The Nashville Bar Association (NBA) recently held its annual meeting where new leaders were elected and a number of lawyers were honored with awards. Joseph Hubbard, a shareholder with Polsinelli, was named 2025 president of the association. Other officers named include First Vice President Marie Scott, Second Vice President Christen Blackburn, President-Elect Sherie Edwards, First Vice President-Elect Ben Raybin, 2nd Vice President-Elect Judge Ana Escobar, Secretary Deadrick Thaxton and Treasurer Jae Lim. The John C. Tune Public Service Award was presented to Donald Capparella with Dodson Parker Behm & Capparella. DarKenya Waller and Eric Osborne won the Nashville Bar Journal (NBJ) Best Article of the Year Award. The NBJ Contributor of the Year Award went to Victoria Gentry. Josh Burgener was presented with the CLE Excellence Award. President’s Awards also were presented to six. Read more about the event in a release and see photos here.

The TBA's continuing efforts to provide education and resources related to representation for indigent individuals includes our Indigent Representation Primer series, which shares background and updates about indigent representation in Tennessee, and shares information and innovations from across the country. A recent item in TBA's Indigent Representation Primer may be helpful in better understanding both how Tennessee's system works, as well as models from other jurisdictions. Each model has strengths and weaknesses; some jurisdictions, including Tennessee, combine elements of multiple systems to better provide quality representation, balanced with flexibility and cost. Tennessee's system would be considered a hybrid, with two primary components: public defender offices in each judicial district and the indigent representation program administered by the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC). The types of cases covered include dependency and neglect and termination of parental rights cases (representation for parents and children), as well as criminal defendants in jeopardy of incarceration. Providing representation to indigent individuals, in both criminal and civil cases, is a significant issue for the legal community, with impacts that go far beyond the individual cases and counsel appointed to the matters. Read more about these differing structures and see other past primer posts here. Read the next primer update in Friday's issue of TBA Today.

Community members gathered at the National Civil Rights Museum yesterday to discuss the results of a 17-month federal investigation into the Memphis Police Department, the Daily Memphian reports. Earlier this month, the Department of Justice released a report finding that that the Memphis Police Department and the city engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law. Now community members want to see more officer accountability for policy violations, ability to give input on police policies and for officers to show citizens more empathy and respect. One attendee also spoke out against the city’s decision not to enter into a consent decree with the department. The city has said it wants to do in-depth review of the findings before making a decision about such an agreement.

Former state Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse his conviction on charges of breaking federal campaign finance laws, Tennessee Lookout reports. Kelsey pleaded guilty to funneling more than $100,000 from his state campaign account through two political action committees to the American Conservative Union, which bought digital and radio advertising to bolster his bid for a congressional seat in 2016. He was sentenced to 21 months in prison. He later attempted to change his plea to not guilty. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to reverse the plea. Kelsey is now asking the high court to reverse arguing that the appeals court applied the wrong type of review.

The Hamilton County Commission this week delayed a decision on choosing a new county attorney until its next meeting on Jan. 8, 2025. According to Chattanoogan.com, the body postponed consideration of the matter after meeting with attorney John Konvalinka, who was hired to represent the commission on the matter. Longtime county attorney Rheubin Taylor is contracted to serve until July 1, 2025. Taylor has said that attempts by County Mayor Weston Wamp to name Janie Parks Varnell as the new county attorney would violate his contract. 

American confidence in the judicial system dropped 7% from last year, sagging to a record low, according to a new Gallup poll. Axios reports that just 35% of poll respondents said they had confidence in the U.S. judicial system and courts, a drop from 42% last year. The poll’s findings also mark the first time that confidence in the courts is below 50% for both those who approve and those who disapprove of U.S. leadership. Gallup reports that over the past four years, the confidence rate has dropped 24%. Read more about the findings.

In its final meeting of the year Tuesday, the Nashville Metro Council approved Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s $527 million capital spending plan, which includes allocations for a new juvenile justice center, infrastructure improvements, schools and maintenance work around the county, according to the Nashville Banner. The council also approved a sign permit for country singer Morgan Wallen’s downtown bar, reversing a decision made in May when the request was rejected 30-3.

The Knoxville Bar Association (KBA) held its Annual Meeting recently. At the event, outgoing president Carlos Yunsan of the University of Tennessee College of Law passed the gavel to Jonathan Cooper, a criminal defense attorney at Knox Defense, Knox TN Today reports. During the meeting, members also elected officers for 2025, with Rachel Hurt of Arnett Baker Draper & Hagood being named president-elect, Ursula Bailey as treasurer, and Cathy Shuck of East Tennessee Children’s Hospital as secretary. Members also elected Kim Burnette of Arnett Baker Draper & Hagood, Meagan Collver of Lewis Thomason, Samuel Lee of the Knox County District Attorney General’s Office, and Scott Taylor of Bernstein Stair & McAdams LLP to the KBA Board of Governors. Three awards were presented. Wayne Kramer received the Governor's Award, the KBA’s highest award; Cathy Shuck received the Courage in the Face of Adversity Award; and Regina Koho was honored with an award for outstanding legal writing.

A DeKalb County grand jury indicted 31st Judicial District Attorney General Christopher Robert Stanford on one count of reckless endangerment Monday, The Tennessean reports. Stanford is accused of firing his weapon while attempting to apprehend a man accused of a triple homicide in Warren County, according to authorities. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said Stanford was pursuing a wanted fugitive when he fired his weapon, but there was "no immediate threat" to Stanford or others. Stanford has served as district attorney since 2022. The district serves Van Buren and Warren counties. Stanford's first court hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. CST on Jan. 7, 2025.

The share of first-year law school enrollment by racial and ethnic minority students remained steady overall in the year since the U.S. Supreme Court's decision that effectively ended race-conscious college admissions. The data released Monday by the American Bar Association covers 196 law schools and shows a total of 40,650 entering law students in 2024, a 4.5% increase from 2023. With regard to race and ethnicity, the data shows the following: white students made up 56.8% of first-year students, a slight 1.1% decrease from last year; Hispanic students held steady at 14.2%; Asian students saw the largest increase, rising from 7.8% to 9.8%; Black students dropped slightly from 7.8% to 7.7%; and students who did not report their race or ethnicity grew to 6.2%. According to Forbes, the 2024 class was being closely watched as the first to be admitted after the high court's 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College.