The Tennessee Bar Association is now accepting nominations for its 2024 Claudia Jack Award and Justice Frank F. Drowota III Outstanding Judicial Service Award. The Claudia Jack Award honors an outstanding public defender or court-appointed private practitioner who has served the legal community and clients in an exemplary fashion. It is named after the late Claudia Jack, a public defender and long-time champion of the poor and underprivileged. The Drowota Award is given to a judge or judicial branch official of a federal, state or local court in Tennessee who has demonstrated extraordinary devotion and dedication to the improvement of the law, the legal system and the administration of justice, as exemplified by the career of former Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Frank F. Drowota III. The deadline to submit nominees for both awards, which will be presented at the TBA Annual Convention in June, is April 1.

The March/April 2024 issue of the Tennessee Bar Journal is now available online! Laura Kidwell brings readers a timely primer on the final judgment rule — and its exceptions — in Tennessee civil actions in this issue's cover story. We're saying heartfelt goodbyes to Barry Kolar in the feature story from former Journal editor Suzanne Craig Robertson. Our thanks to all the staff, former TBA presidents and other friends who contributed to this article! Russell Fowler is back with another fascinating history lesson, this time about a former Tennessee governor who was tried for assault and defended by Francis Scott Key, and Wade Davies' Crime & Punishment column delves into the question of when to notify the Tennessee attorney general before proceeding with a claim challenging the constitutionality of a statute. You can also catch up on the TBA's grassroots advocacy efforts, especially around funding for indigent representation, staffing news, a save the date for TBA's Day on the Hill and Big Shrimp reception, and more!

With district mock trial competitions wrapping up last week, the stage is now set for the 43rd Annual Tennessee State High School Mock Trial Competition. More than 100 teams from across the state competed in eight district competitions leading up to the selection of the teams to participate in the finals. Agathos Classical School (Columbia), Chattanooga Southeast Home Education Association (CSTHEA — Chattanooga), Central Magnet High School (Murfreesboro), Clarksville High School (Clarksville), East Hamilton High School (Ooltewah), Farragut High School Blue (Knoxville), Farragut High School Grey (Knoxville), Montgomery Bell Academy (Nashville), St. Mary's Episcopal School Marigold (Memphis), St. Mary's Episcopal School Orchid (Memphis), Sevier County High School (Sevierville), Signal Mountain High School (Signal Mountain), Unicoi County High School (Erwin) and the University School of Nashville (Nashville) will compete in Nashville on March 22 and 23 at the Metropolitan Courthouse. Special thanks is due to the lawyers who coordinated district competitions across the state: Caroline Rogers (District 1), Celia Ball and Isaac Westling (Districts 2, 3 and 4), Mary Frances DeVoe and Alex McVeagh (District 5), Morgan Hanna (District 7), Paige Barbeauld and Lindsey Ralston (Districts 8 and 10), Hayley Baker, Pooja Bery, Caleb Hogan and Richard Swor (District 9),  Dylan Harper (District 11), and Brande Boyd and Faith Watson (District 14). The TBA YLD's version of "March Madness" is under the direction of Ashley Tipton, chair, and Michael Holmes, vice chair. Zack Walden serves as the long range planning coordinator. The mock trial competition is the largest public service project of the TBA.

Hundreds of Knoxville community members, including state and local leaders, recently honored civil rights leader Robert J. Booker at the Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church in Knoxville, reports Knox News. Booker died Feb. 22 at age 88. Booker was remembered as a leader of the Knoxville Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s and Knoxville’s first Black state representative. “He was a revolutionary,” said Knox County Commissioner Dasha Lundy. “If he didn’t have that spirit in him, Knoxville wouldn’t be what it is today.”

TBA’s Legislative Updates podcast is new with attorney and TBA lobbyist Berkley Schwarz and Adams and Reese attorneys and TBA lobbyists, Brad Lampley and Ashley Harbin. Special guest Chloe Treadway, an intern with Adams and Reese for this legislative session, joins for this episode. This week they discuss HB1804/SB1690 (presumption of joint custody), HB2710/SB2254 (the TBA conservatorship bill) and HB2644/SB2633 (the adoption clean-up bill). Legislative Updates airs each week on the TBA’s Facebook page. It is also released as a podcast on the same day and can be found on the TBA’s website or wherever you listen to podcasts.

For the first time, geolocation, the identification of the location of an individual or an object using technology, will have its day in court. Law.com reports that Mata v. Digital Recognition Network Inc. (DRN), filed in the Superior Court of the State of California on behalf of 23 million California residents, is set to begin jury trial on May 17. The named plaintiff representing the class claims that DRN, a privately owned automatic license plate recognition (ALPR), captured images of his vehicle’s license plate over 70 times and used it to create a timeline of his movements by gaining access to his work and home addresses. That information was then added to a marketing database available for sale, in violation of the California License Plate Recognition Law. The plaintiff demands damages in the amount of $2,500 for each class member, amounting to $57.5 billion in total, along with attorney fees and an injunction forbidding DRN from engaging in “unlawful” practices.

U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Clarksville, announced he will seek reelection despite his “strong desire” to leave Congress this year, reports the Tennessean. Green’s announcement is a reversal from his retirement plans which he announced two weeks ago. Green's retirement would have left the Republican primary in the 7th Congressional District wide open. Green had never faced primary challenger for the seat, which now includes parts of Nashville and Davidson County after a controversial redistricting. Former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, a Democrat, announced in December she would seek the Democratic nomination in the 7th Congressional District and challenge Green for the seat.

Sign up now for "Avoiding Pitfalls in Immigration Court" webcast on March 25 from 12:30-1:30 p.m. CDT. Two lawyers with extensive experience in immigration court and a retired immigration judge will explore some ways to avoid pitfalls in immigration court. Participants will be provided a copy of the Immigration Court Practice Manual and will have an opportunity to ask questions of the panelists. Pre-submit your questions here.

Bass, Berry & Sims announced that Russell Stair has been appointed to serve as the managing partner of the firm’s office in Knoxville. Stair succeeds G. Mark Mamantov, who served in the role since the Knoxville office officially opened in 1991. Prior to coming to Bass, Berry & Sims, Stair worked with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and practiced as a CPA for Ernst & Young. He was a member of the TBA’s Leadership Law Class of 2011 and he is active with the National Association of Bond Lawyers and the AHLA. 

The House today passed HB 1692 which seeks to allow records from the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development to be exempt from public records laws if the tourism commissioner and attorney general deem them “sensitive,” reports the Tennessean. The bill, proposed by the Lee administration and sponsored by House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, is modeled after a similar exemption for the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development that passed in 1988 and keeps records deemed sensitive secret for five years, with the possibility of an extension for a second five-year term. Rep. Andrew Farmer, R-Sevierville, presented the bill in the House and stated, "This would allow the department of tourism, in their negotiations with businesses and tourism interests with the state of Tennessee, to keep their trade secrets and proprietary information safe while the negotiations are going on.” The House passed the legislation, on a 69-14 vote. The bill has not yet been heard in a Senate committee.