A federal judge in Florida has dismissed the criminal case accusing Donald Trump of illegally keeping classified documents after leaving office, the Associated Press reports. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon ruled that Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is leading the prosecution, was unlawfully appointed to his role and did not have the authority to bring the case. Smith, a former Nashville attorney and acting U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, was named special counsel in November 2022.

Tennessee lawyers should have received an email on Friday with a link to the TBA's 2024 Survey. The email came from Avenue M Group LLC, an independent market research firm and our partner for this survey. The survey, which should take about 10 minutes to complete, is intended for both current members and nonmembers and is designed to better understand attorneys' professional needs. Feedback is critical to ensure TBA can best support lawyers now and into the future. If you did not receive the survey or have questions, please contact Membership Director Mindy Thomas.

In interviews with NewsChannel 5 and WSMV, the chief deputy clerk of Davidson County’s criminal courts acknowledged errors occurred during the release of a man, who days later was charged with killing his girlfriend Lauren Johansen in Mississippi. Bricen Rivers, who had been arrested in Nashville in December for allegedly beating Johansen, was released on bond with conditions including GPS monitoring and restrictions on travel outside the county. A mistake in the clerk’s office, however, omitted those conditions from documents sent to jail officials. Rivers was eventually fitted with a monitoring device but left the county before the tracking company was informed that he was not allowed to do so. Within a week he had returned to Mississippi and allegedly killed Johansen. Chief Deputy Clerk Julius Sloss says his office is looking at ways to prohibit such an oversight from happening again and that the employee who made the mistake will face disciplinary action.

Chicago-based law firm Segal McCambridge has announced that it will open of its newest office in Memphis at 6000 Poplar Ave., Ste. 250, 38119. Shareholder Nelson T. Rainey, a University of Memphis School of Law graduate, will oversee the office and will be joined by shareholder Michael S. Litrenta and associates Angel T. Davis and Jaime K. Quezon. Rainey focuses on construction, health care liability, commercial litigation, real estate, family law and civil rights matters. Litrenta focuses on commercial litigation; Davis focuses on product liability, trucking, and medical malpractice litigation; and Quezon focuses on residential and commercial litigation insurance practice. Read more in a release from the firm.

Gullett Sanford Robinson & Martin’s Family Law Section is moving this weekend to join the rest of the firm at The Pinnacle at Symphony Place, 150 3rd Ave. S. in downtown Nashville. When the firm merged with MTR Family Law in 2022, the decision was made to keep the new Family Law Section at its current Midtown office until the firm’s lease ended at The Pinnacle at Symphony Place. GSRM Law recently signed a lease extension at the building through January 2027 and now is brining all of its attorneys, employees and resources together in one location. Read more in a release from the firm.

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators, including Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn, have introduced a bill that would protect creatives and journalists from the unauthorized use of their work by artificial intelligence (AI). The Associated Press reports that the “Content Origin Protection and Integrity from Edited and Deepfaked Media Act” (COPIED Act) would require developers and providers of AI tools to allow content owners to attach to their work information documenting the origin and history of the asset. Any content with this attachment could not be used to train AI models or generate AI content. News Channel 5 has the story.

Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy joined Memphis City Councilwoman Pearl Eva Walker at a recent first town meeting to discuss crime and public safety issues. The last question of the night, however, focused on legislative efforts to oust Mulroy from office, News 5 reports. When asked why state Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Memphis, is seeking to remove him from office, Mulroy said, “I don’t know. I mean, it’s got to be political. It’s obviously political. He’s playing to his base, getting clicks and likes and press by blaming one person for everything that’s going on. If you examine the truth, you’ll see there’s nothing to this.” Taylor has called for Mulroy to be removed from office for “dereliction of duty.”

Former Tennessee House Speaker Beth Harwell has settled a suit filed over campaign finances in her 2022 run for Congress. Tennessee Lookout reports that Harwell and the Government of the People PAC reached a settlement with the Federal Election Commission for a $16,000 civil penalty. The group alleged that Harwell violated campaign finance rules regarding soft money during her campaign for the 5th District congressional race. Harwell claimed at the time that a transfer of funds from her state political action committee to a super PAC that supported her bid was vetted by attorneys working for her campaign. According to the news source, because Harwell did not try to hide the transfer she was not charged for violating the law.

Pharmaceutical company AbbVie has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up its fight to protect corporate records, warning that a lower court ruling threatens to erode the shield that protects most attorney communications. The company is appealing a decision from the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that the filing of a sham patent-infringement suit can overcome attorney-client privilege, Reuters reports. The appeals court found that such cases can be considered fraudulent activity and trigger the “crime-fraud exception,” which allows attorney-client privilege to be set aside.

The Tennessee Trial Court Vacancy Commission met rcently in Sevierville to consider eight applicants for a circuit court judge vacancy in the 4th Judicial District, which covers Cocke, Grainger, Jefferson and Sevier counties. After holding a public hearing and interviews, the commission selected three nominees to forward to Gov. Bill Lee for his consideration. They are: Dandridge lawyer and Assistant District Attorney Jeremy D. Ball; Newport attorney Jeffery S. Greene with McSween, McSween & Green; and Sevierville lawyer Adrienne Waters Ogle with Ogle McCarter. Greene is also the attorney for the towns of Parrotsville and Dandridge. Ogle is also a Sevier County Juvenile Court magistrate and attorney for the city of Gatlinburg. The vacancy in this district was created when the General Assembly approved funding for a new judge.