The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee on March 23 declared Tennessee’s law requiring a license for an online auction to be unconstitutional. The case was brought by Beacon Center of Tennessee and Southeastern Legal Foundation on behalf of Will McLemore and Aaron McKee, two auctioneers who innovated the use of an online platform for auctioneering, and the Interstate Auction Association, an unincorporated association dedicated to innovation in auctioneering. Tennessee enacted the law in 2019, making it one of the first states in the country to impose a license on online auctions. Judge Eli Richardson ruled that the law violated the Constitution’s Commerce Clause by trying to regulate interstate commerce in the form of an internet style auction.

The Administrative Office of the Courts today reminded all Rule 31 Listed Mediators that they must renew their listing annually or the listing will lapse. The 2022 listing renewal season will close tomorrow. To continue as a Rule 31 Listed Mediator, submit a renewal application and renewal fee. A Rule 31 Mediator also must complete all six biennial Continuing Mediation Education (CME) hours if they are now due. A mediator whose credentials have lapsed for failure to comply with CME requirements must re-apply for listing. Get details about the renewal process.

As 20th Judicial District Circuit Court Judge David Randall Kennedy eyes his upcoming retirement in August, he is reflecting on his 19 years on the bench. From dealing with would-be country music stars to Zoom mishaps during the pandemic, Kennedy says serving on the court has been a blessing. He has handled “more conservator cases than any other judge in Tennessee” and says it is an honor to help those who can no longer care for themselves. Prior to being appointed to the court, Kennedy was in private practice at Kennedy & Brown. He also served two terms on the Metro Nashville Council. He earned his law degree from the Nashville School of Law in 1977. After Aug. 31, he says he will support his successor, spend quality time with his wife and travel more. The Administrative Office of the Courts looks back at his career.

Vanderbilt University this week named a new advisory board for its Project on Unity and American Democracy designed to help bridge the gap of political polarization in the United States. Chairing the board will be former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and two Vanderbilt faculty: presidential historian Jon Meacham and political science and law professor Samar Ali. Other members include former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, former U.S. Attorney General and current Belmont University Law School Dean Alberto Gonzales, Bill Clinton's former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles, former U.S. Ambassador to China and Washington state Gov. Gary Locke, and country music artists Martina McBride, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. Read more in a release from the school.

Tennessee Senior Judge Walter Kurtz today dismissed a motion to declare death row inmate Byron Black as intellectually disabled, News Channel 5 reports. Kurtz said that because federal courts had previously determined Black was not intellectually disabled, he was not eligible to have the decision considered again. Black’s attorneys had argued the 65-year-old should be spared, citing a 2021 law that made Tennessee’s prohibition against executing people with an intellectual disability retroactive. Black is scheduled to be executed on Aug. 18 for his murder convictions in the 1988 killings of his girlfriend and her daughters.

Nominations for the 2022 Judge Pamela L. Reeves Tennessee Professionalism Award are due next Monday. The annual award is presented by the Tennessee Bar Association and Tennessee’s American Inns of Court to a lawyer or judge whose life and practice display sterling character and unquestioned integrity, coupled with ongoing dedication to the highest standards of the rule of law and the highest standards of the legal profession in Tennessee. The award is presented to a lawyer or judge residing in the grand division of the state where the TBA's Annual Convention is held (this year, the Middle Grand Division). Nominees must be alive when their nomination is submitted but need not be an active member of an American Inn of Court or the TBA. The TBA Annual Convention will be held in Nashville the week of June 13.

Voting in the 2022 TBA election will end at 5 p.m. CDT on Friday. Access to the electronic ballot was emailed on March 1 and 22 from the email address TBA.Election@intelliscanvotes.com. Please check spam filters if you did not receive a ballot notification. Please reach out to elections@tnbar.org by the close of business on Thursday if a ballot is still needed.

Nominations for the TBA's Fourth Estate Award: Honoring Courageous Reporting on Justice and the Law are due Thursday. This year’s prize includes a $250 honorarium for the winner. The TBA strongly supports the freedom of expression under the First Amendment, as exercised by lawyers on behalf of their clients and by journalists on behalf of the public. It particularly wants to recognize and encourage journalists who promote public understanding of the rule of law and our system of justice through their vigorous exercise of First Amendment rights. Nominees may be individuals or teams of Tennessee-based journalists who worked on  published stories. For more information, contact TBA Assistant Executive Director Barry Kolar.

U.S. News & World Report has unveiled its 2023 Best Law Schools rankings with one big change this year: for the first time since 1990, Harvard Law School is no longer in the top three. In this latest ranking, Harvard now ties Columbia Law School for fourth place. University of Chicago Law School took Harvard’s place, after having tied Columbia for fourth place last year. The only Tennessee school to make the Top 50, Vanderbilt University Law School, dropped one position from last year, from number 16 to 17. The University of Tennessee College of Law ranked just outside the Top 50 with a score of 56, while Belmont University College of Law came in at 133 and the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law came in at 142. LMU Duncan School of Law was unranked beyond the #147-192 category. Read more about the rankings from Above the Law or see the full list from U.S. News & World Report.

The Tennessee Bar Association Academy offers an exciting opportunity for a limited number of Tennessee attorneys to be admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court. The 2022 admission ceremony will take place Oct. 4 at the court in Washington, D.C. In addition to taking part in the private ceremony, participants will be invited to a TBA President's Reception and a special celebration dinner, and receive three hours of prepaid credits to use for future CLE programming. The group will stay at the Hay Adams Hotel, where a block of rooms has been reserved at the discounted rate of $345 a night. The cost to register is $725 for TBA members and $300 for guests. Those interested in participating should complete this online form by June 1. Applicants will be considered on a first-come basis and will be contacted to confirm their interest and complete the application process.