The Memphis Bar Association has announced it will host a portrait unveiling for retired Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Janice M. Holder on Jan. 13. The event will take place at 2 p.m. CST at the Judge D’Army Bailey Courthouse, Second Floor, South Corridor, 140 Adams Avenue, Memphis. A reception will follow. Those interested in attending are asked to RSVP by Jan. 6 to info@memphisbar.org or 901-527-3573.

The Tennessee Supreme Court issued an order last week seeking comments on a petition filed by the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners asking the court to amend Supreme Court Rules 6 and 7. The board states in its petition that the proposed amendments “reflect changes to processes adopted during the pandemic that positively impact the licensing and admissions process” and respond to the “changing nature of the practice of law.” More specifically, the petition recommends changes regarding remote legal education, administration of the bar exam and how “active practice of law” is counted by the board. Comments should be submitted by Jan. 20, 2023, to Clerk James M. Hivner by email or mail to Tennessee Appellate Courts, 100 Supreme Court Building, 401 7th Ave. North, Nashville, TN 37219-1407. Comments should reference docket number ADM2022-01449.

Retiring Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee will be remembered as a bold dissenter, former Knoxville News Sentinel associate editor Georgia Vines writes in a recent column. Lee wrote so many dissenting opinions in 2017 that the Knoxville Bar Association wrote a story about it, Vines says. Some of those involved majority opinions that Lee believed provided inadequate constitutional protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, deprived parents facing termination of their rights the effective assistance of counsel, and erected barriers for inmates’ access to the courts. Vines also looks at a paper written in 2020 by a Nashville School of Law student who examined the overarching themes of Lee’s dissents. Lee, the longest-serving judge on the Tennessee Supreme Court, will retire on Aug. 31, 2023.

The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments is now accepting applications for the Tennessee Supreme Court vacancy that will be created by the retirement of Justice Sharon G. Lee on Aug. 31, 2023. Interested applicants must be licensed attorneys who are at least 35 years of age, residents of the state for five years and a resident of the Eastern Tennessee Grand Division. Applicants must complete the designated application and submit it to the Administrative Office of the Courts by noon CST on Dec. 12. Applicants will be interviewed on Jan. 4 at the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy in Knoxville. Complete application instructions are available on the Administrative Office of the Courts website.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Nov. 22 suspended McMinn County lawyer Joseph H. Crabtree Jr. from the practice of law for three years, with one year to be served on active suspension and the remainder on probation. During the first year of probation, the court directed Crabtree to engage a practice monitor at his own expense. It also conditioned reinstatement on Crabtree completing six hours of continuing legal education on ethics and six hours on law office management, paying restitution to two former clients, and reimbursing the Tennessee Lawyers Fund for Client Protection for any payments to complainants. The court took the action after finding that Crabtree’s conduct violated Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1, 1.3, 1.4, 1.8 (h), 3.2, 3.4 (c) ,8.1 (b) and 8.4 (a), (c) and (d). The court explains why it rejected the Board of Professional Responsibility's recommendation for discipline as "inadequate" in this opinion.

Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Jeffery S. Bivins recently was presented the Distinguished Alumnus in Public Service Award by his college alma mater, East Tennessee State University (ETSU). Bivins graduated from ETSU in 1982 with a bachelor degree in political science and a minor in criminal justice, the Elizabethton Star reports. Bivins graduated from Vanderbilt University School of Law in 1986. He practiced law with Boult, Cummings, Conners & Berry PLC in Nashville and was assistant commissioner and general counsel for the Tennessee Department of Personnel before joining the bench. He served as a circuit court judge for the 21st Judicial District and then as a judge on the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. Bivins was appointed to the Tennessee Supreme Court in 2014. In 2016, his colleagues elected him chief justice, a position he held until 2021.

The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled today that Tennessee’s mandatory sentence of life in prison when imposed on a juvenile homicide offender is cruel and unusual punishment and violates the juvenile’s rights as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. In a narrow ruling, the court did not change Tyshon Booker’s sentence, but granted him a parole hearing after he has served between 25 and 36 years in prison so that his age and other circumstances can be considered at that time. Booker, who was 16 at the time, was convicted by a Knox County jury of first-degree felony murder and especially aggravated robbery. He was sentenced to a mandatory life sentence of 60 years for the murder and 20 years for the robbery, to run concurrently. The Court of Criminal Appeals had affirmed the convictions and sentence.

The Tennessee Supreme Court issued an order seeking comments on a proposal from the Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission to increase the number of course hours for family mediators who wish to obtain the designation “Specifically Trained in Domestic Violence Issues.” The proposal from the commission would amend Rule 31(14)(g) to increase the required training from 12 to 16 hours. Comments should be submitted by Jan. 17, 2023, and reference docket number ADM2022-01538.

An order issued yesterday by the Tennessee Supreme Court altered the requirements for meetings of the Tennessee Lawyers Fund for Client Protection. The amendment to Rule 25, Section 5.01 states there will “be no personal appearances except upon request of the Board” or “written authorization of the Board Chair, pursuant to a written request” that is submitted 14 days prior to the meeting.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today reappointed two members of its Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission to second terms. Lori Thomas Reid and J. Marcus Rudolph will each serve another three-year term that will expire on Jan. 9, 2026. The high court noted it was reappointing Reid and Rudolph “because of their outstanding contributions to the Commission.” Read the order.