The Tennessee Supreme Court temporarily suspended Maury County lawyer Ashlyn Elizabeth Blevins from the practice of law on Nov. 22 after finding that she poses a threat of substantial harm to the public and is substantially non-compliant with a Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program monitoring agreement. The court reports that Blevins failed to complete certain testing and additional treatment as required. Blevins is immediately precluded from accepting any new cases and must cease representing existing clients by Dec. 22. The court also approved a motion from the Board of Professional Responsibility to file an exhibit in the case under seal.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Nov. 22 transferred the law license of Shelby County lawyer Cynthia Jeanne Tobin to disability inactive status. Tobin may not practice law while on inactive status. She may return to the practice of law after reinstatement by the Tennessee Supreme Court by showing that the disability has been removed.

The third installment in TBA's Indigent Representation Primer is now available. This week's post reviews the most common models indigent representation systems tend to follow, including the use of public defenders, appointed or contracted counsel, or a hybrid approach. Some jurisdictions also create specialized programs to address the unique needs of certain types of indigent defendants, such as those with mental health issues, individuals pursuing appeals or those facing the death penalty. Tennessee's system would be considered a hybrid, with two primary components: public defender offices in each judicial district and the indigent representation program administered by the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC). Read more about these differing structures or see past primer posts here.

The Office of the Tennessee Attorney General is urging consumers to be aware of scam websites posing as classic car and heavy equipment dealerships. Even though scammers answer the phones, send videos and present fake business licenses, consumers will be swindled out of their money if they fall for these scams, the office said in a release this week. Among the scams are a fake classic car seller named Leo’s Luxury Motors and a fake website for heavy machinery, which was made using the name of Equipment Express, an authentic forklift dealer in Lebanon, Tennessee. The office recommends viewing any vehicles or machinery in person before purchasing and following five tips to ensure dealings are with reputable sellers. Learn more and get the tips on the office’s website.

The Tennessee Department of Revenue will host a free webinar on Nov. 26 on tax implications for both marketplace facilitators and sellers. Marketplace facilitators are businesses that own or operate a website or other platform where sales are made on behalf of marketplace sellers (i.e. third parties). A marketplace seller is a person who sells goods or services through a marketplace operated, owned or controlled by a marketplace facilitator. Learn more or register here. The webinar is one in a series of educational sessions held by the department each month.

Nashville’s Community Review Board voted unanimously this week to approve a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Metro Nashville Police Department, formalizing the procedures both sides will follow as the board reviews internal police investigations. The agreement comes more than a year after the review board was established to take the place of a stronger oversight board that was eliminated by a 2023 state law. Details of the agreement were not released, but recent board discussions had focused on making sure the board had timely access to body camera footage and received entire case files associated with complaints against officers, the Nashville Banner reports.

The Knoxville Bar Association (KBA) will hold its Annual Meeting and Elections on Dec. 13 from 8:30-10 a.m. EST. At the annual event, KBA President Carlos Yunsan will pass the gavel to incoming President Jonathan Cooper. Rachel Hurt will move into the position of president-elect, having completed her term as treasurer, and Ursula Bailey will move into the role of treasurer, having completed her term as secretary. Members in attendance also will vote on whether to elect Cathy Shuck as secretary. If successful, Shuck would then serve as KBA president in 2028. Members also will vote on three new board members.

The federal judiciary’s first annual report detailing the steps it has taken to address allegations of workplace misconduct is out and shows most of the complaints were not lodged against judges but other court staff, Reuters reports. According to the report, only half of the 178 workplace misconduct claims between 2021-2023 involved the courts themselves as opposed to probation offices or federal public defender offices. Of that, 14% of claims concerned law clerks and other staff in a judge's chambers. The Office of Judicial Integrity within the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts published the report, which was one of several reforms adopted amid allegations of sexual harassment by judges during the “Me Too” movement.

State Rep. Gino Bulso, R-Brentwood, has introduced legislation that would raise the current cap on noneconomic damages for most civil lawsuits from $750,000 to $1.5 million. HB0005, filed on Nov. 6, also would increase the cap for noneconomic damages in catastrophic cases from $1 million to $2 million. Supporters of increasing the limits have said that inflation has eaten away at the buying power of the award. The Tennessee Journal has more.

A federal judge has ruled that meetings of the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Rules of Practice and Procedure do not have to be open to the public and press, Bloomberg Law reports. The ruling came in a suit filed by Dan McCaleb, executive editor of the online news organization The Center Square, against the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson previously granted a temporary injunction requested by McCaleb that opened the meetings. The commission has streamed its meetings live on YouTube throughout this year. The judge now has found that the commission can close its meetings because it is a rulemaking body and not part of an adjudicative process. The Center Square said in a news report that the case was quickly appealed to the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.