Publication of a leaked Supreme Court draft majority opinion suggests the court is ready to strike down the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. Written by Justice Samuel Alito the draft opinion was published Monday night by POLITICO, which called it an unflinching repudiation of the 1973 decision. “We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” Alito writes in the document, labeled as the “Opinion of the Court.” “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.” The Supreme Court confirmed the authenticity of the draft, but noted it could change before it is finalized, the New York Times reports. In Tennessee, Nashville public radio station WPLN offered an outline of what might happen in the state if the draft ruling is adopted by the court. 

The Knoxville Bar Foundation will induct 12 new members at its annual reception on June 9. The new class represent quality practitioners in the community who have distinguished themselves in the practice of law and service. This year’s class includes: Catherine W. Anglin of Paine | Tarwater | Bickers LLP; George R. Arrants Jr. and William J. Carver of Kramer Rayson LLP; John G. Brock of Brock Shipe Klenk; William D. Edwards of Long, Ragsdale & Waters PC; Robert B. Frost Jr. of Arnett, Draper & Hagood LLP; Lisa J. Hall of Hodges, Doughty & Carson PLLC; Raymond G. Lewallen Jr. of Baker, O'Kane & Thompson PLLP; Magistrate Jill E. McCook of the U.S. District Court; Eric J. Morrison of Lipsey, Morrison, Waller & Lipsey PC; Jennifer B. Morton of Jennifer Morton Law PLLC; and L. Caesar Stair IV of Bernstein, Stair & McAdams LLP.

The position of First District Governor (three-year term) will be filled by the Tennessee Board of Governors at its meeting on June 18. In accordance with Article 47 of the TBA Bylaws, the board may fill the vacancy at its 2022 meeting. The First District Governor represents Carter, Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger, Greene, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins, Jefferson, Johnson, Sevier, Sullivan, Unicoi and Washington counties. If you would like to be considered for this position, email TBA Executive Director Joycelyn Stevenson with your interest by June 1. Please include a resume with your submission as well as any other information that you would like considered by the TBA Board of Governors.

Judge James G. Martin III will be honored next month with the Tennessee Bar Association’s (TBA) prestigious Justice Frank F. Drowota III Award. Given to a judge or judicial branch official of a federal, state or local court in Tennessee who has demonstrated extraordinary devotion and dedication to the improvement of the law, the legal system and the administration of justice, the award is the TBA’s highest award for service to the judiciary as exemplified by the career of former Supreme Court Justice Frank F. Drowota III – the award’s first recipient. This year's award will be presented June 17 during the TBA Convention in Nashville. Judge Martin practiced law in Middle Tennessee for more than 30 years before being appointed to the Tennessee Circuit Court, 21st Judicial District, Division II. Read more about his career and the award.

Kristin Priesol Smart has been named the new director of communications and engagement for the Nashville School of Law, the Nashville Post reports. Smart has 20 years of media experience, most recently as a public relations specialist and local news director at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Prior to that, she was a reporter at WTVF NewsChannel 5 in Nashville. She’ll now be responsible for the law school’s marketing strategies, media relations, event planning and internal communications.

The ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar on Monday released new data on the bar exam results of various racial and ethnic groups and genders. According to the report, white candidates who took a bar exam for the first time in 2021 had the highest pass rate, 85%. For people of other races or ethnicities, the first-time pass rate ranged from 47% to 84%. The data also examines what is known as an “ultimate pass rate.” It is based on graduating classes from two years ago, which for this year is 2019. Deborah Merritt, a recently retired professor who taught at the Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law, said there are “stark differences” in pass rates by race and ethnicity from 2019 and 2021. Merritt says the current bar exam requires expensive prep classes and ability to put off everything except bar study, essentially making the exam “a test of financial resources—and graduates of color have fewer financial resources, on average, than white graduates.” The ABA Journal has more on the story.

The Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance, the Tennessee Motor Vehicle Commission, the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office, and the Tennessee Department of Revenue are altering consumers to problems related to the online purchase of vehicles in Tennessee. Buyers have filed complaints about purchased vehicles arriving with damage not disclosed in the online ad and some have experienced problems obtaining a clear title and registering vehicles purchased online. With few remedies available to consumers who purchase a vehicle online from an unlicensed seller, Attorney General Herbert Slatery is urging the public to “Take your time, check for a license before you buy.” The AG's Office has more. 

James L. Weatherly and Jacqueline B. Dixon, partners at Nashville’s Weatherly & Dixon PLLC, have merged their law firm with Lewis Thomason PC. Weatherly, who was elected public defender for Metro Nashville-Davidson County from 1982-86, practiced more than 20 years with the firm of Hollins, Wagster & Yarbrough. His practice now includes criminal defense, family law, personal injury and general civil litigation. Dixon, a past president of the Tennessee Bar Association, has more than 35 years of experience in the areas of family law, wills, estates, probate, personal injury and other types of civil litigation as well as appellate work. She is also a family law mediator. Read the full release from Lewis Thomason.

All five executions scheduled for this year have been paused by Gov. Bill Lee as the state awaits a third-party review of lethal injection protocols in Tennessee, WPLN reports. Lee stopped the execution of Oscar Smith on April 21 after discovering the lethal injection medication hadn’t gone through all the quality tests that are required. That incident prompted Lee to order an independent review of that case and of the policy manual used in executions and relevant staffing issues at the Department of Corrections. Former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee and Butler Snow attorney Edward Stanton III has been tapped to conduct the review. “The death penalty is an extremely serious matter,” Lee said. “I expect the Tennessee Department of Correction to leave no question that procedures are correctly followed.”

In celebration of Law Day 2022, the American Bar Association today unveiled results from its Fourth Annual ABA Survey of Civic Literacy. The survey measures the American public’s civics knowledge as well as their views on a range of topical issues. This year’s results include public opinion on proposed changes to voting requirements, why people say they vote and whether they think their vote makes a difference. The survey was released during a program today featuring NBC News correspondent Yamiche Alcindor, NAACP Legal Defense Fund President Janai S. Nelson, former chair of ABA Section of Civil Rights & Social Justice Wendy K. Mariner, and Phillip J. Strach, a litigator in redistricting cases.