The Nashville firm of Hollins, Raybin & Weissman has been renamed to Raybin & Weissman, and the firm announced it will focus its practice in criminal defense and personal injury work. John Hollins Jr., a longtime partner, will move his domestics relations practice to Thompson Burton PLLC in Franklin. His move is effective July 1. Raybin & Weissman will continue to be located in the Fifth Third Center, 424 Church St., Suite 2200. 

The state House approved a measure (SJR 0467) last night that would order Attorney General Herbert Slately to sue the federal government over a refugee resettlement program. The Senate previously approved the measure and must now sign off on a change that would allow a private law firm to sue on behalf of the state before the measure becomes law, The Associated Press reports. “The passage of this resolution, and the litigation that will follow, puts Tennessee on the wrong side of history,” said Stephanie Teatro, co-executive director of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition. 

J. Ross Dyer was confirmed to the Court of Criminal Appeals last night during a joint session of the Tennessee General Assembly. Gov. Bill Haslam appointed Dyer, who has been the Shelby County Attorney since 2014, to the position in March. He is the first CCA judge to go through the General Assembly’s new confirmation process. Dyer replaces Roger Page, who recently became a state Supreme Court Justice. 

The state Supreme Court's Indigent Representation Task Force announced a statewide hearing tour on Friday. Some dates have been changed on the TBA website since Friday. 

Democratic Presidential contender Bernie Sanders last week said he would demand a public commitment that any U.S. Supreme Court nominee would vote to overturn a precedent Sanders did not like. An opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times criticizes Sanders’ approach: "(It) is not just politically stupid; it undermines the independence of the judiciary.” The author adds, “No lawyer in his or her right mind would make such a commitment to a president or to the Senate.”

The Nashville Business Journal reports on recent changes to the plan for Nashville’s new federal courthouse, which would now be one story shorter and carry a price tag 8 percent lower. The project is now slated for $167.4 million. It is still unclear when construction will begin or when the government will request bids from architects, contractors and others for the project. Funding for the courthouse cleared its final hurdle in March; Congress must now vote to formally authorize federal agencies to spend that money.

Rep. Susan Lynn delayed action on the transgender “bathroom bill” in the House until next year, citing the purpose of studying it further. The measure (HB2414), sponsored by the Mt. Juliet Republican, would have required students in public schools and universities to use bathrooms of the sex on their birth certificates. "I have learned that our school districts are largely following what the bill says," she told The Tennessean. 

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation today released its 2015 ‘Crime in Tennessee’ report, which revealed an overall decrease in reported instances of crime in the most recent reporting year. The annual study, however, did show forcible rape cases and reported homicides both increased. Read more from Humphrey on the Hill. 

Women are in the majority on the state’s five-member Supreme Court, but they only account for 22 percent of the state's judiciary. Chief Justice Sharon Lee, who recently served as keynote speaker for the Tennessee Lawyers’ Association for Women’s empowerment conference, reminded women that advancements should not be rested on. “Empowerment doesn’t just happen, it requires intention,” she said. The conference also included panels moderated by Justice Holly Kirby and Justice Cornelia Clark.

Former Franklin District Attorney William Donnell "Don" Young Jr. died Saturday (April 16) at the age of 81. Young graduated from the YMCA School of Law, now the the Nashville School of Law, and went on to practice law for more than 40 years in Franklin. A visitation will be held tomorrow, noon - 8 p.m. at Williamson Memorial Funeral Home, 3009 Columbia Ave. in Franklin.  A funeral is planned for Wednesday, 11 a.m. at Franklin United Methodist Church, 143 Fifth Ave.