Memphis lawyer John Dennis Horne died Oct. 18 at the age of 77. After growing up in Signal Mountain, Horne attended the University of Tennessee and its College of Law. He later received a Master of Business Administration from the University of Memphis. After three years of service in the U.S. Army Jag Corps, Horne moved back to Memphis and joined the Winchester Law Firm. He was an active member of the community and a fellow of the Tennessee Bar Foundation. Visitation will be held Friday at 10:30 a.m. CDT in the Cheney Parish Hall at the Church of the Holy Communion. A memorial service will follow at noon. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Church of Holy Communion, 4645 Walnut Grove Rd., Memphis, TN 38117.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments over Tennessee’s law banning transgender medical care for minors on Dec. 4, SCOTUSblog reports. The Tennessee General Assembly passed the law banning surgeries as well as puberty blockers and hormone therapy for minors in 2023. The ACLU and Lambda Legal sued. While U.S. Circuit Court Judge Eli Richardson initially blocked the ban, his ruling was overturned by the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, which allowed the law to go into effect while parties appeal. In briefs to the high court, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti defended the law while the ACLU argued against it. The American Bar Association also filed an amicus brief opposing the law, and the Biden administration joined as a party opposed to the case. The case is the first of its kind to reach the high court and the ACLU’s Chase Strangio will be the first openly transgender lawyer to argue at the court. Bloomberg Law has more on that development. A decision is expected next summer.

The 2024 Creditors Practice Forum will take place in person in Nashville on Nov. 14 from 10 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. CST. The event will be held at the Tennessee Bankers Association, 211 Athens Way, Nashville 37228. This year’s forum will feature a case law update, a review of the Davidson County Local Rules of Court and more. Three general and one dual CLE credits are available. Creditors Practice Section members enjoy discounted registration and other benefits. Not a section member? Join here.

The Tennessee Justice Bus will make stops in several locations over the next 10 days as Celebrate Pro Bono Month comes to a close. On Thursday, the bus will be in Dekalb County at the Upper Cumberland Human Resource Agency in Smithville from 9-11 a.m. CDT for a general legal advice clinic. Later that day, the bus will offer resources at Urban Housing Solutions’ Journeys of Hope meeting in Nashville from 6-7 p.m. On Friday, the bus will be at the Urban Housing Solutions Resource Fair at the Eastwood Court Apartments from 4-6 p.m. in Nashville. On Oct. 29, the bus will be in West Tennessee to participate in an expungement clinic in Decaturville from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Get details at the links above.

The TBA’s 36th Annual Health Law Forum took place in the Nashville area last week. Close to 300 attendees heard updates on digital health, cybersecurity, regulatory fraud and abuse and using AI in a health care context. Speakers also provided legislative, case review and ethics updates. The keynote address was delivered by David Higginson, executive vice president of Phoenix Children's Hospital. Section Chair Ian Hennessey, general counsel for Alliance for Multispecialty Research in Knoxville, produced and moderated the two-day event. At the section’s annual meeting and luncheon on Friday, he passed the Section Cup to incoming chair Imad Abdullah, senior vice president and chief legal officer with Regional One Health in Memphis. Members of the section also voted on leadership for the 2024–2025 bar year at the luncheon. Thanks to all who helped plan or speak at the event, which remains the TBA’s highest attended in-person CLE program.

The U.S. Supreme Court this week tackled a case involving a man who was fired from his job as a commercial truck driver for failing a drug test after taking CBD, which he said was falsely sold as lacking the psychoactive ingredient present in marijuana. The court declined to put on hold a new EPA rule targeting carbon pollution from coal- and gas-fired power plants. The justices also gave a Texas citizen journalist a new chance to sue over her arrest, and ordered a new look at Pennsylvania youth gun restrictions.

Voters at 10 to 12 early voting sites in Shelby County reportedly have complained about problems getting touch-screen voting machines to show the candidate they voted for, the Daily Memphian reports. According to Action News 5, Shelby County members of the Legislative Democratic Caucus held a press conference Thursday evening to address the reports. The Shelby County Election Commission refuted claims that any irregularities have occurred, but instructed election officials at all of the sites to make styluses available to all voters. Shelby County Elections Administrator Linda Phillips said in a statement that, "To date, no voting irregularities have been identified." She encouraged voters to "carefully review their ballot before casting it." If voters have concerns, they should request assistance from election officials at the site and not leave the location until they are satisfied they have been able to vote for their choices in all of the races and referendums on the ballot.

The TBA’s 36th Annual Health Law Forum kicked off yesterday in Franklin with a welcome from TBA President Ed Lanquist Jr. The two-day event is the premier health law program in the state, providing essential insights from health law providers, practitioners and regulators. Watch for a full report from the forum in Monday's issue of TBA Today. Lanquist spoke to the group about the opportunity to engage around policy issues that are important to the practice of law in Tennessee. He encouraged those in attendance to connect with TBA's Grassroots Advocacy efforts. One of the primary government affairs issues TBA remains committed to is improving delivery of legal services for indigent clients. The TBA is focused both on securing adequate resources to compensate the lawyers who do this important work and investing in new approaches to improve the indigent representation system in a way that benefits attorneys, the larger justice system and the public.

The University of Memphis Law Review will host its 2025 symposium "The Ripple Effect: Examining the Supreme Court's Impact on the Public's Confidence in the Judicial Branch" on Feb. 21 at the law school. The event will explore issues related to public trust in the courts, including judicial transparency and challenges practitioners face in adhering to changes in common law doctrine. For more information, contact Senior Symposium Editor Megan Stillwell at mnstllwl@memphis.edu. 

Tennessee Bar Journal Editor Julia Canada Wilburn spoke on a panel today at the National Association of Bar Executives (NABE) Communications Section Workshop in Raleigh, North Carolina. She focused her remarks on working with journal editorial boards. Other panelists talked about magazine layout and design, operations and finding new advertisers. The Communications Section holds its annual professional development workshop each fall in different cities across the country. TBA staff have a long history of participation and leadership in the section.