TBA’s Legislative Updates podcast is new with TBA Director of Public Policy & Government Affairs Berkley Schwarz and Adams and Reese attorney and TBA lobbyist Ashley Harbin. Schwarz and Harbin discuss HB176/SB124, which would require all documents recorded with the Register of Deeds to be in 12-point font size, and SB528/HB551, a measure that would make a variety of changes to adoption law. Legislative Updates airs each week on the TBA’s Facebook page. It is also released as a podcast on the same day and can be found on the TBA’s website or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Tennessee's 113th General Assembly is now in session and TBA's Legislative Updates podcast is back for a new season! Lawmakers filed a combined total of 1,700 bills this year – 1,000 less than 2022. TBA Director of Public Policy & Government Affairs Berkley Schwarz and Adams and Reese attorneys and TBA lobbyists, Brad Lampley and Ashley Harbin host the podcast to discuss what's ahead for the legislative year and the bills TBA is sponsoring. Legislative Updates airs each week on the TBA’s Facebook page. It is also released as a podcast on the same day and can be found on the TBA’s website or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Veristar, a Chicago-based legal services firm, has announced it is expanding into Nashville, the Nashville Post reports. Veristar offers e-discovery and legal staffing services. The company has an additional presence in New York, Cleveland, Charlotte, Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. “Nashville is a vibrant, sophisticated city that is home to powerhouse law firms and many great companies in health care, technology, entertainment, financial services and manufacturing,” Veristar CEO Rick Avers said in the release. “Everyone at Veristar is excited to be a part of the Nashville community.”

The Shelby County District Attorney’s Office will be reviewing all cases handled by the five Memphis Police Department officers accused of killing Tyre Nichols, the Commercial Appeal reports. District Attorney Steve Mulroy did not specify how many cases were being reviewed, but said the review includes both active and closed cases. The news outlet also reported today that new documents reveal ex-MPD officer Preston Hemphill lied about seeing reckless driving and that Nichols put up a fight during the traffic stop that eventually led to his death. The MPD sent those documents to the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission (POST) in an effort to have Hemphill decertified. The Daily Memphian reports that another POST file reveals ex-officer Demetrius Haley took cell phone photos of Nichols after he and the other officers took turns beating him. According to his Garrity statement, Haley then texted the photos to “one civilian employee, two MPD officers, and one female acquaintance.” That Garrity statement, however, could be kept from a jury. The Associated Press explains why.  

Eviction filings in Nashville are now 70% higher than they were pre-pandemic, according to WPLN. The news outlet dug further into the issue on a recent episode of its Citizen Nashville podcast with special guests Julie Yriart, legal director of the Nashville Eviction Right to Counsel pilot program with the Hispanic Bar Association and Elizabeth Leiserson, Eviction Right to Counsel Project director with the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands. In the episode, Yriart and Leiserson discuss how the rise in eviction filings impacts the lack of affordable housing, what rights and resources tenants have and more. Listen to the episode.

Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, is challenging the legality of a bill that would cut the Metro Nashville Council in half, the Tennessee Lookout reports. Yarbro, an attorney, argues that Davidson County is a “metropolitan county government” which, per the Constitution, “has to be treated as having the authority of a county government because it does.” House Bill 48 sponsor House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, argues lawmakers can adjust city councils because they are set up statutorily whereas county governments are established constitutionally. The measure moved through the House Local Government Committee on Tuesday.

Legislation to clarify portions of the state's obscenity law regarding public drag performances cleared the Tennessee Senate today, the Tennessean reports. The bill, SB03, classifies "male and female impersonators" as adult cabaret performers and bans "adult-oriented performances that are harmful to minors," as defined in Tennessee's obscenity law. The measure was opposed by all Senate Democrats but was ultimately passed on a 26-6 vote. The bill’s sponsor, Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, acknowledged that what might be considered “harmful” would be subject to discretion from prosecutors.

A Shelby County assistant district attorney will serve two days in jail after pleading guilty to driving under the influence, the Commercial Appeal reports. Monica Timmerman was charged with a DUI in December after hitting a utility pole near Overton Park. She’ll serve two days in jail, followed by 11 months and 27 days of supervised probation. Timmerman will also be required to pay a $4,777 restitution to Memphis Light, Gas & Water, which must be paid by Aug. 8. The District Attorney’s Office issued a statement after the arrest saying Timmerman was still employed with the office and an independent prosecutor was being appointed to the case. Timmerman was a defense attorney prior to being sworn in as an ADA last November.

The Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility (BPR) has issued a new Formal Ethics Opinion after adopting significant comments from the TBA. In November, the TBA filed a comment with the BPR in response to the proposed opinion, which dealt with the circumstances that establish a systematic and continuous presence in Tennessee for the practice of law as in-house counsel. The BPR adopted those changes and has issued Formal Ethics Opinion 2022-F-168. Read the finalized opinion here.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has joined 21 states in calling on President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to designate Mexican drug cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) under federal law. The letter from the coalition contends that Mexican cartels are responsible for producing deadly synthetic opioids at a low cost and trafficking the drugs across the U.S. boarder. Skrmetti’s office said in a release today that an FTO designation would provide state and federal law enforcement agencies increased authority to freeze cartel assets, deny entry to cartel members, and allow prosecutors to pursue stricter punishments against those who provide them material support. Read more from the AG’s office.