The Tennessee Supreme Court last week heard arguments in the case of State of Tennessee v. Tyshon Booker, which challenges the constitutionality of mandatory minimum sentences for juveniles convicted of murder, WPLN reports. Booker was 16 when he shot and killed G’Metrik Caldwell in Knoxville during a botched robbery. Attorneys for Booker did not argue his innocence in the crime, but instead took aim at the state’s 51-year minimum sentence for anyone, regardless of age, found guilty of first-degree murder. They argue the law violates Booker’s eighth amendment protection from cruel and unusual punishment. The state argued the law is constitutional because it fulfills the U.S. Supreme Court’s requirement that juveniles be allowed the chance for parole. However, that could soon change if state lawmakers pass the “Truth in Sentencing” bill, which effectively eliminates early release for many crimes, including murder. The high court will consider how to proceed in Booker’s case while that legislation makes it way through the General Assembly. The justices are expected to reconvene in early April.

The TBA’s Corporate Counsel Section will present its annual forum on April 29 from 9 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. CST. Earn four hours of general CLE credit during this live virtual event that will include updates in labor and employment law, administrative law changes, a discussion of intellectual property and more. Corporate Counsel Section members will receive a discount on the course. Not a member of the section? Join today.  

The TBA Young Lawyers Division and Belmont University College of Law yesterday hosted an expungement clinic in partnership with Legal Aid Society and Doors of Hope in Murfreesboro. Seven attorneys and nine students volunteered their time and helped 12 clients expunge 40 criminal charges. Doors of Hope is a nonprofit that helps to empower women to break the cycle of addiction, homelessness and incarceration.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today reheard arguments over Gov. Bill Lee’s education savings account program, also known as the school voucher program, the Tennessean reports. Lee’s program would give qualifying students in Davidson and Shelby counties state money to spend on private school tuition. Metro Law Director Bob Cooper represented both Metro and Shelby County governments in today’s hearing, arguing the law violates the state’s home rule provision since it is narrowly tailored to the jurisdictions without their consent. Tennessee Solicitor General Andrée Blumstein argued the program would give low-income students a chance to “get an education that is best suited to them.” Justice Holly Kirby repeatedly asked for more details on how the schools wouldn't be paying for "phantom" students, while Justice Jeff Bivins repeatedly asked Cooper whether the amount the counties were spending on schools would really change. Judge Thomas R. Frierson II of the Tennessee Court of Appeals sat on the panel today for arguments, though he asked no questions of the parties. New Justice Sarah Campbell recused herself from the hearing since she had previously worked at the attorney general’s office.

Longtime Nashville attorneys Byron Trauger and Bob Tuke today announced they will dissolve their law firm, Trauger & Tuke, the Nashville Post reports. Tuke, a past chair of the Tennessee Democratic Party who ran for Senate in 2008, is set to retire. According to a release, Trauger will now join Nashville’s Wiseman Ashworth Law Group, which will rebrand as Wiseman Ashworth Trauger, effective March 1. Trauger's practice is focused on health care, complex civil litigation and regulatory agency work, and he has served on the boards of both public and privately held health care and technology companies. “Tom and I are thrilled and honored that Byron is joining the firm as a named partner,” said Ashworth, a former TBA president. “He has a depth of experience and an excellent reputation in the Bar, with his clients, and in the community as a highly respected counsellor, advocate and public servant.”

Nashville public defender, Jeff Preptit, has dropped his campaign for the Democratic nomination in House District 59, the Nashville Post reports. Preptit was forced to make the decision after the newly redrawn House maps put him in a different district, which now includes wealthier areas in southern Davidson County. Local health care executive Caleb Hemmer is seeking the Democratic nomination, while Michelle Foreman and Wyatt Rampy are running as Republicans. Incumbent Rep. Jason Potts, D-Nashville, is not seeking reelection.

Hamilton County District Attorney Neal Pinkston has placed his wife and brother-in-law on administrative leave after an investigative report from the state comptroller found Pinkston in violation of the state's nepotism policy, the Chattanoogan reports. According to the report, Pinkston’s wife, who serves as chief of staff, and his brother-in-law, an investigator, are both under Pinkston’s line of supervision. While the office is in violation of the state’s Nepotism Policy Act, the report states it “did not find any evidence of favoritism regarding salary increases” for either position. Pinkston announced he placed his family members on administrative leave and said he is “reviewing the recommendations of the comptroller’s office.”

Three state residents have filed a lawsuit over the new House and Senate redistricting maps, the Tennessean reports. The complaint, backed by the Tennessee Democratic Party, alleges the General Assembly unconstitutionally divided more counties than necessary in the House map and numbered Senate districts nonconsecutively. The suit does not challenge the state’s new congressional map. "Tennesseans should pick their own representatives and not the other way around," Tennessee Democratic Party Chair Hendrell Remus said in a statement. According to WPLN, the state Democratic Party has agreed to pay all fees associated with litigation in the case. Republicans have maintained the maps are constitutional and meet all legal requirements. The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office said it is “ready to defend an open and fair process.”

Former House Speaker Beth Harwell has announced she will run for the Republican nomination in Tennessee’s redrawn 5th Congressional District, Nashville Scene reports. Harwell, a Nashville native, was elected in 1988 to represent parts of southwest Davidson County in the state House and was elected speaker in 2011. She left the House in 2018 and made an unsuccessful bid for governor. Harwell currently servces on the board of the Tennessee Valley Authority and is a former chair of the Tennessee Republican Party. She joins a crowded Republican primary, which includes educational consultant Natisha Brooks, businessman Baxter Lee, former U.S. State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus, music video producer Robby Starbuck, and attorney and retired brigadier general Kurt Winstead.

TBA Director of Public Policy & Government Affairs Berkley Schwarz and Adams and Reese attorney and TBA lobbyist tackle this week’s news from the General Assembly on the latest episode of the TBA’s Legislative Updates. New this week: a hopeful meeting with Lt. Gov. Randy McNally regarding elimination of the Professional Privilege Tax. Legislative Updates airs every Thursday 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.