The Tennessee Public Defenders Conference recently held its annual training conference, during which it presented the inaugural “Mike Carter Award” to Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Bivins, Chattanoogan.com reports. The award, previously known as the “Friend of the Public Defender Award” was recently renamed for former state Rep. Mike Carter, whose widow was on hand to present the award to Bivins for courageous leadership as chief justice during the COVID-19 pandemic. Carter previously served as a Hamilton County General Sessions Court judge from 1997 to 2005, and as a legislator, championed legislation to create the Public Defenders Conference. He represented the Chattanooga area in the state House for nine years. He died from pancreatic cancer in May. Read more in a press release from the conference.

The Tennessee Supreme Court recently granted review to five cases. The latest issue of the Raybin Supreme Court Hot List reviews the cases, which raise issues involving the Health Care Liability Act, opinion testimony of expert defendants, the criminal savings statute, prosecutorial misconduct, and arrests outside of officers’ jurisdiction.

Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery on Monday criticized a proposed ballot initiative that would require the state AG be confirmed by state lawmakers after being selected by the Supreme Court, the Associated Press reports. Speaking to the Nashville Rotary Club, Slatery said it “would be a shame” to make the position a “political office.” Slatery said the measure would allow involvement by companies under investigation by the attorney general’s office and worried could leave the attorney general position empty for months due to when annual legislative sessions take place. “Legislators will then be lobbied and the Supreme Court would have to say, ‘Instead of the top lawyer, we’ve got to be sure, we’ve got to get somebody who can actually be confirmed, that the legislators will like,’” Slatery said. The amendment would also cut the AG’s term from eight to six years.

The Tennessee Supreme Court issued an order Friday amending Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 21, section 8.02(a), to require that all CLE providers offering education for lawyers in Tennessee file credits electronically. The order also changes the filing fees. Providers will now pay a fee of $2 per approved credit hour for each attendee. The rule previously set a rate of $1 per credit hour for those filed electronically and $2 per credit hour for those filed by paper. The rule took effect immediately. Remember you can earn all of your CLE with TBA, which will also handle all filing for you!

Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Cornelia "Connie" Clark lay in state today in the capitol's Old Supreme Court room. A rotation of Tennessee State Troopers watched over her casket as it was visited by friends, family and members of the state’s legal community. Her casket was draped with the state flag and a skirt of crushed deep red velvet. Clark, the first active member of the judiciary to lie in state, died last week after a short battle with cancer. Her visitation will be held tomorrow from 2 until 7 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church in Franklin and again from 10 to 11:30 a.m. CDT at the church Friday with the funeral to follow at noon. Read more from the Tennessean. 

In recognition of her lifetime of service, Gov. Bill Lee today issued a proclamation declaring Sept. 29 as a date to honor Clark. “Justice Cornelia A. Clark, an eighth-generation native of Williamson County, is one such notable Tennessean who will be forever remembered for her dedicated service as a judge and her role as one of our state's most influential legal minds,” the proclamation states. Read more from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Cornelia “Connie” Clark will tomorrow become the first active member of the judiciary to lie in state at the Tennessee State Capitol. Clark will also become only the second woman to lie in state, following the late Sen. Thelma Harper, who died in April. Only three Tennesseans have been provided with the honor in the past 88 years. Clark, a member of the judicial branch for more than 30 years, died Sept. 24 after a short battle with cancer. She will lie in state tomorrow from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. CDT. Read more on this story from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

The TBA filed a petition with the Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday asking the court to create a new Rule 31B that would govern voluntary arbitration in domestic relations cases. The petition was drafted by the TBA Family Law Section Executive Council. Read the petition as well as four exhibits: Exhibit A New Rule 31B to Current Rule 31; Exhibit B Proposed Amendment to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 31A Striking References to “Non-Binding Family Law Cases”; Exhibit C Proposed Amendments to Tenn. Code Ann. 36-3-501 and Tenn. Code Ann. 36-4-136 Rule 31B Arbitration; and Exhibit D List of Petition Recipients.

Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Page today signed off on two orders confirming the election of Justices Holly Kirby and Jeff Bivins to the Supreme Court Building Commissions of two cities. Kirby will serve on the Jackson commission and Bivins was elected to serve on the Nashville commission. As a result of his new role as chief justice, Page is now chair of the Jackson Supreme Court Building Commission. According to the State Courts website, the commissions control the three Supreme Court buildings in Nashville, Knoxville and Jackson.

The Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services (TALS) today honored the Tennessee Supreme Court for its response to the COVID-19 pandemic during the first day of the organization’s Equal Justice University (EJU) conference. The conference, held virtually this year, kicked off with a video of TALS Board and EJU Chair DarKenya Waller and TALS Executive Director Ann Pruitt delivering a special memento to Justice Jeff Bivins, who served as chief justice for the majority of the pandemic. Waller and Pruitt praised Bivins for his leadership of the court, and its work to keep state courts open and accessible during the pandemic. They presented Bivins with a personalized COVID can opener, adding that, just like Bivins, “it has all the tools to keep everything open.” Watch the full video on the Tennessee State Courts website.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today issued an order reappointing the following individuals to the Advisory Commission on the Rules of Practice and Procedure: Andrèe Blumstein, Eugene Bulso, Bo Burk, Michael Carter, Mark Fulks, Aaron Hall and Timothy Mickel. The court noted that the terms for these members were set to expire on Dec. 31. The new terms will run through June 30, 2022.