TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Azya Thornton on Feb 9, 2026

The criminal records of former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada and his former chief of staff Cade Cothren have been wiped clean after a federal judge vacated their convictions. The Tennessean reports that U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson issued the two-page ruling on Feb. 5. In November, President Donald Trump pardoned both men of corruption convictions related to a scheme to defrauded taxpayers through a state-funded legislative mailer program. Former Rep. Robin Smith, R-Hixson, who plead guilty in the case, was not pardoned, but her sentence was reduced in January from eight months in prison to one year of probation.