The Tennessee Supreme Court reinstated three lawyers yesterday and three lawyers today who had been suspended for failing to complete annual continuing legal education requirements in 2022. View the Aug. 30 order, the Aug. 31 order or see the list of all those reinstated online.

The Equal Justice University welcomed a record 300-plus registrants to its annual program this week in Murfreesboro. Presented by the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services and sponsored by the TBA and other groups, the three-day program launched yesterday with a presentation from Rachel Rossi, director of the U.S. Department of Justice's Office for Access to Justice. TBA President Jim Barry and Executive Director Sheree Wright both addressed today's luncheon crowd and the Drowota Trust was announced. The event wraps up tomorrow with a keynote address by Legal Services Corporation President Ron Flagg. Please look for a full story tomorrow on the Access to Justice Awards, presented throughout the conference. See photos from the event.

The American Bar Association (ABA) is mobilizing lawyers to provide legal services to victims of the recent wildfires on Maui. A telephone hotline has been activated to connect victims in qualifying counties who cannot afford an attorney to lawyers who can respond to disaster-related legal issues. Survivors can call the hotline between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. local time on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Lawyers interested in assisting can find opportunities online or donate to a special fund set up to support legal services in Maui. Read more about these efforts.

U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) officials held a community meeting yesterday as part of its pattern or practice investigation into the Memphis Police Department, the Daily Memphian reports. Maureen Johnston, acting deputy chief of the DOJ Civil Rights Division’s Special Litigation Section, told attendees that the investigation “will be looking into whether there are violations of the Fourth Amendment uses of force that are excessive,” “whether there are violations of the Fourth Amendment in the way that the police department makes stops, conduct searches” and “whether there is discriminatory policing” in Memphis. Attendees then met in small groups with DOJ employees. Read more about issues discussed.

The University of Memphis School of Law has received a three-year $300,000 grant from the Everytown Law Fund, which will be used to hire a legal fellow to handle civil legal issues impacting victims of pediatric gun violence. The funds will go the Memphis Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic, the Commercial Appeal reports. New York-based nonprofit Everytown for Gun Safety finances a variety of litigation projects tied to gun violence, but the law school is the first recipient of a grant for an Everytown Legal Fellow. Law school Dean Katharine Schaffzin and Katy Ramsey Mason, director of the Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic, made the announcement yesterday.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has disclosed three trips he accepted from billionaire Harlan Crow last year, according to documents made public today, The Hill reports. Thomas has denied any wrongdoing in accepting the trips, saying he was advised they fell under a personal hospitality exception and did not need to be reported. For one of the trips, Thomas said he flew private because of security concerns following the leak of the draft abortion opinion. The new financial disclosure form also includes supplemental information about a 2014 real estate transaction with Crow, which Thomas’ attorney said was “inadvertently omitted” from past reports. In 2014, Crow bought three properties from Thomas and his family.

The city of Memphis has hired former Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Bobby Carter to perform court monitoring duties at the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center, the Commercial Appeal reports. His hours are capped at 10 per week. Carter is expected to make periodic reports on the efficiency and transparency of the court system by observing cases and examining court records and data. The year-long contract will not be limited to criminal courts and can be extended for an additional year. 

Attorneys for death row inmate Christa Pike filed a motion in Knox County yesterday to reopen her petition for post-conviction relief, citing a recent court opinion that her youth should have served as a factor in sentencing, the Tennessean reports. Pike, now 47, was sentenced to death in 1996 for torturing and killing fellow Knoxville Job Corps member Colleen Slemmer. Pike is the last person in Tennessee to receive a death sentence for a crime committed as an 18-year-old and has been the only woman on Tennessee's death row since 2010. A U.S. district judge upheld the conviction in 2012 ruling there were not “valid grounds” for an appeal to proceed. Pike was also convicted in 2004 for attempting to strangle a fellow inmate. 

Former Tennessee state Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, and his new attorneys have asked a judge to allow Kelsey to avoid reporting to federal prison until a higher court rules on his appeal, the Tennessean reports. Kelsey argued in a new filing this week that prosecutors breached a plea agreement by "advocating" during sentencing for an upward adjustment under federal sentencing guidelines. Kelsey was sentenced earlier this month to 21 months in prison for campaign finance violations after pleading guilty to felonies related to illegal campaign funding maneuvers. Kelsey's attempt to retract his guilty plea were unsuccessful, leading to a longer sentence recommendation from prosecutors.

The Tennessee Supreme Court is unfamiliar territory for most lawyers and success in this court requires not only thorough preparation, but mastery of oral and written advocacy as well. The Tennessee Supreme Court Boot Camp allows lawyers to observe oral arguments in real cases being presented to the court, followed by analysis and discussion on the preparation and considerations for deciding to seek review in the court. Join colleagues at the Tennessee Supreme Court in Nashville Oct. 4 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CDT and earn one dual and 3.75 general credits.