Tennessee consumers may now file claims to recover the unused balance on RadioShack gift cards following a settlement agreement previously approved in the U.S. Bankruptcy court in Wilmington, Delaware. Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III, along with the Tennessee Division of Consumer Affairs, today made the announcement. Read more about the claims process and obtain a claims form here.

Editors of the ABA Journal selected Herston on Tennessee Family Law, a blog published by attorney K.O. Herston in Knoxville, as one of the 100 best blogs for a legal audience. “For us at the ABA Journal, this isn’t just another award. We view our annual list as service to our readers, pointing them to a collection of some of the very best legal writing and commentary on the Web,” a release states. View the TBA's Directory of Law Related Blogs produced by Tennessee attorneys.

The Davidson County General Sessions Court Judges will hold their 2015 Winter Open House Tuesday at the Justice A. A. Birch Building located at 408 2nd Ave N in Nashville. The event is from 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. in the Judicial Chambers.

Dickson County Juvenile Court Judge Michael Meise and Meagan Frazier Grosvenor of Smith Harris & Carr recently created a Dickson County branch of the Court Appointed Special Advocate Association (CASA). “Many children in our community suffer horrific abuse and unfortunately most people have no idea that this is happening around us every day,” Grosvenor said. “These innocent children deserve all the help we can give them.” CASA of Dickson County, which is funded through private donations, is located at 111 Highway 70 East in Dickson. Read more from The Dickson Herald.

Tennessee’s “fetal assault law”, which charges pregnant mothers with assault for babies exposed to drugs, is set to expire next year. WCYB reports Sullivan County District Attorney Barry Staubus is working to keep the law. "It is the incentive (mothers) need that otherwise they would not have gotten into a program, except for the fact if you don't get into a program, you could be charged,” he said. State Rep. Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, said he expects lawmakers to renew the law.

Department of Correction Commissioner Derrick Schofield said the department is changing its definitions of assault and “staff/inmate provocations.” The American Correctional Association in October recommended the department edit its definitions to allow for less subjectivity. The Tennessean reports there is also a possibility the department will review previous incident reports to determine if any incidents were characterized inaccurately.

Two voters in Texas are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to alter the way Texas and every other state divides electoral districts. The plaintiffs argue states should count only people who are eligible to vote and not include non-citizens and children in the population. The Associate Press reports that a ruling in their favor would shift more power to rural areas and away from urban areas where there is a higher population of immigrants and children. "The plaintiffs in Texas are interested in stemming the growth of Latino political power," argued Thomas Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today unanimously affirmed a six-month suspension of Nashville attorney Paul J. Walwyn’s law license for failure to act diligently in his representation of clients. The Board of Professional Responsibility suspended Walwyn in 2012 for six months, with 30 days active suspension and five months’ probation, for violating certain Rules of Professional Conduct. Walwyn appealed to the Chancery Court for Davidson County and later to the state Supreme Court, claiming there had been multiple constitutional errors. Read the opinion authored by Justice Cornelia A. Clark and read the BPR release. 

The Tennessee Department of Correction is asking Gov. Bill Haslam’s administration to fund a 5 percent pay increase for all correctional officers, probation and parole officers and inmate relations coordinators. The Tennessean estimates an $8.3 million price tag for the pay increase. "If we were funded for this, this would push us up to about number three with the surrounding states," said Department Commissioner Derrick Schofield.

The Eastern District of Tennessee collected about $42 million in criminal and civil actions in 2015, according to an announcement today by U.S. Attorney William C. Killian. The Johnson City Press reports the biggest chunk of that -- $38.4 million -- came as part of the massive civil settlement by Pilot Flying J for the company’s role in a complex rebate fraud scheme.