Hundreds of students, parents and advocates gathered outside the Tennessee State Capitol on Monday, calling for gun reform after the Jan. 22 fatal shooting at Antioch High School in Nashville, where 16-year-old Josselin Corea Escalante was killed. According to the Nashville Post, attendees, including members of Escalante’s family, criticized the lack of school safety discussions in the special legislative session that began the same day. The Tennessean reports that the special session will consider $470 million in Hurricane Helene relief, a $447 million statewide school choice voucher program and new a state immigration enforcement entity. In preparation for the session, House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, named six special committees to consider seven bills that have been filed, according to the Tennessee Journal. The Senate plans to keep its existing committee structure for the special session. During debate on the special session rules, Democrats criticized the adoption of a "flow motion" proposal, allowing bills to potentially go from committee to a vote in the same day, claiming the shortened timeframe does not provide enough time to review proposals. The session is set to wrap up by the end of the week, with the House scheduled to return to normal operations by Feb. 3. The Senate plans to reconvene on Feb. 10 in time for Gov. Bill Lee's State of the State address.

Shelby County commissioners on Monday announced the process and timeline for filling a vacancy that will be created with the March 1 retirement of Shelby County General Sessions Criminal Court Judge Bill Anderson. The Daily Memphian reports that the commission will consider a resolution setting a deadline of Feb. 12 for attorneys to apply for appointment, and then interview applicants on Feb. 19 and make the appointment at its Feb. 25 meeting. Under the proposed process, the appointee will serve until the winner of an August 2026  special election, which will appear on the county general election ballot, is certified. The winner of the election will serve out the remainder of Anderson’s eight-year term, which began in September 2022.

Chancellor Jim Kyle was elected to the bench in 2014 and spent the next 10 years serving the people of the 30th Judicial District, which covers Shelby County. “Having a judicial career has meant a lot to me,” Kyle says. “In every job I’ve had it’s been important to me to feel I am helping others.” Before serving on the bench, Kyle served as a state senator for the 28th and 30th districts for 31 years. After temporarily stepping away from the bench in June of last year to manage a nonfatal autoimmune disorder, his retirement was effective on Jan. 3. Read more in this announcement from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Samuel “Randy” Randolph Ayres died Jan. 22 at age 86. After graduating from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1963, Ayres practiced law in Athens and served as a circuit court judge for the 10th Judicial District. Visitation will be Jan. 31 from 12:30–2 p.m. CST at Rose Funeral & Cremation — Mann, 6200 Kingston Pike, Knoxville 37919. A memorial service will immediately follow visitation.

Charles "Chuck" Sterling Sexton died Jan. 21 at age 71. He graduated from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, in 1978 and went on to practice law in Sevierville until his retirement in 2020. Sexton served 10 years as Sevier County’s first public defender and also served eight years as trial justice judge. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to First Baptist Church Sevierville (music ministry, missions, media ministry or Christmas store) 317 Parkway, Sevierville, TN 37862; to the donor's home church; or to a family in need.

Join the TBA and President Ed Lanquist Jr. in traveling north to Louisville, Kentucky, for a unique CLE experience! Urban Bourbon includes four hours of dynamic CLE programming with special guest speakers Brian Haara (author of "Bourbon Justice: How Whiskey Law Shaped America"), Davidson County Chancellor Anne Martin and Tennessee Court of Appeals Judge W. Neal McBrayer, a welcome dinner at PROOF on Main and a tour and tastings at some of the most popular bourbon distilleries in the city. Urban Bourbon will take place April 4-5 in downtown Louisville. Programming will be held at the offices of the Louisville Bar Association, which is within walking distance of the host hotel. Get more information and register here.

The TBA YLD is gearing up for its second "Exploration CLE" after the overwhelming success of the first event, which received glowing reviews from attendees, including comments like "the single greatest CLE I've ever been to" and "very original idea." Scheduled for May 30 at Fall Creek Falls State Park in Spencer, the event will be a day of professional development and outdoor adventure. Participants will earn three hours of CLE credit while enjoying a ranger-led hike and lunch amidst the natural beauty of one of Tennessee's premier state parks. Registration will open at 9 a.m. with the program running from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. CDT. Additional details will be available soon. For more information and to register, visit TBA’s website.

Gov. Bill Lee has announced that his seventh State of the State Address will take place on Feb. 10 at 6 p.m. CST. The speech will be presented in the House Chamber of the Tennessee State Capitol. In the announcement, Gov. Lee emphasized Tennessee's role as a leader in opportunity, security and freedom, and expressed his commitment to innovation for the state's future. He also indicated that he would share his budget and legislative priorities for the year during the address. The address will be live streamed on the governor’s Facebook and YouTube channels.

Retired University of Tennessee (UT) law professor Fred Le Clercq died Jan. 12 at age 88. Le Clercq earned a master's degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and received his law degree from Duke University School of Law. He was briefly employed by his father-in-law, Ben Scott Whaley, at the Barnwell Whaley Law Firm in Charleston, South Carolina. Le Clercq was hired by the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1970. He began at the UT Legal Clinic and soon became a law professor, a position he held until 1996, educating an entire generation of Tennessee lawyers. His favorite courses were constitutional law and civil procedure and he was known as an outspoken supporter of the civil rights movement. A memorial service was held Saturday at St. Philip's Cathedral in Charleston.

At its January meeting this past weekend, the TBA Board of Governors certified election filing results. One contested election will be held this year for the office of vice president. Nashville attorneys Amy Bryant and John Farringer are both running to become TBA’s president in 2027-2028. TBA members will receive an email tomorrow with more information about the candidates. Electronic voting will begin on Jan. 31 and close on Feb. 14. Watch for an email with a link to the ballot from Intelliscan Inc.

The board also declared election results for uncontested seats with seven individuals deemed to be elected because they were the only duly qualified candidate for that seat. Finally, the board declared a vacancy in the three positions: Fourth District Governor, East Tennessee Governor and young lawyer delegate to the ABA House of Delegates (position 3). To be considered for any of these positions, email TBA Executive Director Sheree Wright at barED@tnbar.org with a statement of interest and resume by March 3. The board will consider nominees at its March 20 meeting.

For positions in the TBA House of Delegates, the House met on Jan. 17 to declare the election of 25 uncontested delegates. They will take office on June 11. It also declared a vacancy in 13 seats. To be considered for any of these positions, email TBA Executive Director Sheree Wright at barED@tnbar.org no later than March 3. See the full list of certified candidates and all available vacancies on the TBA website.