The Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday issued an order extending the deadline for comments on a proposal to change the requirements for comity. Comments for all parties, except the Board of Law Examiners, is now Aug. 12. Under a previous order, the board has until Aug. 19 to file its comments. The proposal, submitted by The Network of Enlightened Women, would amend Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 7, Section 5.01(c) to remove the requirement that a lawyer maintain a full time law practice or full time law school teaching position. Comments should reference the docket number and be e-mailed or mailed to: James M. Hivner, Clerk, Tennessee Appellate Courts, 100 Supreme Court Building, 401 7th Ave. North, Nashville, TN 37219.

An attorney who passed the Uniform Bar Exam and is licensed to practice in New York is asking the Tennessee Supreme Court to step in after the Tennessee Board of Law Examiner denied her request to transfer her bar score to Tennessee, the Nashville Post reports. Violaine Panasci moved to Nashville in 2021 after being hired by Chattanooga-based Rockridge Venture Law. She previously earned a master of laws degree at Pace University in New York, where she passed the bar and was licensed to practice. Panasci attended college and law school in Canada. The board determined that her Canadian education was not “substantially equivalent” to an American legal education. In legal filings, Panasci notes that more than 100 similarly situated attorneys have been admitted to practice in Tennessee. She is represented by former U.S. Attorney Bill Killian. The Goldwater Institute, the Beacon Center of Tennessee and the Southeastern Legal Foundation have filed a brief arguing Panasci has a constitutional right to earn a living. Read the group’s arguments in this article from Attorney at Law magazine. Read Panasci's petition and brief, the state's response, petition to file an amicus brief and docket information.

The Tennessee Supreme Court unanimously voted yesterday to reverse a Davidson County trial court’s calculation of attorney fees. The trial court had sought to limit the award of attorneys fees to a homeowner who had sued a contractor over work she found to be unsatisfactory. The contractor had countersued alleging breach of contract and then amended his suit to increase the amount of damages being sought. The trial court dismissed the contractor’s suit and the homeowner sought attorneys fees. The court limited the fee to legal work done after the amended countersuit was filed. The Supreme Court reversed saying the legislature allowed attorneys fees to discourage frivolous claims. Because the amended countersuit contained the same breach of contract claim as the original, the court said the homeowner should be able to collect the full amount of fees allowed under law. Read more from the court or access the opinion.

The Tennessee Supreme Court agreed last week to hear arguments in an ongoing lawsuit over reinstating voting rights to residents with out-of-state felony convictions, the Tennessean reports. Tennesseans with prior in-state felony convictions can restore their rights in a few ways, including by having their citizenship restored by fulfilling their obligations through paying court costs and restitution. In theory, the same pathway is open to everyone equally. But some newer Tennesseans with out-of-state felonies never had court costs to pay and court documents show they've struggled to prove their eligibility. The lawsuit, filed in 2020, argues the distinction is illegal and should be blocked in the courts.

The Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday extended the deadline for comments on a proposal to change comity requirements to Aug. 19 for one filer: the Board of Law Examiners. For all other comments, the deadline remains July 25. The court said it approved the extension at the request of the board. The proposed rule change was submitted by The Network of Enlightened Women. It would amend Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 7, Section 5.01(c) to remove the requirement that lawyers maintain a full-time law practice or full-time law school teaching position. Comments should be submitted to James M. Hivner, Clerk, Tennessee Appellate Courts, 100 Supreme Court Building, 401 7th Ave. North, Nashville, TN 37219-1407. Read the original petition.

The City of Franklin has announced it will rename Fourth Avenue downtown to honor late Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Cornelia “Connie” Clark, the Williamson Herald reports. Clark, a Franklin native, lived on Fourth Avenue for many years. “It is with great honor that we give Fourth Avenue the honorary name after Justice Clark,” Franklin Mayor Dr. Ken Moore said. “Justice Clark gave so much to our Franklin community, and she will always be remembered for all she achieved for Franklin and Tennessee.” A street naming event will be held on June 21 at Fourth Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. The block from North Margin Street to MLK Jr. Avenue will be closed, and parking will be available on MLK Jr. Avenue.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has declined to rehear the challenge to Gov. Bill Lee’s school voucher program, the Tennessean reports. Metro Nashville and Shelby County governments petitioned the high court earlier this month to review its decision that the Education Savings Account was not in violation of the state’s “Home Rule Amendment.” In an order issued today, the Supreme Court said it had thoroughly reviewed the petition. "The Court previously considered the issues raised in the petition in the course of its resolution of the appeal," the order stated. "The petition, therefore, is respectfully denied." No word yet from the Governor’s Office or the Department of Education on when they will implement the program.

The Knoxville Bar Association announced this week that it will seek its members’ input on whether they support retaining the justices of the Tennessee Supreme Court and judges on the Court of Appeals and Court of Criminal Appeals. The Appellate Court Retention Election Candidate Member Survey will be released June 13 with responses due on June 27. The KBA notes that the survey is voluntary and does not represent a scientific sampling of members. Tennesseans will vote on whether to retain these jurists on Aug. 4. The KBA says it provides feedback from lawyers to help voters assess those on the ballot and make wise choices in the elections.

The Tennessee Supreme Court unanimously held today that the Tennessee Republican Party and its State Executive Committee did not violate the Tennessee Open Meetings Act when they determined that Robby Starbuck would not be added to the ballot in the upcoming primary election for the U.S. House of Representatives 5th Congressional District because the law did not apply. The court found that the party was acting as a state executive committee when it determined Starbuck was not a bona fide Republican and removed him from the ballot. The Open Meetings Act applies to state boards but not to state executive committees, the court said.

The Tennessee Supreme Court in a unanimous decision issued today clarified the appropriate legal standard to be applied in post-conviction cases involving allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel due to counsel failing to seek suppression of evidence on Fourth Amendment grounds. The court ruled in the case of Tommie Phillips v. State of Tennessee that such claims must meet a three-prong test to proceed: prove that a suppression motion would have been meritorious, that counsel’s failure to file such a motion was objectively unreasonable, and that, but for counsel’s objectively unreasonable omission, there is a reasonable probability that the verdict would have been different absent the excludable evidence. In this specific case, the court found that Phillips failed to establish a successful claim of ineffective assistance of counsel.