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Bill to Re-route Education Funds to Mental Health Facilities Withdrawn

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Mar 18, 2019
A bill that would have allowed state and local education funding to be transferred to out-of-state mental health facilities died this week after one of its sponsors learned of concerns about UHS, the company that was pushing for it. The Nashville Post reports that multiple lawsuits have been filed over UHS facilities in Georgia with allegations including patient death and sexual assault. Bill sponsor Sen. Steve Dickerson, R-Nashville, said a "growing sense of unease about the whole matter" led him to pull the bill.

Application Deadline Approaches for TBA Reporters Workshop

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Mar 18, 2019
The deadline for applications to the inaugural Reporters Workshop is fast approaching. Tennessee Bar Association, its Communications Law Section and the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters last month announced the creation of the program, which will take place in Nashville on May 17-18. Twelve print, online, television, and/or radio journalists will be selected to complete the training, which will focus on access to government information, defamation and privacy concerns in reporting, and other timely topics. Applications are due March 29. For additional information, contact TBA program coordinator Jennifer Vossler.

Tennessee Attorney Suspended Following Virginia Suspension

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Mar 18, 2019
On March 15, Kurt Joseph Pomrenke, an attorney licensed to practice law in Tennessee and Virginia, was suspended for nine months from the practice of law by the Supreme Court of Tennessee. Pomrenke’s license to practice law in Virginia was also suspended for nine months by decision of the Disciplinary Board of the Virginia State Bar on November 27, 2018. On March 12, the Supreme Court of Tennessee entered a notice of reciprocal discipline directing Pomrenke to demonstrate why the discipline imposed by the Disciplinary Board of the Virginia State Bar should not be similarly imposed by this court. On March 14, Pomrenke provided the court his response stating that he does not contest the reciprocal discipline.

Judge Won’t Allow Unvaccinated Kids Back to School

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Mar 15, 2019
In a New York county that’s home to the state’s worst measles outbreak in decades, a judge has refused to allow a group of unvaccinated children back to school, The Washington Post reports. Officials in Rockland County banned unvaccinated children from attending certain schools with low vaccination rates, leading parents of the unvaccinated kids to sues the county’s health department. This week, U.S. District Court Judge Vincent Briccetti denied their request, ruling it wasn’t in “public interest” to allow the children to go back to school.

Youth Prisoners Get Business Experience Through New Program

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Mar 15, 2019
Forty-five prisoners between the ages of 18 and 25 took part in a new program designed to help inmates better understand business, The Daily Memphian reports. The “Business Bonanza,” created by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, saw young inmates create businesses and put them on display. Visiting students from Howard University toured the jail and served as judges for the business ideas.

Shelby County Lawyer Reinstated

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Mar 15, 2019
On March 15, the Supreme Court of Tennessee reinstated Shelby County lawyer Gerald Stanley Green to the practice of law effective, Feb. 24, 2019.  Green had been suspended by the Supreme Court of Tennessee on Jan. 24, 2019, for a period of six months, with 30 days served on active suspension and the remainder served on probation with conditions. Green filed a petition for reinstatement to the practice of law, and the board found that the petition was satisfactory. Green’s probation will end on July 24. 

Towns Renews Bill to Remove Slavery from Tennessee Constitution

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Mar 15, 2019
State Rep. Joe Towns is renewing legislation to eliminate slavery and involuntary servitude from the Tennessee Constitution, The Daily Memphian reports. The Memphis Democrat said he was “shocked” a few years ago when he found out slavery still exists in Article I Section 33 of the state Constitution, which tracks the U.S. 13th Amendment and narrows the category of slaves to those convicted of a crime. Towns passed a similar resolution 95-0 on the House floor in 2018, but the measure’s Senate companion failed to start moving in that chamber soon enough to be considered before the Legislature adjourned.

Company Will Pay Over $2 Million for Role in Volkswagen Scandal

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Mar 15, 2019
Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III announced that Bosch, the company that facilitated the implementation of the defeat device software in more than 600,000 Volkswagen and Fiat Chrysler vehicles, will pay the State of Tennessee $2,291,760 in consumer and environmental civil penalties. The agreement also includes precedent-setting injunctive terms and requires Bosch to maintain robust processes to monitor compliance and to refuse to accommodate requests for software development and programming that could result in the installation of defeat device software. Under the multistate agreement involving Tennessee and 49 other jurisdictions, Bosch will pay a total of $98.7 million in civil penalties.

Sen. Kelsey Introduces Bill Supporting Pay for Student Athletes

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Mar 15, 2019
Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, introduced a resolution earlier this month that, if passed, would instruct Tennessee’s public universities to work with their athletic conferences to oppose the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s prohibition on compensation for student athletes, The Nashville Post reports. Kelsey is citing this weekend’s American Athletic Conference and Southeastern Conference basketball tournaments in the state as a reason for the call to pay student athletes. He said that "exploiting these athletes is a violation of their economic liberty and civil rights."

Rep. Byrd Wants John Doe Revealed in Federal Lawsuit

Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Mar 15, 2019
Rep. David Byrd’s lawyers are asking a federal court to unseal the name of the high school student who sued him and others alleging the violation of First Amendment rights when students were asked to wear Byrd campaign shirts on a field trip to the Capitol, The Nashville Post reports. The plaintiff has been proceeding in the litigation under the name John Doe, but Byrd’s lawyers, citing the plaintiff’s recent 18th birthday, asked the court to force the accuser to use his name in the case.
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