Tennessee

Republican-led states sue Biden administration over protections for transgender students and workers

Twenty Republican-led states sued the Biden administration Monday claiming that protections for transgender people, including access to bathrooms and locker rooms, are invalid under federal law.

Sep 1, 2021 10:12 AM CDT

Education Department opens investigations on states prohibiting school masking requirements

States with laws that prohibit indoor masking requirements, including at schools, might discriminate against students at risk for severe illness if they contract the COVID-19 virus, according to an Aug. 30 news release from the U.S. Department of Education.

Aug 30, 2021 2:12 PM CDT

Law student who sees ‘healing and beauty’ in writing wins ABA Journal’s 2021 Ross essay contest for legal fiction

A law student in Tennessee is the winner of the 2021 ABA Journal/Ross Writing Contest for Legal Short Fiction.

Aug 10, 2021 10:03 AM CDT

Federal judge blocks Tennessee’s controversial new bathroom law

A federal judge has temporarily blocked Tennessee’s transgender restroom law, which requires businesses to post a specific sign if they allow transgender people to use bathrooms that match their gender identity.

Jul 12, 2021 3:00 PM CDT

US can’t consider race or sex in distributing pandemic funds to restaurants, 6th Circuit says

The U.S. Small Business Administration gave an unconstitutional preference to minority- and women-owned restaurants in allocating COVID-19 relief funds, a federal appeals court ruled last week.

Jun 1, 2021 12:30 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Trans worker fails to make discrimination case against employer; former DA’s husband gets community service

Transgender employee failed to show discrimination in case against T-Mobile, appeals court says The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at New Orleans has dismissed claims brought by Elijah Anthony Olivarez, a transgender employee of T-Mobile USA who alleged that he was fired for taking a long leave of absence…

May 14, 2021 2:40 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Trump-boosting fake lawyer sentenced; 3 of Biden’s new judicial picks have public defender experience

Trump-boosting fake lawyer sentenced to prison A Tennessee man who founded Students for Trump has been sentenced to 13 months in prison for posing as an elite lawyer and taking more than $46,000 from would-be clients. John Lambert had posed as a lawyer named Eric Pope and had created a…

May 13, 2021 4:19 PM CDT

Lawyer who told judge he had no knowledge of suit filed under his name gets no prison time for lie

A California lawyer won’t face prison time for lying to a judge about his knowledge of a lawsuit filed against General Motors for clients who were accused of seeking to profit from a fictitious settlement with the automaker.

May 11, 2021 12:36 PM CDT

Judge is investigated after he reportedly testifies in divorce deposition about burying $100K in his backyard

A Nashville, Tennessee, circuit judge’s divorce records must be turned over to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation amid an investigation into his deposition testimony, a special judge has ruled.

Apr 20, 2021 11:08 AM CDT

In rare move, full 6th Circuit will hear initial arguments in abortion case; dissent blasts ‘procedural hopscotch’

In an unusual move, the full 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Cincinnati will consider the constitutionality of a Tennessee abortion law without an initial ruling by a three-judge panel.

Apr 13, 2021 1:33 PM CDT

Suit says disciplinary counsel was wrongly fired for pro-Trump tweets about Muslims

A former disciplinary counsel in Tennessee says he was fired for the content of political tweets, rather than his conduct in the job.

Apr 7, 2021 11:31 AM CDT

Supreme Court reinstates murder conviction, says 6th Circuit ignored ‘ample evidence’

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday reinstated the murder conviction of a Tennessee death-row inmate accused of killing a motel maid, ruling that a federal appeals court had relied on a “fanciful theory” to grant him a new trial.

Mar 29, 2021 12:36 PM CDT

They didn’t commit new crimes, but they’re going back to prison

Because of a Tennessee court fight regarding ‘armed career criminals,’ men who had been released from prison were sent back

Mar 26, 2021 9:19 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Garland confirmed as attorney general; lawyer charged in Capitol riot ready for steak dinner

Garland is confirmed as US attorney general The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed Judge Merrick Garland as the next U.S. attorney general by a 70-30 vote. Garland, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, was previously nominated for the U.S. Supreme Court, but…

Mar 10, 2021 2:10 PM CST

Inmate given clemency by Trump had backing of former judge who sentenced him to life

A federal judge who sentenced a Clarksville, Tennessee, man to life in prison in a drug trafficking case greeted him in person after then-President Donald Trump commuted the sentence in January.

Feb 4, 2021 12:12 PM CST