Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Judges Camille R. McMullen, Robert H. Montgomery Jr. and Tom Greenholtz on Tuesday heard arguments in the death sentence commutation case of Byron Black, the Tennessean reports. Black filed a motion last year to be deemed intellectually disabled which, per a new state law, could make him ineligible for the death penalty. A Nashville judge tossed the case earlier this year, saying that two prior decisions on Black’s intellectual disability ruled out a review under the new law. Black’s legal team argued that since their client’s claim wasn’t heard under the new standard, the pathway should apply to him. Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk had agreed with Black’s team on the trial level, but the Tennessee attorney general’s office is fighting their appeal. The state argues the new law was intended to be extremely limited and not to include anyone who has previously had an intellectual disability case decided on the merits. The appeals judges are expected to issue a written order.

Belmont University College of Law and the Administrative Office of the Courts' Access to Justice Initiative hosted an expungement clinic at the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center and Work Center on Friday. TBA YLD Board member Alix Rogers and attorney Savannah Quintero worked with 13 Belmont Law students to assist 37 incarcerated clients during the clinic, completing paperwork to expunge over 140 charges.

Admissions ceremonies continued Tuesday as the Tennessee Supreme Court hosted two sessions in Nashville to welcome about 150 more new lawyers to the practice of law in Tennessee. TBA President Tasha Blakney introduced many of those to the court and moved for their admission to practice before the court. TBA Young Lawyers Division members were also on hand to welcome the new lawyers and answer questions about the TBA. See photos from the ceremonies.

New lawyers are being sworn in at ceremonies across the state this week. The Tennessee Supreme Court was in Knoxville Monday to receive new admittees and administer the oath. Ceremonies will continue in Nashville tomorrow, Jackson on Wednesday and Memphis on Thursday. TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD) members will be on hand to welcome the new lawyers and answers questions about the TBA. YLD President Brittany Faith of Chattanooga was at the Knoxville event today. See photos from the ceremony

The legal services sector added about 3,400 jobs in October, bouncing back from losing about 2,100 jobs in September, for a total of 1,182,100 jobs. The preliminary, seasonally adjusted data was released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Law360 has analysis.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has announced that a 40-state group has obtained separate settlements from Experian and T-Mobile in connection with a three data breaches. Under a $12.67 million settlement, Experian has agreed to strengthen its due diligence and data security practices. It also will offer credit monitoring services to those who were affected by a 2015 breach. In addition, it agreed to pay $1 million to resolve claims against its subsidiary Experian Data Corp. for a 2012 data breach. In a separate $2.43 million settlement, T-Mobile agreed to detailed vendor management provisions designed to strengthen its vendor oversight. The agreement only includes claims from a 2015 breach. It does not include claims filed in connection with a data breach in 2021, which is still under investigation by a coalition of state attorneys general.

The Chattanooga office of Legal Aid of East Tennessee (LAET) hosted its annual Pro Bono Night recently. The evening featured food, drinks, music, a silent auction and the group’s traditional awards ceremony. Among those recognized was Rebecca Miller with Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, who received the Bruce C. Bailey Volunteer Lawyer of the Year Award for her work on conservatorships. The Chief Justice William M. Barker Access to Justice Award was presented to Emily O’Donnell, a former Legal Aid staff attorney, for her pioneering work in establishing an Eviction Prevention Initiative in the county. The group also recognized the Chattanooga Hamilton County Family Justice Center with the Alexander Hamilton Award, which honors a nonlegal entity that works to advance justice. The center was chosen for its partnership with LAET, allowing it to hold clinics for free at its facility throughout the year. Finally, LAET named the Chattanooga Bar Association Young Lawyers Division as its Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year for the many legal clinics the group hosted. Read more in the Hamilton County Herald.

The 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has denied immunity to former Hamilton County Sheriff’s deputy Daniel Wilkey and current deputy Tyler McRae in a civil rights lawsuit filed by a Soddy Daisy resident, Tennessee Lookout reports. William Eugene Klaver filed the suit after an April 2019 traffic stop in which he was detained on the side of the road for nearly an hour in a fruitless search for marijuana. A three-judge panel of the court said Klaver presented ample evidence that the deputies intentionally dragged out a stop for a window tint violation to illegally search his vehicle. Wilkey and McRae have been named as defendants in at least a half dozen federal civil rights lawsuits alleging abuses of power and brutality in encounters with citizens. Since the interaction with Klaver, Wilkey also has been arrested on rape, assault and official oppression charges.

A congressionally mandated online database of federal judges’ financial disclosure reports, detailing their assets and stock trades, is now live, Reuters reports. President Joe Biden signed the bipartisan bill into law in May with the goal of making it easier for the public to see if judges have a financial conflict of interest that would warrant recusal from hearing a case. Registered database users now are able to search for, sort, view and download judges’ reports. U.S. District Judge Roslynn Mauskopf, director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, said the database will initially contain 2021 financial disclosure reports and periodic transaction reports detailing stock trades.

Legal Aid of East Tennessee held its Knoxville Pro Bono Night celebration last night to honor local attorneys for their pro bono work. The law firm of Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillps Grossman was recognized as the 2022 Law Firm of the Year, while Jennifer Egelston was named 2022 Pro Bono Attorney of the Year, Tenaya Winkelman was named 2022 Pro Bono Law Student of the Year, and the Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law was named 2022 Community Partner of the Year. In addition, Knoxville Bar Association President-elect Loretta Cravens recognized area lawyers who completed a certain number of pro bono hours during the year. Finally, Amy Morris Hess was named a new member of the Donald F. Paine Memorial Hall of Fame. TBA President Tasha Blakney was on hand to congratulate all the honorees and present the award to Egelston.