The Tennessee Supreme Court reinstated Knox County lawyer Jedidiah Charles McKeehan to the active practice of law on Dec. 5. On Dec. 3, the court suspended McKeehan for 30 days. The next day, the Board of Professional Responsibility notified the court that the motion to suspend had been filed prematurely and filed a joint motion with McKeehan requesting that the court vacate the order. The new order reinstates McKeehan to the active practice of law.

Get CLE hours in your specific practice area with TBA's curated packages! As the year comes to a close, choose from packages that include sessions from the 36th Annual Health Law Forum, Corporate Counsel Forum, Elder Law Forum, Labor and Employment Law Forum, Hot Topics in Real Estate and more. See all package options or build your own any time by visiting cle.tba.org to access more than 200 on-demand courses.

In this webcast, ethics expert Stuart Teicher will tell true stories about lawyers who break the law and the ethics rules they break (or could have broken). Ethics topics will include the connection between competence, withdrawal and mental health issues; how sexual harassment creates problems; the duty to report lawyer and judicial misconduct; and how the rule on supervision guides lawyers in creating an ethically positive office environment. Tune in at noon CST on Dec. 12 and receive one hour of dual credit.

A legal battle over the expansion of Murfreesboro-based Middle Point Landfill, which is expected to reach capacity by 2028, went before the Tennessee Court of Appeals for oral arguments on Tuesday. According to the Nashville Banner, the case stems from a 2021 decision by the Murfreesboro Regional Planning Board to deny BFI Waste Systems Services' request to expand the landfill by 100 acres. A chancery court later ruled that errors made by the board in following proper procedure for rejecting the plan were "harmless." Court of Appeals Judge Neal McBrayer, one member of the three-judge panel, challenged both sides during the proceedings. The panel did not indicate when a decision would be made.

The U.S. Supreme Court appeared to lean toward upholding Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors during a hearing on the law, The Hill reports. The court heard more than 2 1/2 hours of oral arguments, with several justices questioning the Biden administration’s claim that the benefits of administering puberty blockers and hormone treatments to some adolescents with gender dysphoria outweigh the risks. The Tennessee Attorney's General Office argued the law is necessary to protect children from "irreversible and unproven gender transition procedures." In a statement, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said, "Tennessee’s General Assembly reviewed the medical evidence, as well as the evidence-based decisions of European countries that restricted these procedures, and ultimately passed this bipartisan law prohibiting irreversible medical interventions." The ACLU of Tennessee also issued a statement on the proceeding. A decision in the case, United States v. Skrmetti, is expected by summer. Listen to the proceeding or read a transcript from the court.

The Nashville Metro Council on Tuesday narrowly voted against a resolution to approve Fusus, a software program that would have allowed the Metro Nashville Police Department to access security camera footage from willing private business owners. The vote was 20-18, falling one vote short of the 21 needed for approval. According to the Nashville Banner, opponents of the legislation raised concerns about privacy and the potential misuse of footage by federal or state authorities. Business groups and Mayor Freddie O’Connell were among those advocating for the contract, urging council members to approve the technology.

The Secretary of State’s Division of Elections announced Monday that 3.08 million Tennesseans voted on Nov. 5 in the presidential election. Over 2.13 million cast their ballots early and in person, breaking turnout records this election season. The numbers for both overall voter turnout and early voting turnout beat last year’s totals. “For months, we have prepared for what was expected to be a robust voter turnout for the Nov. 5 Presidential Election,” said Secretary Tre Hargett. “We are encouraged by the record number of voters who cast a ballot and let their voices be heard.” Fox 17 reports on the data. Earlier reports had noted that this year's turnout was closer to 2020 numbers.

A federal judge in Texas has issued a nationwide injunction blocking enforcement of the 2021 Corporate Transparency Act, which requires corporate entities to disclose the identities of their real beneficial owners to the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. According to Reuters, U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant sided with the National Federation of Independent Business and several small businesses and nonprofits in concluding that the act was likely unconstitutional. Mazzant called it an "unprecedented" attempt by the federal government to legislate in an area traditionally left to the states. The law, which is touted as an anti-money laundering tool law, directs the Treasury Department to collect and analyze submitted data to combat crime.

The Memphis-Shelby County Schools Board on Tuesday approved a six-month contract for virtual instruction amid ongoing struggles to fill teacher vacancies, Chalkbeat Tennessee reports. The board unanimously approved a $4.6 million contract with the Texas-based program Proximity Learning to provide 100 teachers for live online classes for middle and high school students. Superintendent Marie Feagins told the board the district had 312 vacant teaching positions as of Tuesday’s meeting. A report released this fall by the Tennessee Department of Education showed that Southwest Tennessee, which includes Memphis, had the highest vacancy rate in the state for the 2023-2024 school year, the paper reports. Feagins told the board the contract would not resolve the underlying issue of vacancies but would help fill some gaps until positions are filled.

A nonprofit has filed a lawsuit against Tennessee’s new law requiring those attempting to access certain material online to verify their age. According to WSMV 4, the Free Speech Coalition’s lawsuit claims that the “Protect Tennessee Minors Act” violates the First and 14th Amendments by imposing “substantial burdens on website operators, content creators, and countless others who use the internet” by requiring websites to age-verify every user before granting access to “content harmful to minors.” The group also argues that the definition of "harmful to minors" is not well defined. The law, signed by Gov. Bill Lee in May, is set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2025.