One in 30 adult black males in Tennessee are incarcerated, only slightly below the average of 1 in 26 for all states, according to new data from The Sentencing Project. The report evaluated the issue on a national scale and found “African Americans are incarcerated in state prisons across the country at more than five times the rate of whites, and at least 10 times the rate in five states." Read more from Nashville Scene. 

In this interlocutory appeal, the employee alleges repetitive motion injuries to her upper extremities as a result of her work with the employer, including left carpal tunnel syndrome that was diagnosed in August 2015. The employer denied benefits, asserting the employee made a similar claim in 2014, which was denied, and that her present claim is barred by the statute oflimitations because it was not filed within one year ofthe 2014 injuries.

In this interlocutory appeal, the employee alleges the employer miscalculated his average weekly wage by failing to exclude from the calculation certain days on which the employee claims he did not work. The trial court conducted a review of the file and concluded the employee did not come forward with sufficient evidence from which it could determine he would likely prevail on this issue at a hearing on the merits. As a result, the trial court denied the employee's request to award additional temporary disability benefits and the employee appealed.

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands has announced a partnership with First Presbyterian Church in Clarksville to launch the Presbyterian Legal Assistance Network. Staff attorneys from Legal Aid Society’s Clarksville office will provide a free legal clinic every second and fourth Wednesday of the month from 11 a.m. – noon at a meal program that operates out of the church.

A federal judge in San Francisco is extending the deadline for attorneys for Volkswagen to reach a final settlement proposal, citing the “highly technical nature” of the proposed settlements. Bloomberg News reports that the new deadline, June 28, will deny Volkswagen the opportunity to present a conclusion to investors at its annual shareholders meeting on June 22. Without the settlement, the German carmaker’s efforts to navigate out of the crisis remain incomplete nine months after admitting to rigging the exhaust systems in some 11 million vehicles worldwide.

The Tennessean reports Rep. Bill Spivey, R-Lewisburg, has joined other Republican lawmakers who are calling for an end to Attorney General Herbert Slatery’s investigation of Rep. Jeremy Durham, R-Franklin. In a letter to the head of the committee that initiated the investigation, Spivey cited concerns over some of Slatery’s actions in the investigation and said that the probe "reeks of a political witch hunt.” State election officials announced earlier this month that they are also investigating Durham’s finances. 

A new analysis by The Associated Press finds minority residents are underrepresented — in terms of the numbers of seats they hold relative to their shares of state populations — in 47 state legislatures across the country, including Tennessee's. White residents comprised 74.5 percent of Tennessee's estimated 2014 population, but white lawmakers held 84.7 percent of the total 132 seats in the state Legislature. The Knoxville News Sentinel takes a closer look at the issue and argues that a more diverse legislature could be in the state’s future based on recent elections.  

WTVF reports that Davidson County Deputy District Attorney General Amy Hunter was suspended today for one month without pay after being charged with DUI in Williamson County. “I am personally disappointed in General Hunter’s actions, but respect that she has taken full responsibility and is accepting the consequences handed down by the Williamson County Courts and this office,” said District Attorney Glenn Funk, who announced the suspension. 

This is a medical malpractice action1 in which the plaintiffs filed suit against the defendant hospital. The defendant hospital requested summary judgment. The trial court granted summary judgment and dismissed the action. We affirm.