internships. The event also will include a special silent auction item: a private five-course dinner with wine pairings for a group of up to eight people. Get more information or register here. Email fundraising chair Brooke Wanser with any questions.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD) has launched its inaugural Diversity Law Week with activities planned this week in Chattanooga, Nashville, Memphis and Knoxville. Under the leadership of YLD President Quinton Thompson and Diversity Law Week Co-Chairs Ariel Anthony, Kevin Christopher and Erin Shackelford, the program is set to provide more than 100 students from across the state an invaluable educational journey into the legal profession. This week's programming includes shadowing legal experts, immersive experiences at law school campuses and observations of local court proceedings. Special thanks is extended to the more than 50 volunteer lawyers and judges who are dedicating their time to provide high school students with this unique opportunity and to the venues that are hosting students in each city. Read more about the program and see photos from Chattanooga's first session.

The American Bar Association (ABA) has released a comprehensive set of data on bar passage outcomes for ABA-approved law schools. The new data shows that in the aggregate, 90.40% of 2021 law graduates who sat for a bar exam passed it within two years of graduation. That percentage is down from the 91.85% figure for 2020 graduates. The data also shows that first-time takers in 2023 achieved an aggregate 79.18% pass rate, an increase from the 78.15% pass rate for 2022. Additional data shows aggregate results by ethnicity and gender. The information is available on the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar’s website under “Legal Education Statistics.”

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Feb. 28 issued an order suspending two Tennessee lawyers for failure to comply with CLE requirements. The order supplements an order from Aug. 17, 2023, suspending 143 Tennessee-licensed lawyers for failure to meet CLE requirements in 2022. See the full list of those suspended and reinstated, including one from the Feb. 28 order, who was reinstated last week.

The Lawyers Association for Women (LAW) Marion Griffin Chapter has announced its 2024 award recipients. The Nashville-based group will present its 2024 Martha Craig Daughtrey Award to Davidson County General Sessions Judge Robin Kimbrough Hayes, while Rachel H. Berg will receive the 2024 Rising Star Award. Hayes was elected to the bench in 2022. She previously served as an associate general counsel for the Tennessee Department of Children's Services and legal counsel for the Tennessee Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence. She is a past co-chair of LAW’s Litigation and Legislation Committee and was instrumental in reinstating the group’s Diversity Essay Scholarship Contest. Berg is a staff attorney at the National Center for Lesbian Rights. She previously was in private practice in New York and Nashville, focusing on class action litigation. She also serves on the LAW Board as treasurer and has been co-chair of the group’s Mentoring/Member Development Committee.