Law Day, held annually May 1, is a national day set aside to celebrate the rule of law. It underscores how law and the legal process contribute to the freedoms all Americans share. Law Day also provides an opportunity to recognize the role of courts in this democracy and the importance of jury service to maintaining the integrity of the courts.
The Chattanooga Bar Association (CBA) will recognize Law Day 2016 on Wednesday, May 4. Esteemed attorney Sam Elliott will be our speaker. The subject of his Law Day Luncheon talk will be "When the United States attorney sued to remove half the Tennessee Supreme Court: The Quo Warranto cases of 1870."
Tennessee's government underwent great turmoil and change in the period between 1861 and 1871 as citizens of the state chose sides in the Civil War and, in the case of those who supported the Confederacy, suffered disfranchisement and political disability after the war.
In 1868, the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution imposed political disabilities for certain ex-Confederates. But in 1870, the new state constitution required that the entire Tennessee Supreme Court be elected in August 1870, and men who were subject to the disabilities of the 14th Amendment were elected as justices. The United States attorney in Knoxville filed cases in Federal court against the chief justice and two other members of the court as well as the Tennessee attorney general, seeking their removal and the imposition of criminal penalties.
This remarkable case does not appear anywhere in the modern history of the Tennessee Supreme Court or the Eastern District of Tennessee, but it will be the subject of Sam's Law Day talk.
Sam is a member of Gearhiser, Peters, Elliott and Cannon. He practices primarily in the field of litigation and representation of local governments. Sam is a past president of both the Tennessee and Chattanooga Bar Associations, and is a fellow of the American, Tennessee, and Chattanooga Bar Foundations. He has authored several books, essays, and articles on Tennesseans during the Civil War era, including "Isham G. Harris of Tennessee: Confederate Governor and United States Senator" (the co-winner of the 2010 Tennessee History Book Award), and a forthcoming biography of John C. Brown, a Civil War general, post-war governor, and president of the Constitutional Convention of 1870.
To make your Law Day reservation, email me at LHood@chattanoogabar.org, or call the CBA office at (423) 602-9429. The luncheon will be held at noon at The Read House. The cost is $35 per person, and includes .50 CLE credit.
Liberty Bell Award nominations
Each year, the CBA honors an outstanding citizen in the Chattanooga area with the Liberty Bell Award for public service. We are currently seeking nominations for the 2016 award, to be presented during the Law Day Luncheon. All nominations should be received by Friday, April 15. Mail them to Lynda Minks Hood / Executive director, Chattanooga Bar Association / The Pioneer Bldg, Ste. 420 / 801 Broad St. / Chattanooga, TN 37402.
The purpose of the Liberty Bell Award is to recognize community service that has strengthened the America system of freedom under law. In selecting the recipient of this award, the CBA considers such service as including activities that promote better understanding of our Constitution and the Bill of Rights, encourage a greater respect for the law and the courts, stimulate a deeper sense of individual responsibility (so citizens recognize their duties as well as their rights), contribute to the effective functioning of our institutions of government, and foster a better understanding and appreciation of the rule of law.
This prestigious award will be selected from nominations received by the awards judges. Lawyers and judges are not eligible for the award; however, all other fields of endeavor are intended for the inclusion, namely education, business, sciences, communications, labor, government, religion, professions, and youth organizations.