The Tennessee Supreme Court is seeking comments on a petition from the Nashville Bar Association that the court amend Rule 21 section 3.01(a) to require that two hours of the continuing education required annually be dedicated to diversity topics. The NBA filed the petition with the court on Aug. 28. Comments should be submitted by Dec. 30. The court reports that it has already received comments in support of the petition from the Tennessee Employment Lawyers Association and the Center for Excellence in Decision-Making.

The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear four cases on Wednesday and will livestream oral arguments to its YouTube channel. The cases are In re Neveah M, an expedited appeal that examines the grounds for termination of parental rights; Snake Steel Inc. v. Holladay Construction Group LLC, which involves retainage fees and statutory penalties under Tennessee’s Prompt Pay Act; State of Tennessee v. Shalonda Weems, in which the state is appealing a Court of Criminal Appeal’s decision to set aside a jury conviction for aggravated child neglect; and State of Tennessee v. Samantha Grissom Scott, in which the defendant is seeking to invalidate a search warrant and evidence obtained during the search, arguing that her consent to search the home was involuntary.

The Tennessee Supreme Court Administrative Office of the Courts and Access to Justice Commission, Tennessee Housing Development Agency and Tennessee Department of Human Services will host a first-of-its-kind virtual eviction summit on Oct. 1 to help facilitate solutions across the state to address the coming residential eviction crisis. According to organizers, the free event is designed for all stakeholders in the eviction process, including judges, court clerks, attorneys, tenants, landlords, mediators, law students and law school faculty, nonprofits, social workers, homelessness prevention and assistance agencies, legislators, and state and local government employees. The program will begin at 10 a.m. CDT. Register here to watch on Zoom. Morning plenary sessions will be livestreamed on YouTube and can be watched there without registering.

A TBA petition to amend Rule 13 and permit interim billing by appointed counsel for indigent parties in non-capital cases was denied today by a Tennessee Supreme Court order. The court said that although it is aware of and appreciates the financial burdens placed on appointed counsel, especially during the current state of emergency, it must deny the petition because, “The requested amendments to Rule 13 would require significant and costly additions in personnel and technology by the Administrative Office of the Courts at a time when the number of claims continues to grow and when, as the TBA notes, additional funding for indigent defense has not been available.” The court committed to “continue to monitor and seek out ways in which to improve and expand in the indigent defense area.”

The Tennessee Supreme Court today entered an order permanently disbarring Jacki “Jack” L. Garton from practicing law in Tennessee. Garton, a Dickson County lawyer, was trustee for a trust set up to provide for the daughter of state trooper Todd Larkins, who was killed by a tractor-trailer truck in 2005. The trust contained over $2 million from the settlement of a wrongful death lawsuit. Garton began quietly disbursing trust monies to himself in the form excessive fees, ultimately misappropriating more than $1 million from the trust. In 2019, Garton was convicted of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and tax fraud and the Tennessee Supreme Court suspended his law license. The Board of Professional Responsibility later recommended disbarring Garton. The high court agreed and today disbarred Garton. Under a new rule, attorneys disbarred on or after July 1 of this year are not eligible for reinstatement and are “permanently” disbarred. They cannot ask the court to reinstate their license and will never again practice law in the state. Read more on the Administrative Office of the Courts website.

The Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services today announced its 2020 Access to Justice award winners. Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Cornelia A. Clark is the 2020 Janice M. Holder Access to Justice Award recipient; Spring Miller of Vanderbilt Law School and Emily Stotts of the Community Legal Center’s Immigrant Justice are the 2020 B. Riney Green honorees; and Danielle Woods, Managing Attorney for Pro Bono Programs at Memphis Area Legal Services is the 2020 New Advocate of the Year. TALS’ annual Equal Justice University conference kicks off virtually tomorrow. This year’s theme, “Resilient Justice: Building Resilience & Ensuring Justice,” reflects a focus on equipping participants to advance justice during these unprecedented times. Each ATJ award will be presented virtually during this event. View the conference agenda here.  

A petition filed with the Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday asks the court to reconsider its decision on July 21 to reject a request from 2020 bar examination applicants to waive the bar exam requirement and grant diploma privilege. The court said at the time it did not believe the measure was in the interest of the public and the administration of justice. The new petition, brought on behalf of a 2020 Mississippi College School of Law graduate, argues that events since the July ruling now “raise series questions about whether the current plan for administering an online Admission Assessment is fair to applicants and likely to actually test in any meaningful way whether those taking the examination have the skills necessary to practice law, serve the public well, and avoid harm.”

The Tennessee Supreme Court adopted an order today soliciting written comments on proposed amendments to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9, Section 27.4. The changes pertain to the status of an attorney seeking to transfer to disability inactive status during the course of disciplinary proceedings, according to the court. Comments are due by Oct. 1 and should be emailed to appellatecourtclerk@tncourts.gov or sent to Clerk James M. Hivner, Tennessee Appellate Courts, 100 Supreme Court Building, 401 7th Ave. N., Nashville, TN 37219-1407.

The Nashville Bar Association filed a petition with the Tennessee Supreme Court today to require two hours of continuing legal education each year in the areas of diversity, inclusion, equity and elimination of bias. The association argues that mandatory training on these issues will (1) help lawyers understand the impact of racism, discrimination and implicit bias in the legal system, (2) enhance cultural competence, (3) aid in efforts to root out and dismantle systemic racism and other forms of discrimination that deny equal justice to all, and (4) encourage broader engagement and participation in these efforts by lawyers.

The Tennessee Supreme Court last week released its proposed 2021 Rules Amendment Package, recommending changes to the Rules of Appellate Procedure and Rules of Civil Procedure. It is accepting comments on the proposed amendments through Nov. 30. Comments should reference “2021 Rules Package No. ADM2020-01016" and be emailed to appellatecourtclerk@tncourts.gov or sent by mail to Clerk James Hivner, 100 Supreme Court Building, 401 7th Av. N. Nashville, TN 37219-1407.