The Knoxville Bar Association and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, in partnership with Legal Aid of East Tennessee (LAET), will hold a Debt Relief Clinic on Aug. 17 to provide pro bono legal services to income-eligible consumer debtors in Knox, Blount, Loudon and Sevier counties. The clinic will begin at 8:45 a.m. EDT at the Knox County Public Defender's Community Law Office, 1101 Liberty St., Knoxville 37919. Volunteer lawyers will conduct initial meetings with the clients to discuss their situations and options. Those interested in helping should register online.

Nashville has seen a recent string of violent suspects who have been released from custody after doctors determined they were mentally unfit to stand trial, but not a risk to themselves or others. In several recent cases, such individuals are alleged to have committed additional violent crimes after release. Two new state laws go into effect today to try to fix the system by mandating mental health evaluations and treatment for misdemeanor offenders and requiring automatic commitment for anyone deemed mentally unfit to stand trial. The Tennessean reviews three, high-profile cases. In related news, the paper also looks at concerns that the new laws will leave more people languishing in overcrowded jails due to the state’s lack of treatment programs and staffing for psychiatric beds.

Tennessee's ELVIS Act (Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security) went into effect today, ushering in a new era of legal ramifications for those who abuse artificial intelligence (AI) in their music-making process, the Tennessean reports. The new law enacts voice protections against deepfakes and unauthorized uses of individuals’ voices and likenesses. The paper conducted a dozen interviews with lawyers, tech companies and music trade organizations to find out what experts expect to happen in the coming months. Common themes among their findings? The ELVIS Act will lead to onslaught of legal action.

A federal judge in Texas on Friday temporarily blocked a Biden administration rule that would extend mandatory overtime pay to millions of salaried workers. U.S. District Judge Sean Jordan said the rule improperly bases eligibility for overtime pay on workers' wages rather than their job duties. The decision prohibits the U.S. Department of Labor from applying the rule to state workers in Texas pending the outcome of a wider legal challenge by the state. According to Reuters, Texas is seeking to strike the rule down nationwide. In the meantime, the Nashville Business Journal looks at the impact of the new rule on the rest of the country.

Youth residing in the Hamilton County Juvenile Detention Center recently presented artwork to the juvenile court. Under the tutelage of artist Olga de Klein and her colleagues, the young people created small, colorful pieces of art on three mosaic-style canvases. Hamilton County Juvenile Court Judge Robert Philyaw, Court Clerk Gary Behler, magistrates and staff gathered in the courthouse lobby to dedicate a display of the artwork. de Klein teaches weekly art classes in the detention center – a program that began in 2014. Since then, hundreds of Hamilton County youth have had opportunities to learn how to draw, sketch and paint, write poetry, engage in photography and more during the time they are detained. Chattanoogan.com has more on the story.Hamilton County Juvenile Court Judge Robert Philyaw, Court Clerk Gary Behler, Magistrates, and staff gathered in the courthouse lobby for dedication and display of artwork made by youth in the detention center.

A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has allowed President Joe Biden to move forward with implementing a key part of a new student debt relief plan designed to lower monthly payments for millions of Americans, Reuters reports. The move puts on hold an injunction issued by a judge in Kansas last week. That judge had concluded that the Higher Education Act of 1965 did not clearly authorize the type of "unprecedented and dramatic expansion" of income-based repayment plans envisioned. The Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan provides more generous terms than past income-based repayment plans, lowering monthly payments for eligible borrowers and allowing those whose original principal balances were $12,000 or less to have their debt forgiven after 10 years.

A collaborative, path-breaking effort between the University of Tennessee College of Law and the College of Arts & Sciences aims to serve residents in Appalachia and the Mountain South by addressing community justice issues in the region. The center will bring together university resources, faculty, students and community members to help solve urgent and historically under-addressed issues in the region. The center is co-directed by College of Law Professor Wendy A. Bach and College of Arts & Sciences Department of Sociology Professor Michelle Brown. Read more in a press release from the school.

The U.S. Supreme Court today issued three rulings and indicated that the final opinions of the term will be issues on Monday. The court held that an obstruction law used to charge hundreds of rioters who took part in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol was improperly applied, according to NPR. The statute in question bars obstruction of an official proceeding, and the court found that it only applies in cases of evidence tampering, such as destruction of records or documents. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said he was disappointed by the decision, but emphasized its impact will be limited as no defendants were charged only with that offense. The Tennessean has more on how the ruling may shorten prison sentences for at least two people arrested in Tennessee.

The court also handed down its biggest decision on homelessness in decades, ruling that ordinances banning people from sleeping and camping in public places do not violate the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment, reports the New York Times. Justice Sotomayor dissented, arguing that the decision focused only on the needs of cities but not the most vulnerable, noting that sleep is a biological necessity, and this decision forces “an impossible choice — either stay awake or be arrested."

Finally, the court overturned the landmark Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council (1984) decision, cutting back sharply on the power of federal agencies to interpret the laws they administer and ruled that courts should rely on their own interpretation of ambiguous laws. CBS reports that the decision will likely have far-reaching effects on issues such as employment, environmental protection and health care. SCOTUSblog has more on all of these cases. Four cases remain to be decided, including whether former President Donald Trump has immunity from prosecution, AP reports.

Pauline Weaver will receive the Pickering Award of Achievement on Aug. 3 at the ABA 2024 Annual Meeting in Chicago. Originally from England, Weaver came to the U.S. at the age of 11. She earned her bachelor’s and law degree (1979) from the University of Memphis. After passing the state bar of California in 1980, Weaver became a public defender for Alameda County and worked there until 2011. She was one of the first women in Alameda County to try a death penalty case. She has been active with the ABA, serving on its board of governors and as secretary. She has been involved with more than 100 boards and served as literacy volunteer and mentor for recent parolees. In 2014, she successfully nominated former federal judge Bernice Donald for the Pickering Award.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on May 24 suspended 17 attorneys for failure to pay the annual registration fee; 15 of them also failed to file proof that client funds are held in an IOLTA-compliant account. View the fee suspension order and IOLTA suspension order. Ten lawyers suspended this year also have been reinstated. See the list of all lawyers suspended and reinstated for fee and IOLTA violations in 2024 or access all administrative suspensions dating back to 2005.