Legal of Aid of East Tennessee (LAET) has announced the appointment of Debra House as the firm’s new executive director. House has served as interim director since January 2021. She joined LAET in 1988 as a staff attorney in the firm’s Cleveland office and then moved to the Knoxville office in 2007. She has held a number of roles over the past 33 years, most recently as director of development and compliance. In that capacity, House was responsible for LAET’s development department, pro bono program and marketing and branding efforts. House has been active in the Family Resource Agency in Cleveland, the Knoxville Family Justice Center and the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services. An active member of both the Knoxville and Tennessee Bar Associations, she currently co-chairs the KBA Access to Justice Committee. and serves in the TBA House of Delegates. LAET serves eligible residents of 26 counties from offices in Blountville, Chattanooga, Cleveland, Knoxville, Johnson City, Maryville and Morristown.

Tennesseans for Historical Justice, co-founded by Alamo lawyer Jim Emison, has launched a new podcast to advance the organization’s mission of uncovering the truth about racial violence and striving for transformation and healing. In the inaugural episode, board member David Johnson interviews Emison about what inspired him to found the group. Listen on Anchor or Spotify.

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday reinstated President Joe Biden's executive order mandating that federal civilian employees be vaccinated against COVID-19. By a 2-1 vote, a panel of the court lifted an injunction imposed by a district court judge in Texas in January, Reuters reports. Biden announced last fall that he would require about 3.5 million government workers to get vaccinated by Nov. 22 (barring a religious or medical accommodation) or face discipline or firing. Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked Biden's vaccination-or-testing mandate for large businesses but allowed a separate federal vaccine requirement for healthcare facilities to stand. Yahoo News has the story.

William T. Ridley was recently sworn in as Cumberland County General Sessions Judge after being appointed to the position by the Cumberland County Commission, the Crossville Chronicle reports. Following the vote, Chancellor Ronald Thurman administered the oath of office. Ridley will serve until Sept. 1, when a new judge is sworn in after the general election. He serves as attorney for the city of Crossville and is a candidate for the 13th Judicial District Circuit Court. He is unopposed in the May 3 primary and will be on the Aug. 4 ballot with incumbent Judge Amy Hollars. Steven C. Douglas, who served as general sessions judge from 1998 to 2006 and had indicated interest in the appointment, withdrew his name prior to the commission vote.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division, Belmont Law and Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands last week hosted an expungement clinic in Murfreesboro. The clinic was held in partnership with Murfreesboro Cold Patrol, a homelessness outreach organization. Nine attorneys and nine law students volunteered their time to serve individuals experiencing homelessness, facing expungement issues and needing advice on fee waivers and voting rights reinstatement. To get involved in future clinics, contact YLD Access to Justice Coordinator Alix Rogers.

The Davidson County Election Commission will take its legal battle over a 2021 anti-tax hike referendum to the Tennessee Supreme Court after voting 3-2 yesterday to appeal. The referendum at the center of the litigation included initiatives aimed at curbing Metro government's power to increase property taxes, the Tennessean reports. A trial court judge ruled against the commission last June and the Court of Appeals affirmed that decision in March. The Supreme Court previously declined to hear the case on an expedited basis, but commission attorneys say the case poses significant questions of law, which the high court may choose to hear under normal circumstances.

The state of Tennessee yesterday filed an emergency motion to stay a lower court ruling that blocked the General Assembly's Senate redistricting map and ordered the chamber to submit a new map in 15 days. In the appeal, Attorney General Herbert Slattery argued that those who brought suit over the redistricting map unnecessarily delayed in doing so. The injunction issued earlier in the day Thursday could result in “electoral chaos," Slattery said, since it came less than 24 hours before the candidate filing deadline for Senate legislative elections. The court extended that deadline to May 5, the Tennessean reports. Tennessee Democratic Party-backed plaintiffs sued over the map in February, arguing that the legislature unconstitutionally numbered Senate districts nonconsecutively.

Shelby County commissioners recently approved adding $10.9 million to the budget for renovating the former Shelby Training Center for the new Youth Justice and Education Center, which will house a courtroom, educational classrooms, gymnasium and detention facilities. That brings total funding for the project to $28 million, the Commercial Appeal reports. But some are concerned that the design of the building prioritizes incarceration over rehabilitation, News 5 reports. The current juvenile detention facility at 616 Adams has long drawn negative attention. A 2017 report noted that not all cells have natural light and that none are ADA accessible. Poor air conditioning and consistent mechanical problems also have caused issues over the years.

The Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation is seeking speakers for its annual educational conference set for Aug. 15-17 at the Embassy Suites in Murfreesboro. The bureau specifically is looking for engaging and informative presentations that can improve injury outcomes, cooperation between stakeholders and the quality and efficiency of the state workers' compensation system. Topics should be of interest to a potential audience of 400+ that will include employers and human resource representatives, employee representatives, plaintiff and defense attorneys, insurance carriers and adjusters, nurse case managers, risk managers, health care providers and safety professionals. Requests to present should be sent to tn.workcomp@tn.gov by May 13 and include the name(s) of the presenter(s), a summary of the topic(s) to be discussed, learning objectives and a biography of each presenter. Contact Jeff Francis, 615-253-6269 for more information.

A list of those who passed the February 2022 bar exam is now available. Check the TBA’s website for the complete list of successful applicants. The Tennessee Board of Law Examiners reports there were 105 first time test takers who had a 54.3% passage rate, while another 168 were repeat test takers. That group had pass rate of 32.1%.  See all statistics here.