A judge ruled in favor of the Chattanooga Times Free Press in its lawsuit against the city of Chattanooga, council members and staff, establishing that open meetings laws were violated during non-public meetings on redrawing local voting districts, the Times Free Press reports. In an order last week granting the newspaper’s motion for summary judgment, the Chattanooga City Council must follow Tennessee’s Open Meetings Act and submit to one year of oversight, in addition to writing a semiannual report on its compliance. Every decade after federal census results are released, the council reorganizes and adjusts the map that determines how residents are represented in city government. The lawsuit, filed in 2022, claimed the redistricting process was too secretive, from closed-door redistricting committee meetings to a series of calls and emails between council members and city staff to make decisions about redistricting. According to the order, individual meetings between council members and staff resulted in map changes, so decisions were made in meetings that were not open to the public. The City Council will comply with the open meetings act, "which we believe they did," Chattanooga City Attorney Phillip Noblett said to the news outlet.

Thomas Jefferson Drake Jr., of Nashville, died July 8 at age 78. Drake graduated from the Nashville School of Law in 1988 and practiced as a solo attorney for 37 years. He believed his greatest service in life was helping others and providing the best legal advice possible. Drake was admitted to the Supreme Court of Tennessee, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court, and was a member of the Nashville Bar Association and the Tennessee Bar Association. Visitation will be held July 12, at Bellevue Presbyterian Church, 100 Cross Timbers Drive, Nashville 37221, from 9 to 11 a.m. CDT, followed by a memorial service at 11 a.m. CDT. Donations in his memory may be made to the Bellevue Exchange Club Foundation, memo: Tom Drake Memorial Scholarship, P.O. Box 210945, Nashville, TN 37221.

The NAACP Legal Defense Fund on Monday dismissed its lawsuit challenging Fayette County’s 2021 electoral map as discriminatory after county lawmakers passed a new map that complies with the Voting Rights Act and U.S. Constitution, the Tennessee Lookout reports. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee in February, claimed the map adopted by the county commission in 2021 was chosen “at least in part with the intent to racially discriminate against Black voters.” The Tennessee comptroller’s local redistricting guide requires county legislative bodies to consider minority representation when redistricting. Black voters make up more than 25% of Fayette County’s population, but the 19-member county commission is entirely white. Fayette County rejected the allegations in the federal lawsuit but opted to review and revise the map. The commission unanimously approved a new electoral map with three majority-Black, single-member districts, which will be used in the 2026 election cycle. The federal lawsuit’s status is unclear, as the last court-ordered status update was submitted June 23, one day before the commission adopted the new map.

Tennessee's U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn is pushing to reduce air traffic controller shortages. Blackburn introduced the Control Tower Continuity Act on Thursday, which would allow air traffic controllers to be exempt from the mandatory retirement age of 61 as long as they meet certain standards and provide more flexibility during shortages, WSMV reports. Blackburn’s office said staffing has been a longstanding issue for the Federal Aviation Administration, which is short about 3,000 air traffic controllers nationwide. “Healthy and skilled air traffic controllers should not be forced to retire at age 61,” Blackburn said. “As the United States faces a shortage of air traffic controllers, Americans are forced to endure delays, cancellations and safety concerns. The Control Tower Continuity Act would empower healthy and experienced air traffic controllers to work beyond the current mandatory retirement age to address air traffic controller shortages.”

DeKalb County lawyer Lena Ann Graves Buck was publicly censured on July 9 by the Tennessee Supreme Court. Buck provided consultation regarding a workers’ compensation case to a client. Despite the client not signing a retainer agreement nor paying an attorney fee, Buck met with the client on three occasions during which she provided legal advice. Buck discussed the workers’ compensation issue with the client at two of the meetings, but did not apprise the client of a statute of limitations deadline. Over the next three years, Buck represented the client on a disability claim, though the client believed Buck also was handling the workers’ compensation matter. The client did not discover the statute of limitations had passed until several years later. In addition to these findings, the court determined that Buck entered into a business transaction with the client without first advising the client in writing of the desirability of seeking, or giving a reasonable opportunity to seek the advice of, independent legal counsel. The court found that these actions violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1, 1.3, 1.4, 1.8(a)(2) and 8.4(d).

The Tennessee Supreme Court issued a public censure to Davidson County attorney Zachary Ty Carden on July 9. The court found that Carden, while representing a client in a contested divorce action, failed to take proper action to submit his client’s discovery responses, resulting in the entry of a judgment against his client for opposing counsel’s fees. After the divorce action settled through mediation, the court found that Carden failed to take action to facilitate entry of the final divorce decree and did not respond to his client’s requests for information, delaying finalization of the divorce action. These actions were determined to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 1.4 and 3.2.

Former Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice William Muecke "Mickey" Barker, who died in 2023, began his career as a judge in the Hamilton County Circuit Court. On Monday, Circuit Court Judge Alex McVeagh held a special celebration to honor Barker by moving his formal portrait to hang over the jury box. Former TBA President Marcy Eason, who was sworn in to that position in 2007 by then-Chief Justice Barker, said, "It was a poignant and special day in court. Judge McVeagh now rules on the bench that began his mentor and dear friend's judicial path." See a photo from the event.

A federal judge once again has blocked the Trump administration from enforcing a policy that would deny citizenship to some babies born in the U.S., despite a recent Supreme Court ruling limiting nationwide injunctions. U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Laplante of New Hampshire granted provisional class action status to a lawsuit brought by immigrant rights advocates over the administration's interpretation of the Constitution's birthright citizenship provision, and then issued a new nationwide block on the policy. But he paused the ruling for seven days to allow for an expected appeal by the administration. Reuters reports on the ruling.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Tennessee today announced that it has reached a settlement with Overton County over allegations the county violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by failing to accommodate individuals with hearing disabilities during public meetings. Complainants said the county ignored requests for hearing assistance, refused to use microphones and rejected offers to improve audio equipment, preventing them from fully participating. Under the agreement, Overton County will upgrade audio systems, install assistive listening devices and implement a process for individuals to request accommodations. Although the county did not admit liability, it cooperated with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to resolve the complaint.

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has issued notice that it intends to adopt amendments to Local Rules 12(c)(5) and 40 and Internal Operating Procedure 40, effective Oct. 1. The court also notes that, effective July 1, amendments to Local Rule 18 were adopted due to an immediate need. The public is invited to comment on the amendments by Oct. 1. Comments may be addressed to Kelly L. Stephens, Clerk, 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, 501 Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse, 100 East Fifth St., Cincinnati, OH 45202-3988 or sent via email.