The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday heard oral arguments in a pair of cases that test whether the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment bars government officials from blocking their critics on social media platforms. The question is whether social media activity should be deemed official action that is subject to limits on the government’s ability to restrict speech. One case involves parents in California who were blocked from the personal Twitter accounts of school board members, while another looks at a suit against a Michigan city official who blocked a state resident on Facebook. SCOTUSblog reports on the cases.

This year's Hot Topics in Real Estate will take place virtually on Nov. 10, allowing you to learn from the comfort of your home or office. The program, produced in cooperation with the Tennessee Land Title Association, is a staple for Tennessee dirt lawyers, designed to keep you on the cutting edge of developments in your practice. This year's program starts at 9 a.m. CST and provides 1 hour of dual credit and 4.75 hours of general credit.

Rep. Aftyn Behn, D-Nashville, says she plans to propose a law that would eliminate a tax on groceries and replace it with taxes on corporations. Tennessee's grocery tax holiday ended Oct. 31. WSMV reports that Behn says she is “calling on corporations to pay their fair share of taxes in order to abolish the grocery tax. I would challenge the Republicans across the aisle to join me in fighting to abolish it because it hurts their working-class families as well.” Tennessee is one of 13 states that has a tax on groceries.

The mother of Eric Allen, who died in a November 2022 encounter with Mt. Juliet police, has filed a lawsuit against the department, alleging that the officer who shot Allen used “unnecessary, unreasonable and excessive force” in violation of Allen’s constitutional rights. The Associated Press reports that the suit seeks $50 million, in addition to federal monitoring of Mt. Juliet Police Department’s use of force practices and procedures and changes to its patrol techniques.

The American Bar Association Section of State and Local Government Law will host a free webinar on firearms law on Nov. 8 at 12:30 p.m. EST. Experts from the Duke Center for Firearms Law will participate in a conversation about the legal issues surrounding gun policy, including what state and local officials are doing in the areas of policymaking, law enforcement and litigation to help lower the incidence of gun violence and mass shootings. Register here.

The Tennessee Supreme Court issued an order today amending Rule 17, which provides for a uniform judgment document to be used in all trial courts of record for convictions in all cases falling within the Tennessee Criminal Sentencing Reform Act of 1989. Due to recent statutory changes, the uniform judgment document requires revisions, and the court has adopted an amended and updated document, which will take effect Jan. 1, 2024. Read the order.

Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy on Tuesday announced that his office will no longer oppose requests for cost waivers of court fines and fees by low-income residents. Mulroy says that the financial impact of this policy is negligible and that “fines and fees have a disproportionate impact in our criminal justice system on low-income people and on minority communities, further exacerbating the already existing racial and wealth inequalities we have in the criminal justice system and society more generally.” The Daily Memphian reports that between August 2022 and August 2023, the Shelby County General Sessions Criminal Court processed 2,354 cost waivers.

Desmond Mills Jr., one of five former Memphis Police Department officers facing federal charges in the killing of Tyre Nichols, appeared before U.S. District Court Judge Mark S. Norris and pled guilty to civil rights and conspiracy charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office states in a press release. Mills pleaded guilty to counts one and three of the federal indictment, which dealt with the use of excessive force and conspiring to witness tamper; the other two counts were dismissed. The Daily Memphian reports that he also agreed to plead guilty to the state charges, which include second-degree murder, acting in concert of aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, two counts of official misconduct and one count of official oppression.

Davidson County lawyer Robert Redman Laser III was suspended from the practice of law today by the Tennessee Supreme Court after the court found that he failed to respond to the Board of Professional Responsibility about a misconduct complaint. He is precluded from accepting any new cases, and must cease representing existing clients by Dec. 1.

The law license of South Carolina lawyer Keith Lane Edmiston was reinstated to the active practice of law today. Edmiston had been placed on disability inactive status on Dec. 15, 2017. He filed for reinstatement on Feb. 7, demonstrating the disability had been removed. The Tennessee Supreme Court removed the disability status in April but maintained the inactive status until all disciplinary complaints were resolved.