The U.S. Justice Department today sent a letter to North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory stating that the state’s House Bill 2 violates federal civil rights laws. Summarized by Talking Points Memo, HB2 is a “sweeping piece of legislation that prevents cities and counties from passing their own anti-discrimination laws and eliminated the right to sue for workplace discrimination of any kind.” The Justice Department gave state officials a Monday deadline to confirm they will not comply with or implement the law, the Associated Press reports. 

Tennessee Youth Courts thanks those who donated to the program Tuesday during The Big Payback. While the deadline for giving through the Big Payback website was extended because of technical difficulties, Tennessee Youth Courts is asking that those who wish to donate to do so through the Community Foundation's Giving Matters site.

Make your hotel reservations now for the 2016 TBA Annual Convention in Nashville. The special TBA rate at the Sheraton Music City Hotel expires Friday, May 20. This year's convention, June 15-18, is packed with compelling programming, along with dinner and music at the George Jones Museum. 

The Knoxville News Sentinel obtained a list of six lawyers the University of Tennessee provides student-athletes for possible legal representation. UT athletics department spokesman Ryan Robinson said in a statement that the list was a resource, not a facilitation. The list of attorneys is not provided to other students, according to the News Sentinel. National Collegiate Athletics Association spokeswoman Gail Dent today said there is no problem with providing the list, but noted, “provided the student-athlete pays the going rate for similar services in the locale.” Dent added, "There are concerns if the institution is arranging for free or discounted services not available to all students."

Former Memphis mayor Willie Herenton presented before the Shelby County Commission today his plan to build two 200 bed-facilities to house Shelby County juveniles. Herenton said the project, named NewPath, would partner with Juvenile Court and would not require county funding. The facilities, planned for Frayser and Millington, would provide services that include mental health care and vocational training. County Mayor Mark Luttrell supports the idea, but noted the plan will face more scrutiny on the state level. Read more from The Commercial Appeal. 

Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors will host a seminar in Nashville for lawyers and paralegals who want to help unaccompanied immigrant children remain in the United States. The seminar is planned for May 19, 2-5 p.m. at Casa Azafran, 2195 Nolensville Pike. Online pre-registration for the course is required. The event is free, but contributions are welcome. 

Nine architectural firms will present plans to the Madison County Jail Project Screening Committee for the new jail to be built behind the Criminal Justice Complex, 515 S. Liberty St. in Jackson. The new jail will consist of about 600 to 700 beds, The Jackson Sun reports.  The 303-bed Criminal Justice Center will remain operational.

Selma Cash Paty, one of Chattanooga’s first female attorneys, died Sunday (May 1) at the age of 89. After receiving her law degree at the Cumberland School of Law, she practiced for almost 70 years. She served as president of the Chattanooga Bar Association and on the board of directors for the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association. "No woman in her right mind would want to be a lawyer in 1947," Paty said in a 1990 interview with the Tennessee Bar Journal. "It wasn't a profession that a woman would consider." In the interview she recalled what it was like in law school at that time and when she began practice, such as that when firms were interviewing, "Can you type?" was often the first question. Read more from The Chattanoogan. 

A St. Louis jury ordered Johnson & Johnson on Monday to pay $55 million to a woman who claimed that using the company’s talc-powder caused her to develop ovarian cancer. The company is facing about 1,200 lawsuits accusing it of not adequately warning consumers about talc-based products’ cancer risks, Reuters reports. This is the second straight loss for the company after a jury in February awarded $72 million to the family of a woman who died from ovarian cancer after using the product. Johnson & Johnson said it plans to appeal Monday’s ruling. 

The future of the U.S. Supreme Court will be closely tied to politics, according to panelists at a Vanderbilt University event last night. Vanderbilt University Chancellor Nicholas Zeppos hosted the lecture with panelists including Andrew Napolitano, Fox News senior judicial correspondent, and Jeffrey Toobin, CNN senior legal analyst. Napolitano said he believes the political affiliation of the next president could determine whether aging liberal justices leave the court. "If Hillary Clinton is elected president, (justices) Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer may start to look at another pasture," he said. Read more from The Tennessean.