The Daily Memphian has an in depth look at the increasing number of women judges across the state, which is leading to an increase in mentors for new female judges — a development Supreme Court Chief Justice Holly Kirby says is a sign of progress for the legal profession. Today, one third of Tennessee's 230 judges are women, including Kirby, who was the first woman to serve on the Tennessee Court of Appeals and is the fourth female chief justice. Other "firsts" in the state include Bernice Donald, who was the first Black female judge in Tennessee when she was elected to Shelby County General Sessions Criminal Court in 1982 and was the first Black female judge in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. Julia Smith Gibbons became the first female trial court judge of record when she was appointed to the Shelby County Circuit Court in 1981. And Judge Camille McMullen was the first Black woman to serve on an intermediate court in the state when she was appointed to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals in 2008. The paper interviewed a number of these judges to get their perspectives on the diminishing gender gap.

The American Bar Association (ABA) has filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that a Tennessee law that prohibits gender-affirming medical care for minors violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The brief, filed in support of the federal government’s challenge to the law, contends that the Tennessee law impermissibly denies the fundamental right to medical autonomy for certain groups while allowing it for others. “Equal protection forbids differential treatment in the exercise of important constitutional rights absent the strongest justification, and Tennessee’s SB1 cannot withstand scrutiny under that standard,” the ABA brief says. Read more about the filing in this release.

The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) on Thursday announced that the national mean scaled score for the July 2024 Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) was 141.8, an increase of about 1.3 points compared to the July 2023 mean of 140.5 and the highest July MBE mean since 2013, excluding the summer and fall 2020 administrations. The MBE, one of three sections that make up the bar exam in most U.S. jurisdictions, consists of 200 multiple-choice questions answered over six hours. This July, 49,844 examinees took the MBE, an increase of more than 8% compared to the 45,968 examinees who sat for the exam in July 2023. Reuters reports that compared with the previous year, 32 states saw increases in pass rates, 11 saw decreases and seven saw no change.

Rutherford County District Attorney Jennings Jones and Ericka Downing, director of the Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Center in Murfreesboro, allege that Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital in Murfreesboro has stopped offering forensic exams to victims of sexual assault. The Tennessee Lookout reports that Downing says she is unaware of a single forensic exam performed since January at the hospital. Jones called it a “substantial concern” that has surprised and disappointed prosecutors in the county. David Leaverton, senior director of external communications at the hospital, denied the allegations, saying, "Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital continues to provide rape kit exams." Leaverton noted it has been challenging for the hospital to maintain 24/7 coverage with trained nurses but says the hospital has not changed its services.

K.C. Potter, Vanderbilt University's dean emeritus of residential and judicial affairs, died Aug. 26 at age 85. Born in Fallsburg, Kentucky, Potter began attending Vanderbilt's College of Law in 1961 and was employed as an assistant resident advisor. After completing his law degree, he worked as a clerk for the Tennessee Supreme Court, and in 1964, he was admitted to the bar. He returned to Vanderbilt in 1965 as assistant dean of men, and when the offices of dean of men and dean of women were combined in 1971, Potter was named associate dean of the new Office of Student Life. He held that position until 1977, when he was named dean of residential and judicial affairs. “K.C. embodied the values of fairness and respect throughout his decades of service,” Provost C. Cybele Raver said. “His dedication to our students and his unwavering commitment to creating a supportive and inclusive campus environment have left an indelible mark on this university.” In 2008, the Euclid House on West Side Row became the K.C. Potter Center, named in honor of the former dean who had been supportive of the LGBTQ+ community and engendered a spirit of inclusiveness on campus. A celebration of life is planned for May 2025.

In this installment of "Day on Torts," John Day clears up a common misconception about the statute of limitations for wrongful death cases in Tennessee.

The TBA Administrative Law Section will host its Annual Forum on Dec. 13 from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. CST in Nashville. The program is a staple for Tennessee administrative lawyers, designed to keep practitioners current in their field. Stay tuned for more details here. 

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights today announced that Memphis-Shelby County Schools violated federal civil rights law by not adequately responding to complaints of sexual harassment and assault of students over a three-year period. Chalkbeat reports that district documents reflect reports that teachers or substitute teachers sexually assaulted students in seven incidents across three school years at all school levels in the district. Documents also show 53 more cases of reported staff-to-student sexual harassment, not including sexual assault, as well as a total of 88 cases of student-to-student sexual harassment during the same time period.

A study by the Law School Admission Council found that the number of law school applicants rose nearly 6% this year, making it the second-largest applicant pool of the past five years. Figures show that 3,478 more people sought admission to the 197 American Bar Association-accredited law schools this year. Applicants of color accounted for nearly 48% of the pool, up from about 47% in 2023. The number of Black applicants increased 7.4%, while Hispanic applicants rose 9.6% and Asian applicants were up 6.7%. White applicants posted an increase at 3.3%. According to Reuters, the increase resulted from a stronger push by the council and individual law schools to promote legal education to historically underrepresented groups, said Susan Krinsky, interim president of the council. The current application cycle suggests the national applicant pool could expand again in 2025, with the number of people who took the LSAT earlier this month up 21% over the previous year. Registrations for September’s test are up 14%.

Nashville lawyer Brooks R. Smith, a partner at Bradley, has authored a new treatise on Tennessee real property law, providing comprehensive guidance on topics such as estates, deeds, leasing and title insurance. According to Legal Newsline, Smith's treatise will be a valuable resource for legal professionals and real estate practitioners. Smith has extensive experience in real estate transactions. He has served as group leader of Bradley’s Real Estate Practice Group and is a past chair of the Tennessee Bar Association’s Real Estate Section. The firm has more on the publication.