The Memphis Flyer reports 150 federal drug offenders returned to Tennessee following the release of 6,112 inmates nationally earlier this month. "The majority of this particular population that is coming out of prison, they are going to lack a high school education," said Donnie Couch, CEO of Hickory Hill’s D.C. Counseling and Consulting. “They are going to have substance abuse issues as well as mental health issues, and the majority of them are going to be homeless."

Federal authorities are still deciding on whether they will take over the investigation and possible prosecution in alleged vote buying cases from the 2014 elections in Monroe and Polk counties, The Advocate & Democrat reports. District Attorney General Steve Crump said he does not believe the Polk and Monroe County cases are directly related, but noted that the investigation is incomplete.

The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments is accepting applications for the Circuit Court judge vacancy in the 30th Judicial District – Shelby County. The vacancy was created by the death earlier this year of the Hon. D’Army Bailey. Interested applicants must be licensed attorneys who are at least 30 years of age, a resident of the state for five years and a resident of the 30th Judicial District. Applications are due on Dec. 1 by noon CST.

A new study says U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. plays favorites when assigning the court’s most important decisions. “Not surprisingly, Roberts calls his own number more than anyone else’s and assigns the second-highest number to Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, the pivotal justice on the ideologically divided court,” The Washington Post writes about the new study published in the Harvard Law Review. The article also says Roberts pays "little regard to seniority" in assigning major decisions. 

A settlement for $185,000 between the state of Tennessee and the parents of a Hamilton County student with down syndrome was approved Tuesday by the Magistrate Judge Susan K. Lee, The Times Free Press reports. Deborah and Greg Hyde filed a suit against the Hamilton Count Department of Education and the Tennessee Department of Education last year when they were told their son would be removed from his normal class and placed in a special education class. The state settled because “it recognized its own administrative complaint process did not meet the court's standards,” according to Hamilton County Schools attorney Scott Bennett.

In an effort to keep officers in Tennessee prisons, administrations say they will give 3,300 current officers a $1,000 bonus by the end of the year. Officers have said recent changes in pay and scheduling have contributed to officers working more shifts with less help, the Associated Press reports. “While bonuses are valued, until policies and practices which directly impact staffing levels are corrected, we believe the department will continue to face these issues,” Tennessee State Employees Association President Bryan Merritt said.

Tennessee forfeiture laws contributed to the Institute for Justice’s grading the state a D- in its recent report. The Times Free Press reports law enforcement agencies seized almost $86 million in cash from 2009-2014 through use of state civil forfeiture laws that allow money to be confiscated without criminal charges. "Research has shown that the financial incentives baked into civil forfeiture laws influence law enforcement behavior," said Dr. Dick M. Carpenter II, one of the report's co-authors. "When laws make taking property relatively easy and lucrative for law enforcement, it should be no surprise to see agencies take advantage."

WSMV reports Davidson County General Sessions Court may not be recording preliminary hearings as required by law. After the news station contacted the court asking for recordings of a preliminary hearing, a court employee revealed they do not record all hearings and only record by request. “This is the Supreme Court rule,” defense attorney David Raybin said. “It said the recordings shall be preserved by electronic recording. This is not discretionary.”

The Chattanoogan reports a counter-suit filed on behalf of Christina Starnes Evans – daughter of General Sessions Court Judge Gary Starnes – is seeking $2 million and says her children and others were victims of emotional and physical abuse from her former boyfriend, Matthew Cunningham. Attorney Lee Davis also filed a motion for Judge Starnes asking that the Cunningham lawsuit be dismissed. Cunningham sued Judge Starnes and Evans in October for malicious prosecution.

The Hill reports the Obama administration will file an appeal to the Supreme Court following a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that blocks the President’s executive actions on immigration. Obama last November announced up to 5 million illegal immigrants would be eligible for deportation reprieves and work permits if they met certain conditions. A group of GOP-led states, led by Texas, sued to block the administration in federal court.