A White House official called Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York., on Wednesday to ask him to reintroduce the media shield law that he supported in 2009 but that never received a vote on the Senate floor. The push comes in the wake of Department of Justice subpoenas of a broad swath of Associated Press phone records, including several main numbers used by more than 100 reporters, WRCB reports. "This kind of law would balance national security needs against the public's right to the free flow of information. At minimum, our bill would have ensured a fairer, more deliberate process in this case," Schumer said in a statement.

Lawyers of Color magazine catalogued minority faculty at all 200 ABA-accredited law schools and found that the most racially diverse schools fall well outside of the U.S News top ranking list. Florida International University College of Law topped the diversity list, despite being ranked number 105 overall. The National Law Journal notes, however, that a number of professors have raised questions regarding the thoroughness and accuracy of the report.

Attorney General Bob Cooper announced yesterday that Tennessee will receive more than $5.5 million in the $500 million settlement with generic drug manufacturer Ranbaxy. The settlement resolved claims that Ranbaxy sold inferior drugs and made false statements about how they were made, the Memphis Daily News reports.

Congressman John J. Duncan will deliver the commencement address to the inaugural class of his namesake institution, Lincoln Memorial University's John J. Duncan Jr. School of Law. The ceremony will be held Saturday in the Knoxville Civic Auditorium at 10 a.m. At the school’s naming announcement in 2009, LMU Chairman Autry O.V. “Pete” DeBusk said, “It is fitting that this program has been named for a great lawyer and civic leader who has helped so many. Our mission is to provide educational opportunities to the people of this region and Congressman Duncan has been serving this region for over 20 years.” The Claiborn Progress has the story. 

The FBI is searching for new office space and Memphis leaders are attempting to convince the agency to locate in the city’s downtown, the Nashville Business Journal reports. Currently occupying office space in East Memphis, the FBI is looking to sign a 20-year lease on more than 95,000 square feet of office space beginning in 2015.

On this day in 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 9-0 that state laws establishing separate but equal educational institutions for blacks and whites violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. The primary question Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote in the court’s opinion is “the constitutionality of segregation in public education. We have now announced that such segregation is a denial of the equal protection of the laws.” In an opinion piece for the Tennessean, Frank Daniels III examines the societal and legal impact this groundbreaking ruling had on the American educational system.

Calvin Jenkins is one of the participants of the Cane Ridge High School Academy of Law, a youth court program in which students get coaching from Tennessee Bar Association lawyers and a glimpse of a possible future career. Jenkins, a senior, has successfully handled both sides of students’ truancy cases before the Cane Ridge Restorative Court this year, although he says he prefers prosecution. He plans to attend Lipscomb University in the fall to major in law and, hopefully, play on the basketball team. The Tennessean has the story.

On May 8, Duncan Cates Cave received a public censure from the Board of Professional Responsibility for failing to prepare an order for the court. After being personally served with a show cause order commanding him to appear and show cause why he had not submitted the order, Cave failed to attend the hearing. The court held Cave in contempt of court for continually and willfully failing to comply with an order of the court and failing to appear. Download the BPR notice.

Law schools should substantially eliminate C grades, according to University of Little Rock law professor Joshua Silverstein. In a paper set for publication in the University of San Francisco Law Review, Silverstein says U.S. law schools should set their required grade point average for good academic standing at the B- level, giving C grades only for unsatisfactory performance. Silverstein says many law schools ranked in the top tier by U.S. News have essentially eliminated the use of C grades, while fourth-tier schools award large numbers of Cs, often under policies that encourage or require it. The ABA Journal has the story.

After announcing he would not seek re-election to the Senate seat he has held since 1971, Sen. Douglas Henry told the Memphis Daily News that his health and the high cost of campaigning were major factors. Henry, who turns 87 this month, said he had been disregarding his doctor's request that he not run again but finally decided to heed his advice. He also said the amount of money he spent on his 2010 election was "obscene." Henry's first year of the recent 108th Tennessee General Assembly made him the "longest serving member of the General Assembly ever in Tennessee history," according to legislative librarian Eddie Weeks.