The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Memphis-based Just City are among several legal organizations bringing a federal class action lawsuit against the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, seeking the release of inmates most vulnerable to COVID-19, the Commercial Appeal reports. The lawsuit defines those most vulnerable as detainees over the age of 55 or those with previous medical conditions. This action comes after an announcement last month that nearly 200 inmates and staff tested positive at Memphis’ 201 Poplar Ave. facility. Shelby County officials have decreased the jail population by hundreds in recent months and District Attorney General Amy Weirich has worked to fast-track cases and says her office is dismissing many charges.

The Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled today that Gov. Bill Lee’s education savings account program cannot be implemented until the state’s appeal is resolved, WPLN reports. That ruling comes in response to an emergency motion filed by two libertarian groups, the Beacon Center of Tennessee and the Institute for Justice, that asked the court to allow the voucher program to move forward with its rollout deadline while the court decided on its constitutionality. Chancellor Anne Martin earlier this month deemed the program unconstitutional because it violated the state’s “home rule” amendment since it only applied to two counties without their consent. The appeals court upheld that order, but allowed the state to appeal the Chancery Court’s order on an expedited basis.

A “pared-down” version of the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) was administered online yesterday for the first time in history, Law.com reports. The virtual version of the entrance exam did encounter a few technical problems, however, with some reportedly waiting an hour or more for an online proctor to give them access to the exam, while others were mistakenly told by proctors that they could not use scratch paper during the test. The Law School Admission Council, which administers the test, remained positive about the overall results. About 10,000 people took the virtual exam.

U.S. Attorney J. Douglas Overbey of the Eastern District of Tennessee announced yesterday that the Bradley County Sheriff’s office received $41,405 in Department of Justice grants to respond to the public safety challenges posed by the outbreak of COVID-19, the Chattanoogan reports. The grant is available through the Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding, a program authorized by the recent stimulus legislation. The law gives jurisdictions considerable latitude using these funds for dealing with COVID-19.  Potential uses include hiring personnel, paying overtime, purchasing protective equipment, distributing resources to hard-hit areas and addressing inmates’ medical needs.  

A lawsuit brought by two students and a teacher against the merger of Belmont University and Watkins College of Art now questions the foundations of the deal, the Tennessee Lookout reports. Last month, the plaintiffs amended their complaint after Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal ruled they lacked standing to stop the merger, and the suit now centers on whether procedure was followed in order to dissolve a trust left by Watkins founder, Samuel Watkins. Attorneys Kevin Teets and Jonathan Fagan, who represent the plaintiffs, question the validity of a 1974 motion that dissolved the original trust. The schools announced in January that Watkins students would begin taking classes at Belmont in the fall and the Watkins campus would be sold, with proceeds going to an endowment for scholarships for its students. The “Save Watkins” Facebook page says the case will be back in court tomorrow.

Attorney General Herbert Slatery announced his office has reached a settlement with Santander Consumer USA Inc. after a five-year, multi-state investigation into the auto financing company’s subprime lending practices. Slatery joined a coalition of 34 attorneys general who alleged Santander violated consumer protection laws by exposing subprime consumers to unnecessarily high levels of risk and knowingly placing these consumers into auto loans with a high probability of default. The settlement includes approximately $550 million in relief for consumers with more relief in additional deficiency waivers expected. Santander has also agreed to waive balances for certain defaulted consumers, with approximately $433 million in immediate loan forgiveness. Consumers can find updated information on restitution here. 

The University of Tennessee College of Law will offer a Master of Legal Studies degree beginning in the summer of 2021, officials announced today. The 30-credit-hour degree was approved by the Tennessee Higher Education Commission last week after having been approved by the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees in February. Those who need to be conversant in the law, but do not wish to practice, like enforcement officers, paralegals, cybersecurity experts and others, are the program’s targeted demographic. “We are incredibly excited to be able to offer this degree option to the community,” College of Law Dean Melanie Wilson said. “Our Master of Legal Studies program will offer students an opportunity to gain meaningful knowledge of the law that they can apply to their careers that regularly intersect with the law – without committing to a full J.D. degree.” UT will be the only law school in the state to offer the degree.

The 2020 Virtual TBA Convention will take place entirely online during the week of June 15. The event, free for TBA members, will provide up to eight hours of CLE. Join us Monday for two legislative update sessions; on Tuesday for the Better Right Now wellness program; on Wednesday for the Bill and Phil Show from Law Tech 2020; and on Thursday morning for our 19th Amendment Centennial Program and in the afternoon for a choice between pro bono training or Fastcase training. Check out all of the free CLE offerings here. Make sure to register to take advantage of all these great programs. 

In the new online CLE video, LIFEtime Management: An Approach to Lawyer Time Management, lawyer Stuart Teicher will help viewers avoid the “Evil Triology” of bad lawyering habits: procrastination, distraction and neglect. Teicher will provide guidance on conquering those problems and offer solutions to problems involving time management. View the entire CLE course catalog here.

The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands will continue its weekly Facebook Live Q&A Wednesday at noon CDT. LAS attorney Mary Gillum will host this week’s show, which will cover economic impact payments, holds on tax collection and tax payment relief. LAS launched the show earlier this month to answer frequently asked questions relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.