A book reading and signing with former Tennessee Bar Journal Editor Suzanne Craig Robertson will take place in Knoxville on April 27 at 7 p.m. EDT at the Church of the Good Samaritan, 425 N. Cedar Bluff Rd., Knoxville 37923. The event, hosted by Union Ave. Books, will feature a reading from Robertson’s new book “He Called Me Sister” and a conversation between Robertson and Bishop Brian Cole. The book documents the relationship between death row inmate Cecil Johnson and Robertson’s family as Johnson’s case winds its way through the legal system ultimately culminating in his execution. The event is free but reservations are required. A similar event in Nashville a few weeks ago brought current and former TBA staff members and area lawyers and judges out for a memorable evening. See pictures from that event.

The American Bar Association today named Alpha M. Brady as its interim executive director. Brady succeeds Jack L. Rives, who left the association last week after more than 12 years as executive director. The association is currently conducting a nationwide search for a new director. Brady joined the ABA in 1988 after a year as assistant corporation counsel with the city of Chicago. She started her ABA career as assistant director of the Commission on Opportunities for Minorities in the Profession (now the Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession). Later, she became special assistant to the president, director of policy administration, senior manager of the Governance and Public Services Group, and senior associate director and chief governance officer. Most recently, she was named deputy executive director in September 2022.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti filed a motion today asking the Davidson County Chancery Court to enforce a request for information (RFI) served on TikTok Inc. in March 2022. The RFI requires the company to preserve relevant documents and produce internal messages in an appropriate and useable format. The attorney general’s office says the company has had ample time to respond and is engaged in a pattern of delay. The office is investigating whether TikTok is in violation of the state’s consumer protection statute by providing and promoting the use of its platform to minors, children and young adults. Read more or view the motion.

The Tennessee Bar Association is now accepting nominations for its 2023 Claudia Jack Award and Justice Frank F. Drowota III Outstanding Judicial Service Award. The Claudia Jack Award honors an outstanding public defender or court-appointed private practitioner who has served the legal community and clients in an exemplary fashion. It is named after the late Claudia Jack, a public defender and long-time champion of the poor and underprivileged. The Drowota Award is given to a judge or judicial branch official of a federal, state or local court in Tennessee who has demonstrated extraordinary devotion and dedication to the improvement of the law, the legal system and the administration of justice, as exemplified by the career of former Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Frank F. Drowota III. The deadline to submit nominees for both awards is April 3.

A Tennessee man on death row, who was forced to act as his own lawyer, is seeking a new trial, claiming multiple violations of his constitutional rights, the Times News reports. Howard Willis went through nine lawyers before a judge ruled that he would have to represent himself, accusing him of creating conflict with counsel to avoid a trial. Willis was sentenced to death in 2010 for the murders of teenage newlyweds. In his bid for a new trial, Willis claims the original trial was unfair because he was forced to act as his own attorney and could not afford sufficient resources to defend himself. A hearing on Willis’ petition for post-conviction relief started today in Washington County Criminal Court.

Victims in a rape kit lawsuit must wait at least two more weeks for a ruling on whether the case can move forward as a class action, the Commercial Appeal reports. Three women, whose rape kits went untested for years, are suing to certify their suit as a class action. The judge in the case, Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Gina Higgins, said last October that she would have rulings to issue this month. But last-minute filings from plaintiffs' attorneys, city attorneys and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation added another hearing to the docket. Higgins now is expected to deliver a ruling on March 22.

Newly released video shows correctional officers punching, kicking, pepper spraying and eventually kneeling on the upper back of an inmate who died after attempting to run from a cell last fall. The video was released by the Nashville District Attorney's (DA) office, which was asked to conduct an independent investigation, the Commercial Appeal reports. According to Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner, Gershun Freeman, 33, “suffered from psychosis and cardiovascular disease and died of a heart attack while being restrained.” He said it is unfortunate that parts of the video “are being shown out of context” because the full video shows Freeman’s “erratic and violent behavior that led to the need to restrain.” Bonner said he will wait for additional information from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Nashville DA's office before taking further administrative action. Freeman was arrested Oct. 1, 2022, after he was accused of attacking, threatening and kidnapping his girlfriend.

The U.S. Justice Department started taking applications for President Joe Biden’s mass amnesty for marijuana convictions on Friday, Bloomberg Law reports. The program, announced last October, offers those convicted of certain federal marijuana offenses a “full, unconditional and categorical pardon.” Those seeking a pardon have to apply to the Office of the Pardon Attorney for a certificate of proof. To be eligible, applicants must have been convicted of simple possession in federal court or D.C. Superior Court. Immigrants without documentation and anyone convicted of a state marijuana offense may not apply.

Save the date for the 2023 Intellectual Property Forum set for April 28 in Nashville. The program will run from 9:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. CDT and offer a total of four credit hours, including one dual credit hour. Make plans now to join Ian McFarland and Lauren Sherwood with Merchant & Gould for this informative course, and don't miss the networking reception the night before the program from 5-7 p.m.

The most recent TBA Elder Law Basics Forum is available as a 1-Click package on the TBA CLE website. The forum provides the intangibles for elder law practitioners, including powers of attorney, estate recovery, reverse mortgages, how clients can find and afford health care in retirement, ethics and more. Stay tuned for more information on the section’s 2023 forum, taking place this summer on a to be determined date. You can also view the content of last year’s Elder Law Forum using this link.