Dennis Bruce Francis, a Knoxville attorney and advocate for voting rights, died Tuesday at age 78. Francis received his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1974 and went to work as general counsel at Eastern State Psychiatric Hospital (later Lakeshore Mental Health Institute). He was a member of the Knoxville Bar Association, served as chair of the Knox County Election Commission and was a member of the state Democratic Executive Committee. The family will receive friends on Nov. 4 from 5 to 7 p.m. EDT with a Rosary at 6:30 at Rose Funeral & Cremation, 6200 Kingston Pike, Knoxville 37919. A funeral mass will be held at noon EST on Nov. 5 at St. John Neumann Catholic Church, 645 St. John Court, Farragut 37934.

Amazon asked a federal judge in Seattle to dismiss a multibillion-dollar consumer lawsuit case that claims the company’s cloud-based voice service Alexa illegally collected and recorded private conversations without consent. Amazon said in a federal court filing on Wednesday that after years of litigation, consumers had failed to show the company engaged in unfair or deceptive practices, Reuters reports. “Alexa recordings in fact contain none of the private, salacious or personal details they claimed in their complaint,” Amazon told the court. The plaintiff filings said the consumers “either knew or reasonably should have known how Alexa worked.” The lawsuit, filed in 2021, claimed Amazon violated state wiretap laws through its collection and storage of data from Alexa.

The U.S. Department of Transportation on Tuesday announced that three railroad projects in Tennessee will receive up to $25.7 million in federal infrastructure grants. Funded projects include upgrades to a railroad from Jackson to the northwest corner of the state, improvements to 13 miles of track between Manchester and Morrison, and a new rail yard in Watertown, east of Nashville, the Tennessee Lookout reports. The funds, distributed by the Federal Railroad Administration, are part funding dedicated by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to 122 rail improvement projects across the country.

The November/December 2024 issue of the Tennessee Bar Journal is now available online and arriving in mailboxes soon! This issue's cover story profiles recently retired Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Roger Page and his journey to the bench. Hillel Frankel explores how the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in artistic creations has launched major rights questions across the artistic spectrum, and Colton Adams, Leah Bennion and Eric Lyons explain that as businesses adapt to the requirements of the Corporate Transparency Act, it is critical to understand its implications and take proactive steps to ensure compliance. President Ed Lanquist Jr. underscores TBA's commitment to access to justice, Buddy Stockwell tackles anxiety in the legal profession and John Williams reviews Judge Richard M. Gergel's "Unexampled Courage." Enjoy these and other articles covering a range of legal topics.

A Muslim civil rights organization is calling on the Knox County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) to allow women to wear their hijab if they are forced to sit for a mug shot, Knox News reports. According to the paper, this is a policy followed by many police agencies nationwide out of respect for constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion. The statement from the Council on American-Islamic Relations comes less than a month after a Knoxville woman sued the KCSO in federal court because the agency published a mug shot of her taken without her hijab after she was arrested in May, and it still remains accessible on third-party mug shot databases. The woman is seeking damages and policy changes to accommodate Muslim women.

The Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO) last week announced it has expanded its Judicial Outreach Liaison (JOL) program to include two new judges, Judge Beau Pemberton of Dresden and Judge James Ross of Waynesboro. According to a press release from the THSO, Tennessee is first in the nation to expand the JOL program model beyond one judge. JOLs support the criminal justice system by preventing impaired driving, assigning appropriate consequences for traffic offenses, and providing training and guidance to judges and traffic safety professionals. “I’m excited to build our JOL team to help more local communities and those often underserved or disconnected,” said Judge Donald Parish, who retired after 41 years practicing law and is Tennessee’s state JOL in Huntingdon. Pemberton and Ross will serve as regional JOLs in support of Parrish.

TBA staff and leadership are continuing to develop and update educational and advocacy resources on issues relevant to the practice of law in our state and we want your help! We know TBA members have incredible knowledge and insight about the policy issues we are focused on, including resources for indigent representation. Through our Grassroots Advocacy Initiative, we are building a network of lawyers who are informed and engaged. There are a few ways to connect with the TBA's Government Affairs team if you are interested in learning more and getting involved with our advocacy work, especially as related to indigent representation. Sign up for TBA Grassroots Advocacy Updates, which will highlight related policy content across all of TBA's communication platforms. For attorneys with experience working with clients who are indigent or vulnerable, there is a longer survey that includes questions about court appointed representation as well as options for getting involved with TBA’s efforts in this area. We want to hear directly from you on these issues. More information is available on our main Indigent Representation Resource Page.

Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti on Thursday announced that two multi-settlement agreements with pharmaceutical companies Heritage Pharmaceuticals and Apotex have entered the final stages and just need signatures from the participating states. According to a release from Skrmetti's office, the two companies have agreed to pay a total of $49.1 million to settle allegations of long-running conspiracies to artificially inflate and manipulate prices, reduce competition and unreasonably restrain trade with regard to numerous generic prescription drugs. Tennesseans who purchased generic prescriptions from either company between 2010 and 2018 may be eligible for compensation.

Make plans now to join colleagues on Nov. 7 from noon to 1 p.m CST for a unique webcast with University of Tennessee College of Law Professor Ben Barton. In "Contextualizing the Polarization and Public Perception of the Judiciary," Barton will present long-term data to show how public confidence in the American judiciary has fluctuated over time, with the goal of helping lawyers better understand the historical context of and address current challenges facing the judiciary. Click here for more information and to register.

On Oct. 30, Maury County lawyer James Michael Marshall was suspended from the practice of law for five years, with four years to be served on active suspension and one year on probation. During the probationary period he is required to retain a practice monitor. The Tennessee Supreme Court found that Marshall failed to reasonably communicate with his client, act in a diligent manner, expedite litigation, pursue in a timely fashion the objectives of his client, communicate with his client that he accepted new employment, place client funds into trust, properly withdraw from representation, and failed to take reasonable steps to protect the client’s interest after terminating representation. His conduct was determined to violate Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct 1.2(a), 1.3, 1.4, 1.15, 1.16(c), 3.2, 3.4(c) and 8.4(a). The court also issued an order temporarily suspending Marshall for failing to respond to the Board of Professional Responsibility about a complaint of misconduct. This suspension will remain in effect until dissolution or modification by the court.