More than two dozen constitutional law experts on Friday voiced support for legislation that would establish 18-year term limits for U.S. Supreme Court justices, The Hill reports. The move comes a day after Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said he would form a bipartisan group to study and recommend court reform options if he wins. The specific legislation endorsed by the group of 30 has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Democrats Ro Khanna of California, Don Beyer of Virginia and Joe Kennedy III of Massachusetts. In an attempt to not clash with the Constitution’s grant of life tenure to federal judges, the bill would allow justices to serve on lower courts after their high court term expired. The group of scholars was organized by the advocacy group Fix the Court.

After a rare weekend session and a key vote yesterday, the U.S. Senate is set to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court tonight, The Hill reports. On the critical vote whether to end debate on the nomination, senators voted 51-48. Republican senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted with all Democrats against moving forward, but Collins is the only Republican expected to vote against the confirmation. Assuming Coney Barrett is confirmed, Justice Clarence Thomas is expected to administer the oath of office to her tonight, CNN reports.

The Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee today advanced Amy Coney Barrett’s U.S. Supreme Court nomination, despite a boycott from Democratic members of the committee, the Associated Press reports. All 10 Democratic senators boycotted the vote to protest the GOP’s rush to install Trump’s nominee to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The committee’s 12 Republican members voted to send Barrett’s nomination to the full Senate, where a final confirmation vote will take place on Monday.

Butler Snow attorney and former TBA President Randall Noel last week testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee regarding an evaluation of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, the ABA Journal reports. Noel, who is chair of the ABA Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, spoke about the committee’s evaluation process and explained how Barrett earned a “well qualified” rating. In his prepared remarks, Noel explained the evaluation is “based solely on its comprehensive, nonpartisan, non-ideological peer review of the nominee’s integrity, professional competence, and judicial temperament.” Noel is a partner at Butler Snow in Memphis and is engaged in a civil trial practice, with an emphasis on commercial, banking, antitrust, data security and products liability matters.

The U.S. Senate is scheduled to consider the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett for appointment to the Supreme Court on Monday, The Hill reports. According to an announcement by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the chamber will begin considering the nomination on Friday and work through the weekend, assuming the Judiciary Committee approves the nomination on Thursday as expected. Late today, committee Democrats said they will boycott the vote on Thursday. In a joint statement released with Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., the group called the push to confirm Coney Barrett a "sham process" and accused Republicans of breaking "the promises and rules" established when Merrick Garland, former President Obama's final Supreme Court nominee, was not given a hearing or a vote.

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee has set a vote on Judge Amy Coney Barrett's Supreme Court nomination for Wednesday of this week, The Hill reports. The committee proceedings will begin at 1 p.m. EDT. Under committee rules, a majority of the panel, or 12 senators, has to be present in order to report a nomination to the floor. Once that occurs, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, says he will introduce Barrett's nomination on Thursday, which will set up a final vote on the Senate floor for the week of Oct. 26.

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee today began four days of hearings on the nomination of U.S. Supreme Court Justice nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Today’s session focused on opening statements from committee members, introduction of the nominee and opening comments from Judge Barrett. The Washington Post has her statement. Committee Chair Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, also announced today that Barrett has received a "well qualified" rating from a majority of the American Bar Association Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary, while a minority of the committee rated her as “qualified.” The ABA Journal has more on that development. Hearings continue tomorrow and Wednesday with questions from committee members. On Thursday, interest groups in support of and opposed to Barrett’s nomination will testify.

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee yesterday approved a bipartisan bill that would make PACER, the federal court electronic records system, free for the public, The National Law Journal reports. Under the bill, the federal judiciary would have two to three years to update and modernize its system and expand services, such as allowing users to search for records across the system, rather than within individual courts. During this time, “power users” — those who spend at least $25,000 annually on court filings — would continue to pay fees per page. After the modernization period, the judiciary would offer free access to PACER for all users and completely stop charging the per-page fees. The move comes shortly after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found that the federal judiciary misused PACER funds for other projects. The ABA Journal reports on that decision.

Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III has joined a coalition of attorneys general in urging Congress to adopt key changes to the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), which provides financial support to victims of violent crimes and their families. The changes advocated would stabilize the Crime Victims Fund and provide more flexibility to grantees, the officials say. Deposits to the fund originate from criminal fines, forfeited bail bonds, penalties and special assessments collected by U.S. Attorneys' offices, federal courts and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Read the letter to Congress.

A newly formed congressional subcommittee today asked Gov. Bill Lee for information about the state’s plan to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commercial Appeal reports. The letter, written by U.S. Rep. James Clyburn, D-South Carolina, chair of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, comes just days after the White House Coronavirus Task Force recommended the state implement stricter restrictions to control spread of the virus. The subcommittee’s request includes all documents and communications from the White House Task Force aimed at stopping the spread of the virus in Tennessee; a "detailed description of any decision made or public health measures" that have been implemented or halted as a result of communication from the task force; and a description of the state's current plans to implement additional public health measures. The 12-member panel, created in April, includes Rep. Mark Green of Clarksville.