The Memphis Bar Association’s (MBA) Access to Justice Committee is partnering with the MBA Young Lawyers Division, Councilwoman Jana Swearengen-Washington, Shelby County Circuit Court Clerk Jamita Swearengen and the Sigma Rho Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. to host a restoration of rights clinic on Sept. 7. The event will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CDT. Location to be determined. Sign up to help here.

A report compiled by the Major Cities Chiefs Association, a group for police leaders in America's most populous cities to discuss policing challenges, found that violent crime in Memphis is down compared to last year, as it is in many major cities around the country. The findings line up with the Memphis Police Department's own reporting of declining crime trends. The report includes preliminary data from 69 different U.S. cities compiled from the FBI's National Incident-Based Reporting System, which shows major violent crime in those cities had dropped just over 6%. The data tracks the first six months of the year, from Jan. 1 through June 30, and compares it to that same time frame in 2023. The Commercial Appeal has the story.

A new law took effect on July 1 that "requires, rather than authorizes" local law enforcement to report an individual’s immigration status to federal authorities when inputting individuals’ immigration status into databases shared with federal agencies. The Metro Nashville Police Department is opposed to the new measure, but others around the state may be less so, and given the broadness of the language, there could be considerable variation in how the measure is enforced, reports the Nashvile Banner. Chattanooga Sen. Todd Gardenhire, the only Republican to vote against the law, said he feared it could be interpreted to force school resource officers to report children to federal immigration officers.

Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, will appeal Chancellor I'Ashea Myles' ruling that the Covenant School shooter's writings are exempt from the Public Records Act and will not be released publicy. Gardenhire, who is chair of the Tennessee Senate’s Judiciary Committee, said he believes the records should be open to the public to help form policy as lawmakers consider gun-related legislation in response to the shooting, according to the Tennessee Lookout. “This case really boils down to the state law and how it affects the open records, at least in this particular courtroom. That’s why it’s so important to not set a bad precedent based on emotion and political influence in Davidson County,” Gardenhire said. “[I]f we’re going to craft legislation to help prevent these types of tragedies, we have to know what was going through the mind and motive of the person that did the shooting.”

The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) has opened an investigation into the conditions at Trousdale Turner Correctional Center, a Tennessee Department of Correction facility operated by the private correctional management company CoreCivic. Trousdale Turner, located approximately an hour outside of Nashville, is Tennessee’s largest correctional facility. After an extensive review of publicly available information, state audits that have flagged dangerous understaffing and safety concerns since Trousdale Turner first opened in 2016, and insights gathered from stakeholders, the department says it found significant justification to open an investigation. The investigation will examine whether Tennessee protects those incarcerated at Trousdale Turner from harm, including physical violence and sexual abuse. Read the press release from the DOJ.

A federal judge has ruled that three Tennessee Department of Children's Services (DCS) employees can be held liable for their conduct after a traffic stop led to five small children being taken from their mother last year, reports the Tennessee Lookout. Bianca Clayborne in February filed a lawsuit alleging her constitutional rights and those of her children were violated following a misdemeanor traffic stop in February 2023. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Clifton Corker allows Clayborne’s attorneys to move forward with claims the DCS workers violated the family’s Fourth Amendment Constitutional protections against unlawful search and seizures, as well as claims of false arrest and false imprisonment under Tennessee law. The judge dismissed Clayborne’s separate claim that the actions of DCS employees, in seeking an emergency court order to remove the children, violated her constitutional guarantee to due process.

Chattanooga attorney Robert H. Robbins died Aug. 17. Following graduation from the University of Kentucky, Robbins was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Air Force and served in Vietnam. After active duty, he received his law degree from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University, where he was research editor for the Law Review. He also attended New York University School of Law and received the Masters of Law degree in taxation. Robbins practiced law for several years in Chattanooga before becoming senior vice president and trust officer of the Cleveland Bank and Trust Company and Citizens National Bank. Visitation will be held at Ridgedale Baptist Church, 1831 Hickory Valley Rd., Chattanooga 37421 on Sept. 7 from 11 a.m.-noon EDT with a celebration of life service to follow at noon. A private family service with full military honors will be held at the Chattanooga National Cemetery.

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Judge James Curwood Witt Jr. died Aug. 17 at age 75. Witt, a member of the court's Eastern Section, was appointed by then-Gov. Don Sundquist in January 1997. Prior to joining the court, Witt served as counsel to the Monroe County Board of Education from 1989-1997. He was the Monroe County Juvenile Court judge from 1979-1982 and a juvenile court referee in Monroe County from 1974-1979. He also served as an adjunct professor of law at the University of Tennessee College of Law. Witt received his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1973. The family will receive friends at First United Methodist Church, 143 College St. N., Madisonville 37354 on Aug. 22 at 4 p.m. EDT. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Monroe County Animal Shelter, 130 Kefauver Ln., Madisonville, TN 37354.

The Tennessee Bar Foundation has announced the 2025 Tennessee IOLTA (Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts) grants application is open. The IOLTA program generates funds that are used to provide grants to Tennessee nonprofit organizations to provide civil legal services to the poor and/or work to improve the administration of justice. The foundation especially encourages applications from organizations that are new to the IOLTA program. For the first time, the foundation's grant process will be online. Organizations may create a unique user account on a grants management portal and draft and submit their applications entirely online. The deadline for submitting this year's grant application is 11:59 p.m. CDT on Sept. 26. Get more information on the foundation's website.

A new state law will take effect Jan. 1, 2025, which will mandate that all alcohol servers licensed with the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission must receive training on the role of alcohol and drugs in sexual assault and best strategies to prevent drugging in establishments, reports the Tennessean. Servers also will be required to have more training on sexual assault, date rape drug awareness and human trafficking. Dozens of downtown bars have signed on to the Safe Bar TN program, a network of bars, restaurants and community organizations working together to prevent alcohol-involved sexual violence and create safe nightlife venues.