The Administrative Office of the Courts has approximately $200,000 in grant funding available for the development or continuation of initiatives that will aid self-represented litigants in accessing the Tennessee court system regarding child support issues. To receive funding, the initiatives must address the needs of divorced or never married parents, and focus on services to help them resolve any or all issues concerning parenting and visitation in child support cases or cases involving child support issues. Proposals must be received by Aug. 8.

The country’s already backlogged immigration courts have seen a deluge of tens of thousands of Central American children arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border in recent months, WSMV reports. The court system is so overwhelmed that it can currently take three years to get a hearing. The courts have more than 375,000 cases being handled by just 243 judges, according to the Department of Justice. The Obama administration has said it will move quickly to process the thousands of immigrant children and families and has asked Congress for $3.7 billion in emergency funding to cope with the crisis, including hiring more judges.

The Department of Justice yesterday indicted FedEx Corp. in connection with an investigation into illegal pharmaceutical shipments, the Commercial Appeal reports. The indictment is based on claims that FedEx and rival United Parcel Service aided and abetted illegal online drug sales by not having proper controls over their shipments. The Memphis carrier proclaimed innocence and said in a statement that it would plead not guilty.

Charles Randy Pettigrew was suspended for three years, retroactive to May 16, 2013, for failure to supervise a non-lawyer assistant to whom he had given significant authority over his trust account. The assistant engaged in a pattern of inappropriately transferring significant sums of money between the trust and operating accounts, and engaged in kiting checks between Pettigrew’s trust accounts for months in an effort to conceal the misappropriations. View the BPR notice.

Brandon Michael Booten received a public censure for failing to communicate with his client for extended periods of time, not being diligent in his representation and failing to submit orders to the court until long after hearings were held in contravention of the local rules of court. View the BPR notice.

Andrew Lee Messick was suspended for one year and one day for a complaint of misconduct related to criminal conduct. Messick must contact the Tennessee Lawyer’s Assistance Program and follow any recommendations prior to reinstatement. View the BPR notice.

Edward T. Kindall was reinstated to the practice of law on July 2. Kindall had been suspended for one year retroactive to May 13, 2013. View the BPR notice.

In a new video, Justice At Stake Executive Director Bert Brandenburg cautions that what appears to be turning into a big-spending contest in Tennessee’s judicial campaign could harm fair and impartial courts. “The more we subject our judges and justices to outside pressures — to big money and special interest pressure — the more we pressure them to make decisions based on special interest pressure instead of the law and the constitution,” Brandenburg says in the video. Gavel Grab has more.

Voters in Washington County may have to wait until August 2016 to decide Johnson City Juvenile Court Clerk, WJHL reports. News Channel 11 found that the position may be required to be filled by an elected clerk. Charlene Davenport has held the position since 2007, when the city promoted her. City officials are currently looking into the issue.

As lead detective of a murder case in 2006, John Patrick Henry posed as a lawyer in an effort to glean information from a suspect. Court records show Henry ran the scheme by Monroe County prosecutor and believed his tactics were approved by the 10th Judicial District Attorney General’s office. The case was dismissed and Henry left law enforcement. He recently graduated from Lincoln Memorial University’s Duncan School of Law, but was initially refused permission by the state bar exam board to sit for the bar due to his previous ruse. Knoxnews has more.