The state Alcoholic Beverage Commission announced Clay Byrd will be its executive director, The Tennessean reports. Byrd previously served as assistant general counsel for the Tennessee Comptroller of the Secretary. Byrd replaces Ginna Winfree, who had been filling the position on an interim basis after then-executive director Keith Bell abruptly resigned. 

Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett is publicly blasting Gov. Bill Haslam over claims that the state failed to provide money to treat mentally ill and addicted inmates from the jail population, according to a Betty Bean column. Burchett said he was led to believe that the state would provide $2 million to fund a behavioral health urgent care unit. 

Politico reports the FBI and Securities and Exchange Commission are scrutinizing U.S. Sen. Bob Corker’s personal finances after the Tennessee Republican failed to report millions of dollars in assets and income on his annual financial disclosure. Corker has blamed the inaccuracies on "filing errors." 

Tennessee has joined 11 states in filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Justice over a recent guidance issued regarding which bathrooms transgender students may use, according to the Office of the Attorney General. “As the complaint describes, it is a social experiment implemented by federal departments denying basic privacy rights and placing the burden largely on our children, not adults,” said Attorney General Herbert Slatery. 

“Tennessee pays its court-appointed attorneys so little that it threatens to undermine the right of their clients to a fair trial.” A Knoxville News Sentinel editorial argues why the state must increase compensation for court-appointed lawyers, calling the current rate – $40 per hour for work outside the courtroom – “ridiculously low.”   The comments come after the Indigent Representation Task Force held a public hearing in Knoxville last week as part of the group’s statewide listening tour. 

The Tennessee Supreme Court today heard a case that debates whether service industry workers who believe their tips are being unfairly split can sue their employers, or if they must file complaints with state regulators. State law says that tips left at businesses like bars and restaurants should go to employees who serve patrons, according to The Tennessean. The case was brought by a former server and bartender at a PGA Tour country club in Memphis who filed a class-action suit in March that claimed the business and PGA affiliates were withholding tips she and others had earned. 

A Pennsylvania judge today ruled that Bill Cosby will stand trial on sexual assault charges, CNN reports. The entertainer faces three counts of felony indecent assault from a 2004 case involving an employee at his alma mater, Temple University. If convicted, Cosby faces up to 30 years in prison.

The Associated Press reports a “series of problems” are behind the reason Trousdale Turner Correctional Center has stopped taking inmates after four months of full operation. According to a memo obtained by the AP through an open records request, guards were not in control of the housing units and were putting inmates in solitary confinement for no documented reason. The Tennessee Department of Correction Assistant Commissioner said they are holding off on sending prisoners to the Hartsville facility due to recruiting and staffing issues.

The New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Lawyer Advertising has reminded state attorneys to check the credibility of awards like “Super Lawyers” and “Rising Stars” before referring to them in advertisements. The committee said lawyers may mention the awards in their advertising “only when the basis for comparison can be verified” and the group bestowing the accolade “has made adequate inquiry into the fitness of the individual lawyer.” Read more from the ABA Journal.

An inspector general report claims staff error resulted in 152 federal inmates being set free after their correct release dates between 2009 and 2014. The Associated Press said employees misapplied credit for time served. The report, released today, counted a total of 4,340 Bureau of Prisons inmates who received "untimely" releases during those years.