A handful of Middle Tennessee voters will have their November provisional ballots counted, though the fight over their registration remains unresolved, the Associated Press reports. The voters, each with past felony convictions, sought to restore their right to vote but ran into a new interpretation of state law disallowing those who cannot restore their right to possess a firearm from restoring their right to vote. Two Nashville-based judges — Nashville Criminal Court Judge Angelita Dalton and Circuit Court Judge Thomas Brothers — rejected the state’s interpretation and allowed the individuals to vote. According to Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins, the ballots will be counted but the state is not stepping away from the court fight over its policy and reserves the right to revoke registrations before the next election.

Attorneys for the city of Memphis filed court documents this month raising questions that could affect a $550 million civil rights suit being brought by RowVaughn Wells, the mother of Tyre Nichols. Among its claims, the city says that Morgan Jackson, the mother of Nichols’ son, received $400,000 from attorneys for Wells in exchange for relinquishing her right to administer Nichols' estate. The documents also include a claim allegedly made by Jackson during depositions that Nichols was physically abusive of her. Lawyers for Wells are pushing back on the disclosures, saying they are being made to smear the family and “poison the jury pool.” They dispute the source of the payments to Jackson, saying they came from private citizens via a GoFundMe account, and say that the filing violates a previous order that gave attorneys time to designate portions of depositions as confidential. The Daily Memphian has more on the story.

Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Felicia Corbin-Johnson has dismissed the second ouster attempt against Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert, the Commercial Appeal reports. Corbin-Johnson said that the way the motion was structured — filed by private attorney Robert Meyers, who was hired for the job after Shelby County attorney Marlinee Iverson recused herself, but naming Iverson as a relator — meant it was filed with knowledge and information from Iverson. That led the judge to conclude that Iverson was responsible for the investigation that led to the ouster attempt and Meyers had no standing to bring the case. Meyers now has 30 days to decide whether to appeal. The first ouster attempt, filed by Hamilton County District Attorney General Coty Wamp acting as a special attorney, was dismissed because Wamp does not live in the jurisdiction where Halbert was elected.

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A Chattanooga attorney has been accused of repeatedly sending pornographic videos that involved child and animal abuse, the Chattanooga Times Press reports. Patrick Bryant Hawley has been charged federally with sexual exploitation of children, animal crushing, coercion, enticement, and the receipt, possession and distribution of child pornography. Hawley is expected to be arraigned Nov. 22 in Chattanooga's federal court according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee.

The link for the second installment of TBA's Indigent Representation Primer published on Friday did not work for some TBA Today readers. The post, which highlights background and data about Tennessee's Indigent Representation Program, including how courts determine and assign counsel for indigent defendants and vulnerable individuals, can be accessed here. The post also looks at a recent performance audit report of the Tennessee court system conducted by the Office of the Comptroller of the Treasury, including an evaluation of the "effectiveness and efficiency" of the current system of indigent representation as well as other court programs. See past primer posts here.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti recently has taken action on a number of issues, including leading a group of 31 state attorneys general in urging congressional members to pass the “Kids Online Safety Act.” The bill is designed to protect children from online harm by giving parents easy access to safety settings, the ability to disable algorithms and improved processes for reporting dangerous content. Skrmetti also recently joined with 46 other state attorneys general to call on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to strengthen consumer protections against robocalls and texts. The group outlined a list of actions it would like to see made in the FCC’s Robocall Mitigation Database. Finally, the Office of the Attorney General issued a reminder of the VSAFE.gov website, which highlights fraud schemes targeted at veterans as well as tools for protecting against and reporting scams.

The Tennessee Supreme Court is weighing whether the punishment for Memphis attorney Aaron Anthony Neglia should be increased from a 10-year suspension to permanent disbarment. The Board of Professional Responsibility had proposed to suspend Neglia for 10 years with the requirement that he retain a practice monitor for one year. The court indicated it wanted more information on the case before making a final decision. The board now must file the record of the disciplinary hearing within 30 days, after which Neglia will have 20 days to submit his brief. The matter will then be submitted to the court on briefs without oral argument. Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9, section 15.4(b) and (c) give the court authority to increase or decrease punishments subject to a set procedure and timelines.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has suspended Madison County lawyer Marcus Allen Lipham from the practice of law after finding that he poses a threat of substantial harm to the public and is substantially non-compliant with a Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program monitoring agreement. The court reported that Lipham failed to complete certain testing and additional treatment as required. Lipham is immediately precluded from accepting any new cases and must cease representing existing clients by Dec.18. The suspension will remain in effect until dissolution or modification by the court. The court also approved an order allowing documents in the case to be filed under seal.

Two legal clinics will be held in Memphis this week. Tomorrow, the Memphis Fair Housing Center, a division of Memphis Area Legal Services, will hold a free legal advice clinic addressing housing questions. The event will take place from 3-5 p.m. CST at the Benjamin L. Hooks Public Library, 3030 Poplar Ave., 3rd Floor, Study Room #1 Memphis 38111. For more information call 901-432-4663. Then on Thursday, the Memphis Bar Association and Memphis Area Legal Services will hold the Attorney of the Day Clinic from 1-3 p.m. at the General Sessions Courthouse, 140 Adams Ave., Memphis 38103. Volunteers should arrive at 1 p.m. and be available to provide advice about legal procedures to litigants. Members of the public with an active or post judgment case in General Sessions will be helped on a first come, first serve basis.