The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee is accepting comments on the reappointment of Magistrate Judge Barbara D. Holmes, whose current term will expire on July 31, 2023. A panel of citizens will be appointed by the court to consider reappointment of Holmes to a new eight-year term. All comments will be kept confidential and be examined only by members of the Merit Selection Panel and the district court judges. Comments should be e-mailed to MJComments@tnmd.uscourts.gov by Jan. 31, 2023. Read the full announcement from the court.

Retiring Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee will be remembered as a bold dissenter, former Knoxville News Sentinel associate editor Georgia Vines writes in a recent column. Lee wrote so many dissenting opinions in 2017 that the Knoxville Bar Association wrote a story about it, Vines says. Some of those involved majority opinions that Lee believed provided inadequate constitutional protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, deprived parents facing termination of their rights the effective assistance of counsel, and erected barriers for inmates’ access to the courts. Vines also looks at a paper written in 2020 by a Nashville School of Law student who examined the overarching themes of Lee’s dissents. Lee, the longest-serving judge on the Tennessee Supreme Court, will retire on Aug. 31, 2023.

The Tennessee District Attorney’s General Conference (TNDAGC) has named 21st Judicial District Assistant District Attorney Dale Evans as its DUI Prosecutor of Year. Evans was recognized for his work ensuring that vehicular homicide/assault cases move forward in a timely manner and that victims and their families are provided with case updates. Presidential Awards were presented to three others in the 21st Judicial District Attorneys office. Assistant District Attorney Carlin Hess and Assistant Victim/Witness Coordinators Shannon Welch and Anne Margaret Weishaar were recognized for their efforts bringing the killer of a Brentwood police officer to justice and supporting the officer's family. Williamson Herald has more on the story.

In addition to sleeping in office buildings, children in the custody of the Department of Children’s Services (DCS) are spending upwards of eight months in hospital beds across the state, Tennessee Lookout reports. Some of the children have medical and behavioral health needs that require inpatient hospital care but others do. Michele Johnson, executive director of the Tennessee Justice Center, says hospitalizing kids when they do not require hospital care is a violation of the Americans with Disability Act. A group of Democratic state lawmakers recently asked the governor to provide emergency funding to resolve the situation. Lee told WKRN that he will not dip into the state’s rainy day fund to address the issue but instead will work through the regular budget process.

A three-judge panel has upheld Tennessee’s Education Savings Account Program, which allows public tax dollars to be given to families to pay for private schooling, the Associated Press reports. The panel, made up of Chancellor Anne Martin, Judge Tammy Harrington and Judge Valerie Smith, said the counties and families who sued couldn’t prove how students would be immediately harmed by the program. The plaintiffs, including Davidson and Shelby counties, maintained that schools and students would be hurt by the voucher program because school districts lose money for every student that participates in the voucher program. But the panel ruled the opponents’ claims “lack ripeness” because the voucher law includes a provision that replaces the diverted funds for at least three years through “a school improvement fund.” Money for the improvement fund is subject to legislative appropriation.

The 2022 class of the TBA Public Service Academy met for its final session of the program on Nov. 18-19 at the Nashville office of Adams and Reese. The academy is a nonpartisan training program that provides attorneys with the tools to run for local public offices, such as school board, city council and county commission. The session’s theme was “Your Campaign,” featuring presentations on building a campaign team, media training, finding your message, campaign do’s and don’ts and direct mail. This year’s program was chaired by Jamie Ballinger, Steve Elkins and Circuit Judge Joel Wallace. Class members are Raven Austin, Amanda Bradley, Duncan Bryant, Brian Bush, Jing Geng, Timothy Martin, David O’Neil, Jessica Schultz, Ryan Strain and Angela Washington. Read more on class members and speakers.

Chattanooga radio host David Tulis has filed a lawsuit against Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Page, alleging Page conspired to have him falsely imprisoned, the Tennessee Tribune reports. Tulis was arrested in November 2021 while “covering” the Tennessee Judicial Conference in Franklin and charged with criminal trespass. The charge was ultimately dismissed. In February, Administrative Office of the Courts Director Michelle Long established a new blanket closure policy that prohibits members of the press from attending conference sessions. The policy drew a lawsuit from news organization The Center Square for allegedly violating First Amendment rights of access. In addition to Page, the suit filed by Tulis names his arresting officer, the City of Franklin, the AOC education manager John Crawford and Atrium Hospitality. Tulis seeks $75,000 in compensation and an order to open the judicial conferences to the public.

U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-TN, and Richard Blumenthal, D-CT, are asking the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) how it plans to combat the use of online bots following an incident involving Ticketmaster’s presale of Taylor Swift tickets. Ticketmaster says it canceled the general public ticket sale for Swift’s upcoming tour after online bots, in this instance used by scalpers, briefly crashed its site. Blackburn and Blumenthal co-sponsored the 2016 Better Online Ticket Sales Act, or BOTS Act, which bans the use of such bots to buy tickets in bulk from online sites for the purpose of reselling them at higher prices. “The recent difficulties consumers have faced while attempting to purchase tickets is a serious concern and reflective of anti-competitive conduct in the online ticket marketplace,” Blackburn said in a statement. “Fortunately, a solution is already in place that would go a long way in reducing ticket costs and protecting consumers and artists from scammers." The Tennessean has more on the story.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti joined a coalition of eight attorneys general last week in sending a letter to five solar lending companies: Dividend Solar Finance, GoodLeap, Riverbank, Sunlight Financial and Solar Mosaic. The letter urges the companies to suspend loan payments and accrual of interest for customers who financed the purchase of a solar power system from Pink Energy and have not received a working solar power system. The letter also asks the lenders to assist customers who are experiencing functionality and installation issues. The move follows complaints filed against Pink Energy, which abruptly closed operations and filed for bankruptcy in October. Customers allege that the company misled them about the performance of its products and their potential eligibility for tax credits.

The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments is now accepting applications for the Tennessee Supreme Court vacancy that will be created by the retirement of Justice Sharon G. Lee on Aug. 31, 2023. Interested applicants must be licensed attorneys who are at least 35 years of age, residents of the state for five years and a resident of the Eastern Tennessee Grand Division. Applicants must complete the designated application and submit it to the Administrative Office of the Courts by noon CST on Dec. 12. Applicants will be interviewed on Jan. 4 at the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy in Knoxville. Complete application instructions are available on the Administrative Office of the Courts website.