A Cincinnati-based federal appeals court yesterday ruled federal agents can obtain cell phone records that reveal a caller’s location without a warrant. The decision from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals follows an attempt from two Detroit men, sentenced to prison for multiple robberies, who argued the cell records linking them to the location of the robberies should be excluded under Fourth Amendment protection. Judge Raymond Kethledge said the government’s collection of the records did not constitute a search. Read more from The Wall Street Journal Law Blog. 

An amendment (SJR 0461) aimed at giving state lawmakers more control of public school funding failed to advance yesterday in the Senate Education Committee. The Commercial Appeal reports supporters of the proposal “said it was an attempt to block what they called ‘activist judges’ from ordering the legislature to increase or alter funding for schools.” A House version (HJR 0493) of the legislation is still alive in the House committee system. 

Register now for the 2016 TBA Annual Convention in Nashville to make sure you don't miss out. Along with compelling CLE programming, attendees will have ample opportunities to catch up with their colleagues and enjoy some of Nashville's top musicians. While you're at it, don't forget to make your hotel reservations now at the Sheraton Music City Hotel, (888) 627-7060. This year's convention is planned for June 15-18.

Nuremberg: International Justice and Three Tennessee Lawyers, planned for April 18 at the Tennessee Bar Center, explores the history of all the Nuremberg trials in Germany from 1945-1948. The CLE, approved for 3.25 credits, will highlight the involvement of three Tennessee lawyers and features a screening of the acclaimed 1948 documentary, "Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today.” The course is scheduled from 1-4:30 p.m. and lunch is included. 

"I like it when government tries to figure out a different way to do things and we get better results, and this is an incredible result,” Gov. Bill Haslam said yesterday while attending the celebration of Davidson County Drug Court residential facility’s 20th anniversary. The Tennessean reports the program began in 2000 with 100 beds. Today, the program boasts 800 graduates coming from as many as 35 counties in Tennessee.

Jurors in the trial of former Vanderbilt football player Cory Batey revealed to The Tennessean that one juror was a "holdout," resulting in a compromise after a nearly three-hour deliberation. While all other jurors were in favor of convicting Batey on all seven counts as charged for rape, "One juror refused to see the evidence that was so obvious to everyone else," juror Bobby Lewis said. The jury found Batey guilty Friday of three of those charges.

The Tennessean reports Knoxville Police Chief David Rausch and a detective made “professional courtesy” calls to University of Tennessee head football coach Butch Jones about the investigation of rape allegations against team members A.J. Johnson and Michael Williams. The calls may have violated state law, according to a statement issued by the Knox County district attorney.  “A pre-arrest disclosure of sensitive information that is not made for the purpose of advancing the criminal investigation potentially could violate state law regarding the misuse of official information,” the statement said. 

A federal judge said yesterday that the Confederate emblem on the Mississippi flag is “‘anti-American’ because it represents those who fought to leave the United States,” The Associated Press reports. U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves, who issued the statement during a hearing on a lawsuit filed against the state, has not yet said the suit, which seeks to eliminate the flag as a state symbol, can move forward. 

Mark Henderson, Mt. Pleasant’s former interim city manager, is appealing Maury County Circuit Court’s decision to dismiss his lawsuit regarding his termination. Henderson claims two votes from city commissioners dismissing him during a 2015 meeting were made in conflict of interest due to complaints he previously filed against the two, The Daily Herald reports. Henderson, a former practicing lawyer, is representing himself in the case. 

Following a 15-year legal battle and the state Supreme Court’s refusal to grant an appeal, a digital billboard in Brentwood we be converted by the end of the month to a mechanical trifold style. Lamar Advertising changed the sign for Corky’s Bar-B-Q to digital in 2011; the Metro Government of Nashville and Davidson County filed an appeal, and won, against its own Metro Board of Zoning Appeals, which initially approved Lamar’s request. Read more from the Brentwood Home Page.