In honor of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage (AANHPI) Month, American Bar Association President Mary Smith recently released a statement highlighting the theme of “Bridging Histories, Shaping Our Future" and noting the major impact the AANHPI community has had on the legal profession. According to the ABA’s Profile of the Legal Profession, the number of Asian American lawyers has grown faster than any other demographic group, increasing from 2.5% of all lawyers in 2021 to 6% in 2023. Smith concludes "As a nation, we should ensure that the AANHPI stories are lifted up. As lawyers, we should combat discrimination and hate that is too often targeted at this community ... Let us use this month to not only honor the achievements of the AANHPI people, many who overcame great hardship and discrimination to reach their goals, but also to dedicate ourselves to building bridges across cultures to create a future where all are treated equally and can succeed."

The Memphis office of the Tennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims was closed today due to water main problems. Bureau of Workers’ Compensation employees in Memphis were working remotely. Those who have settlement approvals scheduled should call the office at 615-532-4812 to reschedule.

A bill allowing for the death penalty in some cases of child rape has been signed into law by Gov. Bill Lee. It will take effect July 1 and will apply in cases where the offender has multiple prior felonies or multiple victims. Opponents predict the law will be challenged based on a 2008 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which found that the Eighth Amendment’s protection against cruel and unusual punishment prohibits the death penalty in causes where the victim does not die. The Associated Press reports on the development.

The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on May 22 in Cookeville before a group of rising high school seniors participating in the Tennessee American Legion’s Boys State program. The event is part of the court’s SCALES program, which educates students about the Tennessee legal system and judicial branch functions. Students will hear two cases beginning at 9 a.m. CST: Heather Smith v. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee and State v. William Rimmel III. The proceedings also will be livestreamed on the court’s YouTube page. Read more about the cases.

Belmont University College of Law announced a two-year pilot health care clinic that will be embedded at the Tennessee Justice Center (TJC). Funding for the “Healthcare Justice Clinic” will be provided by a $260,000 grant from the Speer Foundation. The clinic will be coordinated by a TJC staff attorney and staffed by Belmont law students who will be selected for the externship. Students will receive academic credit for the experience, which will also include a class focused on managing client cases. The effort is designed to expand TJC’s work of advocating for vulnerable Tennessee families. “There are way more Tennesseans who need help than our small staff can handle, so this new resource will make a powerful difference,” said Michele Johnson, TJC co-founder and executive director. Read more in a news release from the school.

The entirety of Tennessee's sex offender registry law cannot be thrown out because a handful of requirements may be unconstitutional, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit has ruled. According to Courthouse News, the decision vacates an injunction granted by U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger and directs her to focus on only the requirements that do not pass constitutional muster. A class of sex offenders convicted before 1995 sued the state in 2021, arguing that recent changes to registry requirements violate their constitutional rights. The appeals panel also dismissed Gov. Bill Lee from the action, leaving Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David B. Rausch as the sole target of the suit.

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee today approved a measure asking the Department of Justice to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress. The party line vote moves the measure to the House Oversight Committee, which is expected to vote this evening, The Hill reports. The committees are seeking access to audio recordings of President Joe Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur. While they already have transcripts of the proceeding, Republican members argue that the audio recordings could be more revealing. The Biden administration recently claimed executive privilege over the recordings, making it unlikely the department would pursue charges of criminal contempt even if the measure passed the full Congress.

The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) funding mechanism, siding with the Biden administration against the payday loan industry. The 7-2 decision, authored by Justice Clarence Thomas, reversed a lower court's ruling that the CFPB's funding design violated a provision of the U.S. Constitution called the "appropriations clause," which gives Congress the power of the purse. The agency draws money annually from the Federal Reserve instead of from budgets passed by lawmakers, SCOTUSblog reports.

The TBA’s Court Square Series will be in Cookeville on the afternoon of May 30. The program will include an ethics update with Beverly Sharpe with the Board of Professional Responsibility; a legislative update with Nathan Ridley; and a judicial panel with Circuit Court Judge William Ridley from Crossville, Circuit Court Judge Caroline Knight from Cookeville and Chancellor Ronald Thurman from Cookeville.

Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner says if the Shelby County Board of Commissioners passes a budget that cuts 441 vacant positions from his office, he will take the commission to court. At the opening of county budget hearings today, Bonner said he believes state law forbids cuts to his part of the county budget. “We’re being asked by city of Memphis residents to do more than we’ve ever done before,” Bonner said while also citing the need for a new jail. “I’ve never said no to any municipality when they’ve asked for Sheriff’s Department help.” A spokesperson for the county said that even with the job cuts, the budget proposals retains 300 unfilled positions, the Daily Memphian reports.