The U.S. Justice Department has formally notified the American Bar Association that it will no longer support its ratings process for judicial nominees, the result of what it argues is a biased system and one that “invariably and demonstrably” favors nominees put forth by Democratic administrations. Info here.

It also ended an Office of Legal Policy that directed judicial nominees to provide waivers allowing the ABA access to non-public information for nominees, including bar records.

“Nominees will also not respond to questionnaires prepared by the ABA and will not sit for interviews with the ABA,” said Pam Bondi, U.S. Attorney General.

The Trump administration’s decision to excise the ABA from the judicial nomination process comes after several Republican senators on the Senate committee tasked with vetting judicial nominees told the ABA in a letter earlier this year that they planned to ignore its rating system.

Bondi’s brother wants to lead D.C. lawyers

Brad Bondi wants to be president of the D.C. Bar Association. A securities attorney, he is the younger brother of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. “I’m running to lead our bar with the same care that I’ve brought to serving my clients, to teaching at Georgetown and George Mason law schools, to raising my five children,” he said.

Diane Seltzer, the other candidate in the race, is an employment attorney who operates her own small firm. She has been endorsed by nearly two dozen former D.C. Bar presidents, according to May 12 reporting by Carrie Johnson for NPR. “My priority is making sure that the rule of law is upheld, that we feel that we are safe to do our jobs and that we can go forward every day representing the clients we choose,” Seltzer said.

The bar president mostly plays an administrative role and has no say in attorney discipline.

“I’ve been a member of the D.C. Bar for 30 years and this is the first time that the election has generated this kind of interest,” said Bob Spagnoletti, the chief executive officer of the legal group. More than 30,000 people have already voted in the election. “That’s more than triple the previous record set in 1990,” he said.

Results will be announced soon after the June 4 deadline to vote.

Trial set for July in firebombing of Highlander Center

On May 7, 2025, a federal grand jury in Knoxville, Tennessee, returned an indictment charging a 27-year-old male of Tullahoma, Tennessee, with arson for firebombing the Highlander Center, a nonprofit research and education center in New Market, Tennessee, and with carrying an explosive device during the commission of the arson.

He entered a plea of not guilty and was detained pending trial, which has been set for July 15, 2025, before Judge Thomas A. Varlan in U.S. District Court in Knoxville.

The firebombing occurred on March 29, 2019, and destroyed the Center’s administrative building. If convicted, the man faces a minimum penalty of five years and a maximum of 20 years on the arson charge and an additional 10 years in prison on the explosive charge.

The FBI Knoxville Resident Agency investigated the case, with assistance from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Free legal advice for veterans

Knoxville Bar Association and Legal Aid of East Tennessee are offering an in person free legal advice clinic noon to 2 p.m. Wednesday, June 11, 2025, at the Knox County Public Defender’s Community Law Office, 1101 Liberty St., Knoxville.

Any veteran seeking legal help is encouraged to attend. Veterans who are not able to attend in person are encouraged to use the telephone clinic option. Preregistration is required for telephone clinic and veterans are asked to call Legal Aid of East Tennessee at 865-637-0484 to preregister.

This is a general advice clinic with a wide variety of legal issues, including family law, landlord/tenant, veterans’ benefits, bankruptcy, criminal defense, consumer protection, contract disputes, child support and personal injury. This is an advice-only clinic. No wills are drafted nor legal work performed.