Gov. Bill Lee on Friday appointed Stacey Edmonson as the new district attorney general for the 21st Judicial District to fill a vacancy created by the death of Kim Helper. Edmonson will take office effective immediately. She has served the district for nearly two decades, most recently as deputy district attorney general, a role she has held for 12 years. Edmonson earned her law degree from Loyola University School of Law. The 21st Judicial District serves Williamson County. Read more from the governor’s office.

A Giles County judge last month overturned a murder conviction that relied on the testimony of disgraced former Tennessee medical examiner Charles Harlan. In the ruling, Judge David L. Allen wrote that new scientific evidence shows Wayne Burgess, convicted of murdering an infant in 1999, is innocent. Burgess is set to appear in court this week for his Tennessee Innocence Project attorneys to argue for immediate release, the Tennessean reports. Burgess’ conviction relied heavily on the testimony of Harlan, who was Nashville's first medical examiner and later the state’s chief medical examiner. Other medical professions who testified in the case concluded it was impossible that an alleged injury hours before the child’s death could have been the cause of death. Harlan was suspended without pay 1994. A year later, his contract with the state was terminated, and in 2005, his medical license was permanently stripped.

Rutherford County attorney Mary Bonita Tucker will be honored next month with the TBA's Fourth Annual Claudia Jack Award. Named for the late Claudia Jack, a long-time champion of the poor and underprivileged, and a public defender in Maury County, the award is presented to an outstanding  public defender or court-appointed private practitioner who serves the legal community and clients in an exemplary fashion. Tucker has served  as a court-appointed private practitioner for involuntary commitment proceedings in Rutherford County since the special court's inception in 2013. Since 2015, she also has defended clients in involuntary commitment proceedings involving the Veterans' Affairs Department. And she accepts appointments in probate court as an appointed conservator and guardian ad litem. One nominator wrote that Tucker “serves those who are often either in the worst state of their lives or who are struggling in ways that many will never have to experience or understand.” She also has been described as “trustworthy and respectful of her clients” and called an “inspiration.” The award be presented at the TBA Annual Convention in Knoxville on June 16 during the Lawyers’ Luncheon. Read the TBA's full press release about the award.

For more than a year, allegations that local police protected a well-known businessman accused in multiple sexual assaults — or incompetently bungled their investigation into allegations against him — have gripped Johnson City. Local advocates have taken to the streets demanding reform, a special U.S. attorney has filed a federal lawsuit, alleged victims have hired a California law firm, and city officials have secured an outside consultant to determine whether the police department’s actions “were inconsistent with acceptable practice of law enforcement.” Read more about the case from Tennessee Lookout.

Former Tennessee Supreme Court Justice and current NSL Dean William Koch was honored by the Harry Phillips Chapter of the American Inns of Court last month. The organization voted to establish the Bill Koch-Harry Phillips American Inns of Court Scholarship. The award will be for a third-year law student in the top 20% of his or her class entering a fourth year of legal training at the Nashville School of Law. Author and former Tennessean reporter Keel Hunt penned this opinion piece on Koch’s contributions to the legal community.

Friends, family and colleagues gathered in Greeneville Friday for the formal investiture ceremony for U.S. Magistrate Judge Cynthia Richardson Wyrick. Ceremonies at the James H. Quillen U.S. Courthouse featured remarks by former Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Gary Wade, former Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Norma McGee Ogle, Circuit Court Judge James L. Gass, Merit Selection Panel member Olen G. Haynes Sr. and Senior U.S. District Judge J. Ronnie Greer. U.S. District Judge Clifton L. Corker administered the oath of office and offered remarks. TBA President Tasha Blakney also offered comments and presented a gavel to Wyrick, who had served as a TBA president before going on the bench. Eight other former TBA presidents were also on hand to show their support — John Tarpley, Charles Swanson, Marcy Eason, Jackie Dixon, Jonathan Steen, Jason Long, Sarah Sheppeard and Michelle Greenway Sellers. See more photos from the event.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti recently announced a number of actions. First, on Tuesday, he led a coalition of 16 state attorneys general in urging the Biden administration to uphold Title IX protections for women and girls. On Wednesday, his office's Division of Consumer Affairs issued a warning regarding a widespread fraud scheme targeting medical professionals. Scammers impersonating agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) are attempting to extort money or steal personal identifiable information. On these calls, scammers often claim the provider’s National Provider Identifier (NPI) has been compromised and is being used for illicit purposes. Today, Skrmetti joined a bipartisan coalition of 38 other attorneys general in urging congressional leadership to pass the Combating Illicit Xylazine Act (H.R.1839/S.993), which would provide critical measures to combat the widespread illicit use and trafficking of xylazine and help prevent xylazine-related deaths. Skrmetti also today led a coalition of 23 state attorneys general in urging various financial institutions to adhere to their fiduciary duties when voting their shares in the ongoing proxy season.

Marrell Graham, the son of Samuel Pettyjohn, a key FBI witness in Gov. Ray Blanton’s “cash-for-clemency” scandal in the late 1970s, is suing the FBI. Pettyjohn was killed in downtown Chattanooga in 1979. Graham’s federal lawsuit claims that the agency’s actions led to the deprivation of “the loss of income, services, protection, care, assistance ... counsel and advice of his father.” Pettyjohn agreed to cooperate with the FBI after he was subpoenaed to testify about corrupt officials selling prison pardons. The Associated Press has the full story.

The Tennessean has sued Metro Nashville government for the release of documents related to the March 27 Covenant School shooting. Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, and Tennessean reporter Rachel Wegner also have signed on to the suit. According to the complaint, The Tennessean has filed multiple public records requests with the Metro Nashville Police Department to either view or obtain copies of documents in the case. The Tennessee Lookout reports that Michael Patrick Leahy of The Tennessee Star has also filed public records requests and 66 Republican members of the Tennessee General Assembly submitted a letter Monday requesting the documents’ release. Covenant School parents are opposed to making the shooter’s writings public.

Former Tennessee Supreme Court Justice and current NSL Dean William Koch was honored by the Harry Phillips Chapter of the American Inns of Court this week. The organization voted May 16 to establish the Bill Koch-Harry Phillips American Inns of Court Scholarship. The award will be for a third-year law student in the top 20% of his or her class entering a fourth year of legal training at the Nashville School of Law. Author and former Tennessean reporter Keel Hunt penned this opinion piece on Koch’s contributions to the legal community.