Civil rights attorney Ben Crump at a press conference today called on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate Rutherford County Assistant District Attorney John Zimmerman for alleged “racial profiling” and “discrimination,” News Channel 5 reports. Crump, who will represent the minority-owned businesses impacted by the alleged practices, claims Zimmerman “used his position and power to target minority businesses” and pointed to allegations of the assistant DA using racial slurs during speaking engagements. "We want these investigated to the highest levels of the government,” Crump said.

Rutherford County senior judicial commissioner Jacob Flatt has announced he will be running as a Republican for Juvenile Court judge, WPLN reports. A Nashville School of Law graduate, Flatt became the county’s senior judicial commissioner in 2019. He was previously in private practice and is a former clerk for Rutherford County General Sessions Judge Ben Hall McFarlin Jr. Flatt’s campaign marks the first time in 20 years current Juvenile Court Judge Donna Scott Davenport has been challenged for her seat.

Nashville attorney Rachel Buckley has been appointed general counsel for the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, the Nashville Post reports. Buckley began working for the state in 2013 as a lawyer for the Department of Children’s Services and the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office. She joined the comptroller’s office in 2017, working on open records cases, and was later named assistant general counsel. In her new role, Buckley will field requests from businesses, governmental entities and schools seeking exemptions to newly passed laws banning COVID-19 precautions like mask and vaccine mandates. She drafted the exemption guidelines and will continue to provide legal advice as determinations are made.

A Roane County grand jury yesterday decided it would not bring state criminal charges against the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and a contractor for the 2008 toxic waste spill and subsequent cleanup, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. The grand jury made its decision after being presented with the findings of a criminal investigation into the incident conducted by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. After a nine-hour hearing, the grand jury voted 10-2 not to bring state criminal charges against the TVA and Jacobs Engineering, but added it found evidence about the cleanup and worker safety to be “very concerning.” The grand jury also commented that “the evidence (is) better suited for federal authorities to investigate and prosecute."

Mark your calendars for the 2022 Estate Planning & Probate Forum set for Feb. 18 from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. CST. The event will offer an in-person and virtual option, providing the insights needed to stay on top of key developments in the practice area. The program offers one dual credit and six general credits of CLE. The program will cover legislative updates, ethics and recent developments to rules on estate and gift taxes. A Clerk and Masters’ panel will also be included in the programming. Get more information and register here.

A portrait of retired Davidson County Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman has been completed and is on permanent display at Nashville’s Chancery Court. A gift to the Nashville Bar Association, the portrait was created by Nashville illustrator and storyboard artist, J. William Myers. Bonnyman retired in January 2019 after serving on the Davidson County Chancery Court for 15 years. She was appointed by former Gov. Phil Bredesen in 2003 and won election three times, most recently in 2014. Bonnyman hopes to hold an official portrait unveiling ceremony in the future. Read more from the Administrative Offices of the Courts.

The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands will hold two clinics this week. A phone clinic will be held tomorrow at 2 p.m. to provide general advice. The first 15 callers will be accepted. On Wednesday, a clinic will be held specifically for veterans from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Operation Stand Down, 1125 12th Ave. S. Nashville 37203. All times central. To volunteer contact Kendra Cheek, 615-780-7131. See all November clinics.

Three firms with offices in Tennessee have been named to Bloomberg Law's inaugural Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) Framework. The list acknowledges firms that meet or exceed an established threshold of diversity, equity and inclusion. Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz PC, Frost Brown Todd LLC and Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart PC were among 28 firms in the listing. Firm considered for the list were scored in both the level of disclosure of diversity-related metrics, as well as distinguished performance against standards in each of the six pillar areas: demographics, leadership and talent pipeline, recruitment and retention, business innovation and strategy, marketing, and diversity and inclusion (D&I) in the community. 

There are no court opinions in today's issue of TBA Today as state courts were closed in observation of Veterans Day. 

The Nashville branch of the NAACP today called for the closure of the Trousdale Turner Correctional Center in Hartsville for what it calls “barbaric treatment” of  inmates, the majority of whom are Black, News Channel 5 reports. The organization also called for the state and U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the private prison. NAACP Nashville President Sheryl Guinn said they have received an "inordinate" number of complaints about the facility, including reports about guards beating inmates until they are “bloody,” and inmates receiving inadequate medical care, if they’re allowed medical services at all.