Maurice Stucke, a professor at the University of Tennessee College of Law, received a 2016 Antitrust Writing Award for a legal article he co-authored regarding artificial intelligence. The article, “Artificial Intelligence & Collusion: When Computers Inhibit Competition,” discusses the legal and ethical questions that are emerging as artificial intelligence development and implementation throughout society continues to develop. Stucke is a former trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.

Can you copyright cowbell? An article recently published in Tennessee Law dives into that question with a look at copyright legal battles, including one between writers of the 2013 hit song “Blurred Lines” and the family of Marvin Gaye. The family of the late singer claim the song infringes on the copyright of Gaye’s 1977 “Got to Give It Up.”  In the article, two University of Tennessee College of Law professors and two UT music professors discuss the case and what it means for music, artists and copyright law.

The Fantasy Sports Tax Act, which would legalize, regulate and tax fantasy sports betting, is on its way to Gov. Bill Haslam. The Senate signed off on the measure (SB 2109) yesterday. The legislation follows a legal opinion issued by Attorney General Hebert Slatery that said fantasy sports contests are illegal gambling. The fiscal analysis of the legislation estimates $42 million is spent annually in Tennessee on fantasy sports, The Associated Press reports. 

Cory Batey was charged with two felony counts of violating the state's sex offender registration law. Court records show Batey refused to register as a sex offender in Davidson County after sheriff’s officials and police asked him to do so multiple times, The Tennessean reports. Batey, a former Vanderbilt football player, is facing 15 to 25 years for his convictions earlier this month for rape. Nashville lawyer Jim Todd told The Tennessean that prosecutors could use the additional charges to argue Batey should get more prison time. 

The Tennessean reports Jennifer Donnals, spokeswoman for Gov. Bill Haslam, said the state constitution permits the governor authority to veto a resolution to sue the federal government over refugee resettlement. The Senate signed off yesterday on a change that would allow a private law firm to file a suit on behalf of Tennessee if the state attorney general refuses to sue. The House approved the joint resolution (SJR467) Monday. The Associated Press reports Haslam has previously raised concerns about the legislation. 

The Tennessee Supreme Court censured Montgomery County lawyer Carrie Watson Gasaway on April 13. The court took the action after Gasaway accepted a nonrefundable retainer from a client with $250 designated to be held in trust.  At the conclusion of the representation, Gasaway provided no explanation for her use of the funds held in trust and did not refund the money. Gasaway also accepted a $3,500 fee from a client and did no work, and she failed to respond to requests for information from the client. Gasaway was previously disbarred on Oct. 5, 2015. Read the BPR release.

District Attorney Glenn Funk appointed Lody Limbird to Division VI Criminal Court, WKRN reports. Limbard is the first Latino Assistant District Attorney to serve in Davidson County Criminal Court. “In order to understand the needs of the people we serve, it is important for public servants to also reflect the diversity of the community,” she said. The court handles prosecution of domestic violence cases with a special interest in aggravated assault by strangulation.

The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Nashville at the end of this week in several criminal cases and one civil case. The court will consider whether a conviction for facilitation of possession with intent to deliver warrants the application of the sentence enhancements under the Drug Free School Zone Act, whether aggravated sexual battery is a lesser-included offense of rape of a child, and more. Oral arguments will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the Nashville Supreme Court Building, 401 7th Ave N. This is the first time Justice Roger A. Page will hear oral arguments as a member of the Supreme Court.  

The TBA Environmental Law Section announced Grant Ruhl, a student at the University of Tennessee College of Law, is the winner of the 2016 Jon E. Hastings Memorial Award Writing Competition. The annual section-sponsored contest is a juried competition for the best legal writing on a topic of Tennessee or federal environmental law and is open to law students enrolled in a Tennessee law school. Ruhl's paper, "An Unpopular Victory: Exploring EPA's 2015 Ozone NAAQS Revisions," addresses the EPA's updated Clean Air Act standard for ozone.

WPLN reports the state House voted last night to strip roughly $5 million from the University of Tennessee's Office of Diversity and Inclusion. The measure (HB 2248) would take the money, which accounts for the agency's total funding, and split it between scholarships for minority students and decals for police cruisers that say "In God We Trust." The move follows two controversial posts on the office’s website. The Senate Education Committee voted in March to remove the office's state funding.