This Saturday’s legal clinic hosted by the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands will no longer be held in-person and will now be held virtually by phone. The clinic is set for 8:30 until 10:30 a.m. CDT. If you have questions, please email the clinic coordinator at kcheek@las.org. See a list of all April clinics.

Nashville non-profit The Equity Alliance (TEA) released voter guides this week for the May 3 primaries in Memphis, Nashville and Chattanooga, the Daily Memphian reports. The 54-page Shelby County guide includes information on voter-registration requirements, including the ID requirement for absentee voting. All early-voting sites are listed, as are resources for voters who believe their rights have been violated. Information about each office is also included, as well as profiles on all candidates who responded to TEA’s survey questions. Contact information for each candidate is provided and TEA encourages readers to reach out to candidates directly. The Equity Alliance is a women-led nonprofit organization designed to build political and economic power in Black communities statewide. Find all three voter guides on TEA’s website.  

Attorneys for the Town of Mason are vowing to continue the legal battle against the Tennessee comptroller over its plans to take over financial control of the city, the Tennessee Lookout reports. Davidson County Chancery Court Judge Anne Martin last week denied the town’s request to issue a preliminary injunction that would put a temporary halt to the state’s financial takeover, noting the comptroller’s “broad authority” over local government operations. Martin also said she has not been presented with enough evidence to rule on Mason’s allegations of racial discrimination. “The Town of Mason plans continuing to litigate this matter until a satisfactory conclusion is reached which preserves the sovereignty of its elected leadership and complies with all laws and regulations regarding its finances,” said Van Turner, an attorney representing Mason. Comptroller Jason Mumpower formally took control of Mason’s finances on April 4.

Matt Wiltshire of the Metro Development and Housing Agency will leave his post on April 29 as he considers a bid for Nashville mayor, the Nashville Post reports. Wiltshire spent 15 years in investment banking before joining then-Mayor Karl Dean’s staff as head of economic and community development in 2011. He continued in the role under mayors Megan Barry and David Briley before joining MDHA as chief strategy and intergovernmental affairs officer in 2019. Wiltshire says he’ll make a final decision in six weeks to two months. Hal Cato, a former executive at nonprofit Thistle Farms, is also considering a run for mayor.

Gov. Bill Lee has issued a temporary reprieve in the execution of Oscar Franklin Smith roughly one hour before he was set to die by lethal injection, the Tennessean reports. “Due to an oversight in preparation for lethal injection, the scheduled execution of Oscar Smith will not move forward tonight. I am granting a temporary reprieve while we address Tennessee Department of Correction protocol," a statement from the governor's office indicated. Further details on what the oversight was were not immediately available. No word on when the reprieve would end. The Tennessee Supreme Court will select his next execution date.

Knox County lawyer Keri Elizabeth Rule was today placed on disability inactive status by the Tennessee Supreme Court. She cannot practice law while on disability inactive status, but may return to practice after reinstatement by the Tennessee Supreme Court upon showing that her disability has been removed in accordance with Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9, Section 27.7.

Connie Reguli, a Brentwood attorney and candidate for Williamson County Juvenile Court judge, was yesterday convicted on charges stemming from her involvement in a 2018 case, the Williamson Home Page reports. A Williamson County jury concluded that, in 2018, Reguli transported a woman and the woman’s daughter to her home after learning of a court order to place the daughter in DCS custody and of a TBI endangered child alert that had been issued for the daughter. Reguli’s attorney argued she was trying to best advise the woman, who was her client, and protect the woman’s daughter. Reguli was convicted of facilitating custodial interference and two counts of accessory after the fact. She will be sentenced on June 24.

The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law will host its inaugural Spring Speakers Series tomorrow from noon until 1 p.m. CDT. The kickoff session will feature a discussion with Jim Obergefell, lead plaintiff in the 2015 U.S. Supreme Court case, Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage nationally, and his attorney, Al Gerhardstein. The event will take place in the law school’s Wade Auditorium. Read more here.

The Justice Department has appealed a federal judge’s ruling that recently ended mask mandates on public transit, CBS News reports. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the mandate “remains necessary for the public health,” and asked the Justice Department to appeal U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle’s ruling. Mizelle on Monday voided the CDC’s requirement of masks on airplanes and other public transit, ruling that the mandate exceeded the authority of U.S. health officials.

Sullivan County lawyer Kyle Douglas Vaughan was today disbarred from the practice of law by the Tennessee Supreme Court. Vaughan was convicted of theft of property from his law partners in Washington County Criminal Court. He must pay restitution to his former law partners in the amount of $223,452.20 and pay all costs incurred to the Board of Professional Responsibility.