The Nashville government is asking a judge to throw out the remainder of a law that cuts the size of its Metro council in half. Part of that law was invalidated last year by a three-judge panel, which decided the law was enacted too late to go into effect before the 2023 council elections. Attorneys for the city argue that the remaining part of the law cannot work without the blocked element. The state is arguing for the law to be upheld, saying a blanket limit on metro governments should proceed. Tennessee Report has more on the case.

The annual Bench Bar Luncheon will take place June 13 as part of the TBA’s Convention. Lawyers and judges from across the state will gather to recognize judicial service and hear from Memphis lawyer Charles Newman, who served as one of Martin Luther King Jr.’s lawyers during the sanitation workers strike in the spring of 1968. It was the strike that brought King to Memphis, where the day after addressing workers, he was felled by an assassin’s bullet. Also at the lunch, Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Holly Kirby will be recognized with the TBA’s Justice Frank F. Drowota III Outstanding Judicial Service Award and Senior Judge J. Daniel Breen will receive the Judge Pamela L. Reeves Tennessee Professionalism Award, given jointly by the TBA and the Tennessee American Inns of Court. Make plans now to join your colleagues at this annual favorite!

If you plan to attend the 2024 TBA Convention but have not yet booked your hotel, time is running out! The TBA hotel room block at the historic Peabody Hotel in Memphis will close Wednesday. Book now to take advantage of our special discounted rate.

Belmont University College of Law today 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.

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.