Tennessee

Federal judge strikes down sign law requiring transgender bathroom warnings

A federal judge in Nashville, Tennessee, has struck down a state law requiring businesses to post warning signs if they allow transgender people to use restrooms that match their gender identity.

May 19, 2022 1:16 PM CDT

First Amendment doesn’t protect fired police officers who criticized department changes, 6th Circuit rules

The First Amendment does not protect two Tennessee police officers who were fired for objecting to changes in their department, an appeals court has ruled.

May 4, 2022 12:18 PM CDT

Prosecutor decides 82 days in jail for illegal voter registration ‘is sufficient;’ BLM activist won’t be retried

A Black Lives Matter activist sentenced to six years and a day in prison for an illegal voter registration won’t face a retrial after a Tennessee prosecutor decided to drop the matter.

Apr 27, 2022 8:39 AM CDT

Deputy who witnessed ‘skivvies’-clad colleague baptize woman after traffic stop can’t escape suit, federal judge rules

A woman who claims that she allowed a “skivvies”-clad Tennessee sheriff’s deputy to baptize her based on his promise of leniency can continue to pursue her lawsuit against another deputy who witnessed the “desacralized rite,” a federal judge has ruled.

Apr 13, 2022 1:18 PM CDT

New law allows this state’s judges to personally solicit campaign donations; ethics opinion adds wrinkle

A new Tennessee law allows judges to personally solicit and accept campaign contributions, but judicial candidates should “be mindful” of other ethics rules that could be implicated, according to a March 29 ethics opinion.

Apr 11, 2022 4:19 PM CDT

Law firm’s managing partner had a ‘fixation’ with employee surveillance, wiretap suit says

The managing partner of a Chicago law firm apparently monitored his employees with video cameras and a telephone system that allowed recording of phone calls, according to a lawsuit filed last week in federal court in Chicago.

Apr 11, 2022 11:53 AM CDT

Tennessee lawyer who fits mold of ‘volunteer state’ is winner of ABA ethics award

A Memphis, Tennessee, lawyer who has long been active in the ABA is the winner of the 2022 Michael Franck Professional Responsibility Award.

Mar 3, 2022 9:18 AM CST

Critics decry long sentence for BLM activist who says she didn’t know her voter registration was illegal

Critics are denouncing a six-years-and-a-day sentence for a Black Lives Matter activist who said she didn’t know that her voter registration was illegal because she received inadequate and faulty information from the state of Tennessee.

Feb 10, 2022 12:26 PM CST

Weekly Briefs: Appeals courts rule in lawyer restitution cases; tribes agree to opioid settlement

Ex-BigLaw partner must pay $537M in tax fraud scheme Paul M. Daugerdas, a former Jenkens & Gilchrist partner, lost an appeal in his tax fraud case before the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at New York on Monday. Daugerdas had challenged financial penalties imposed after his 2013 conviction for…

Feb 4, 2022 3:15 PM CST

New Tennessee law helped inmate leave death row; judge’s ruling creates possibility of parole

A former death row inmate in Tennessee will get a chance to seek parole as a result of a resentencing following prosecutors’ concession that he can’t be executed because of an intellectual disability.

Feb 2, 2022 9:07 AM CST

Black man convicted by all-white jury in room with Confederate flags gets new trial, appeals court says

The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals has ruled a Black criminal defendant is entitled to a new trial because the all-white jury that convicted him deliberated in a room "adorned with various mementos of the Confederacy."

Dec 6, 2021 9:21 AM CST

Judge gets reprimand partly for this Facebook advice to shoplifters: To avoid arrests, don’t sport green hair

A judge in Chattanooga, Tennessee, has received a public reprimand partly for his tongue-in-cheek online advice on how to avoid arrests.

Nov 10, 2021 3:20 PM CST

Bible note changed writer’s will, Tennessee appeals court rules

A state appeals court has ruled that a handwritten instruction in a Bible that included only the first name of the writer was a valid codicil that changed a will.

Oct 28, 2021 9:57 AM CDT

Considering mask fights, states may hold off on making COVID-19 vaccine required school immunization

Lawyers interviewed by the ABA Journal disagree on whether requiring the vaccines is the best approach for keeping children in schools, but most agree the virus has caused significant work for school administrators, many of whom are still dealing with pushback on masking rules.

Oct 19, 2021 1:45 PM CDT

Judge who required jail visit for all arrested juveniles remains on bench after lawsuit payout

A tough-talking juvenile court judge in Rutherford County, Tennessee, established a policy requiring arrested elementary schoolchildren to be taken to the juvenile detention center for screening before charges were filed—even if the charges were minor.

Oct 13, 2021 1:36 PM CDT