Davidson County Circuit Court Judge Joe Binkley on Wednesday dismissed a defamation lawsuit against former congressional candidate Lou Ann Zelenik. The lawsuit had been filed against her by U.S. Rep. Diane Black’s husband, David, regarding statements made in a campaign ad about his firm, Aegis Sciences. The Tennesseean reports that the firm says it will appeal the ruling.

With the dust settling on Tuesday's upset victory of Nashville attorney Rachel Bell over incumbent Davidson County General Sessions Judge Mike Jameson, commentators are looking at how Bell did what she did. Many have concluded that sheer hard work and being out in the community whenever possible had a lot to do with her success. Though Jameson held advantages in name recognition, incumbency and finances, Bell managed to increase her visibility and name recognition through personal appearances, robo-calls and signs on trucks and MTA buses. Asked about her strategy Bell said, "I did everything I could to be everywhere I could every day." The Tennessean has more

State election officials have apologized to former congressman Lincoln Davis, blaming a "clerical error" for his being turned away from a voting station in his home county of Fentress yesterday. Davis, who lost his 4th Congressional District seat in 2010, said he was denied the right to vote in the Pall Mall community, where he has been voting since 1964. The state election coordinator explained that Davis was inadvertently deleted from the rolls in Fentress County because he is listed as eligible to vote in city elections in Pickett County, where he also owns property. Learn more in the Times Free Press

Ed Stanton Jr. moved a step closer to making his temporary job as Shelby County General Sessions Court clerk permanent, narrowly winning the Democratic primary with 37 percent of the vote over Sidney Chism, who received 36 percent. Five Democrats, including incumbent Otis Jackson, were on Tuesday's ballot. Jackson, indicted on charges of ordering employees to contribute to his re-election campaign, trailed with 15 percent of the vote. Stanton will face Republican primary winner Rick Rout, who prevailed over James R. Finney, and independent candidate Patricia McWright Jackson in the August general election. In the race for district attorney general, incumbent Amy Weirich, a Republican, and Carol Chumney, a Democrat, ran unopposed in the primary and will face off in August. The Commercial Appeal has the story

The Tennessee Secretary of State's Office is backing up the vote of Nashville Judge Barbara Haynes, whose state identification was briefly questioned by a poll worker when she voted yesterday. The issue created confusion among members of the Senate State & Local Government Committee during a hearing this morning, when Haynes' husband Sen. Joe Haynes, D-Nashville, mentioned the incident. Responding to the question, Blake Fortenay, spokesperson for Secretary of State Tre Hargett, confirmed that a judge's ID is a valid form of state identification. The Examiner.com reports

Phillip Robinson, appointed Davidson County Circuit Court judge two weeks ago, won an easy victory in the Democratic primary for that position yesterday, beating attorney Stan Kweller by a near 3-to-1 spread. Gov. Bill Haslam appointed Robinson to the judgeship on Feb. 23 to fill the seat vacated by Judge Barbara Haynes. Robinson will face independent candidate John Heacock, a private attorney, in the general election. The Nashville City Paper has more

Hawkins County Judge James "Jay" Taylor finished third in the race for General Sessions judge yesterday. In February, Taylor declined to respond to four formal theft charges filed by the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary, and agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations executed a search warrant of his office. The victor, Todd Ross, defeated Taylor and a third nominee, Buddy Baird, with 49 percent of the vote. Tri-cities.com has the story

Mike Binkley, an attorney who touted celebrity endorsements during his campaign, easily led a three-way contest for the circuit court in Williamson County. But it may have been his critique of Derek Smith's lack of civil trial experience that put him over the top in yesterday's primary. Smith, a career prosecutor who was appointed to the seat in December by Gov. Bill Haslam, had sought to hold on to the seat in the three-way race with Binkley and Judy Oxford. No one qualified to run on the Democratic ticket, which means Binkley will run uncontested in August. The Tennessean reports

All the name recognition, political connections and support from the legal community didn’t help former Nashville Metro Councilman Mike Jameson win the General Sessions judgeship he sought. Instead, attorney Rachel Bell, hoping to bring diversity and transparency to Davidson County’s legal system, won the Democratic primary spot yesterday and will go on to face independent Michael H. Rowan in the August general election. If elected, Bell would be only the second black female judge in Nashville. The Tennessean has the story

The race for Knox County law director so far has been gentlemanly, reports the Knoxville News Sentinel. But as it gets closer to Election Day, the two candidates have started making pointed comments about each other. Richard "Bud" Armstrong, who is challenging Joe Jarret for the position, says he questions Jarret's management and legal skills and his knowledge of Tennessee law saying, "I'm not against Joe because he's not from around here. But, he's just not a good law director because he's not from around here." For his part, Jaret points out that Armstrong has only been licensed to practice law for four years and is not yet licensed to practice in federal court. Read more in the News Sentinel