The TBA YLD, in partnership with the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands and Legal Aid of East Tennessee, hosted a virtual name change clinic on Saturday. Fifteen attorneys and eight law students met on Zoom for a training, and then assisted clients in filling out name change petitions and giving counsel and advice on pro se representation. Thirty clients were served at the clinic and $7,500 in legal services were donated. The name change clinic is a new signature project of the TBA YLD aimed at making Tennessee a more welcoming place.

The city of Knoxville is asking the court to prevent the Knoxville News Sentinel from obtaining any documents created by a private firm during the city’s process of hiring a new police chief. The city also doesn't want to turn over documents related to the search, despite having previously said none were created. That response comes after the Sentinel sued the city in July after it refused to release documents related to the police chief search. Knoxville also moved to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing the Sentinel is “weaponizing” the state's open record laws, and requiring the city’s search firm to turn over documents that would have a “chilling” effect on the city. The Knoxville News Sentinel has more on the story.

The TBA Environmental Law Section has announced Alejandra Nawrocki, a student at the Belmont University College of Law, as the winner of its Hastings Writing Competition for 2022. The judges selected Nawrocki’s essay, Environmental Crime: Incentivizing Corporate Compliance Through a Modification of the Organizational Federal Sentencing Guidelines, for being timely and capturing the spirit of the competition. University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law student Zachary Jernigan's essay, Equitable Apportionment Applied to Interstate Aquifers: Did Mississippi Really Not See This Decision Coming?, was chosen as runner-up. The competition, founded in memory of one of the Environmental Law Section's founding members, Jon E. Hastings, is a juried competition for the best legal writing by a Tennessee law student on a topic of Tennessee or federal environmental law.

Former House Speaker Glen Casada and his one-time Chief of Staff Cade Cothren were indicted Tuesday on 20 federal charges ranging from money laundering to bribery, the Tennessean reports. The pair pleaded not guilty this morning during a hearing in federal court. Casada and Cothren stand accused of running a shadowy political consulting firm under a fake name to solicit General Assembly business and siphon off kickbacks for personal gain. Charges include theft from programs receiving federal funds, bribery and kickbacks, honest services wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, using a fictitious name to carry out a fraud and money laundering. The charges could carry up to 20 years in prison. The Tennessee Journal has the entire federal indictment.

The Judicial Ethics Committee last week released an advisory opinion addressing two issues. First, the committee concurred with a prior opinion which stated a judge should not have to recuse themselves in a contested matter when one or both of the litigants is a licensed attorney. The committee only issued a new opinion on the matter because the numbering of the Rules within the Code of Judicial Conduct has changed since the prior opinion was issued. Secondly, aside from narrow and specific circumstances in the Rules of Judicial Conduct, the committee found that the code does not require a judge to recuse themselves simply because an attorney is a member of the judge’s former law firm. Read the full opinion from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Johnson City commissioners last week approved a recommendation to close the city’s half-century old jail, which houses a declining number of incarcerated females, News Channel 11 reports. The city began housing women serving jail sentences in 2002 through a contract with the Tennessee Department of Corrections (TDOC), which paid $40.75 per day for each incarcerated woman. However, as the number of those incarcerated has declined – the jail averaged a census of just 48 as of June – the cost to house them has remained the same. “It does not serve a purpose for us to be in this space, especially when local taxpayers are no longer in a net gain position,” said Johnson City Mayor Joe Wise. In the recently ended fiscal year, expenses were roughly $36,000 higher than revenues. The jail is now set to close within weeks.

After 40 years of service, Germantown Municipal Court Judge Raymond Clift Jr. has announced he’ll be retiring from the bench effective Sept. 1, the Commercial Appeal reports. Clift became Germantown judge in 1982. Prior to that he was a public defender for Shelby County and was later Tennessee's assistant district attorney until 1972. He was Germantown alderman from 1978-1980. Germantown Mayor Mike Palazzolo said Clift’s legacy as judge “will be one of a deep commitment to the justice system, honor and the unparalleled ability to serve others with balance and fairness.” The Germantown Board of Mayor and Aldermen will appoint Clift's replacement to serve two years until the next election in 2024. The board will interview candidates for the position and hold a formal vote at a later date for the new judge.

Juvenile justice advocates in Shelby County are pushing for a “third way” when it comes to sentencing juveniles, Local Memphis reports. Currently, juveniles are either transferred to adult court, where they face major sentencing for violent crimes, or they are released when they turn age 19 and are no longer under juvenile court jurisdiction. Advocates argue that a “blended sentence” — which would allow juvenile sentences to be extended through age 21 — would offer a better chance of rehabilitation. State Rep. G.A. Hardaway, D-Memphis, said yesterday he will introduce legislation this fall to make the county a pilot program for a blended sentencing program.

Madison County General Sessions Judge Hugh Harvey was arrested Wednesday for driving under the influence and being in possession of a firearm, Action 5 News reports. He was taken to the Madison County jail Wednesday night and was transferred to the Chester County jail Thursday morning. A graduate of the University of Memphis School of Law, Harvey has served on the bench since 1998.

The Franklin Board of Mayor and Aldermen will hire a new city court judge next week after Judge Deana Hood announced her resignation effective Aug. 31. She has been appointed to serve as 21st Judicial District Circuit Court judge, the Williamson Herald reports. The city received 19 applications for the municipal judge, conducted first-round interviews with 15 interested individuals, and held second-round interviews with the top five candidates. Candidates were given a score based on their interviews and a writing assignment. The top five by score are: Jessica Borne, a former assistant district attorney who now works in private practice; Katie Zipper, a private practicing attorney in Franklin; attorney William Cohen; attorney Kim Thompson; and former public defender Vanessa Bryan.