Former Chattanooga City Councilman and City Administrator Moses Freeman died Aug. 3 at age 86. He represented Chattanooga's District 8 from 2013-2017 and he dedicated himself to improving the city's Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Fox Chattanooga has remembrances of Freeman from city leaders. Visitation will be Aug. 11 from 2-6 p.m. EDT at John P. Franklin Funeral Home, 1101 Dodds Ave., Chattanooga 37404. Services are scheduled for Aug. 12 at 11 a.m. EDT at Second Missionary Baptist Church, 2305 E. Third St., Chattanooga 37404.

Jonathan Cole, a lawyer with Baker Donelson in Nashville, became chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates at the conclusion of the 2024 ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago. As chair of the House of Delegates, the ABA’s policymaking body, Cole will serve for two years in the second-highest office in the association. Action taken by the House of Delegates on specific issues becomes official policy of the ABA. Cole has been a member of the House of Delegates since 2009 and currently serves as one of Tennessee's state delegates. Cole received his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1994. Read more in a press release from the ABA and see a photo from the event.

Schools across the state are opening this week and school nurses are learning about a new "consent to treat" law that went into effect July 1. School nurses will no longer be able to provide non-emergency care without a signed parental consent form on file. Emergencies are the exception to the new requirements. The Nashville Banner reports that alleged violations of the law could result in the nurse losing her license or facing a civil lawsuit. Sen. Ferrell Haile, R-Gallatin, sponsored the Families’ Rights and Responsibilities Act and said that the intent of the bill was “not to change current practice” but instead to recognize the rights of parents to control the education and medical treatment of their children.

Several judicial seats were decided in yesterday's election. In the votes to retain their seats, both Supreme Court Justice Dwight Tarwater and Court of Criminal Appeals — Western Division Judge Matthew Wilson were successful. In a contested race, TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD) President-elect Alex McVeagh prevailed over Kisha Cheeks in the Hamilton County Circuit Court judge seat in District 3. McVeagh will replace Judge Marie Williams, who stepped down six years before her term was set to expire. TBA Board of Governors member David Veile ran unopposed for District 21 Circuit Court judge. Rhea Clift won the election in the Germantown Municipal Court judgeship race, defeating Justin Gee. She will succeed her father, Ray Clift, who served as judge for many years. Former Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer bested Lisa Arnold in the contest for Shelby County General Sessions Court clerk. In Knox County, incumbent law director David Buuck defeated challenger Jackson Fenner and Judge Hector Sanchez ran unopposed for Criminal Court judge in District 6. The Times Free Press, Daily Memphian and Knox News report on the races.

In the Tennessee State Senate, 16 districts held primary elections yesterday. Highlights include two upsets: incumbent John Lundberg, R-Bristol, lost to challenger Bobby Harshbarger, R-Kingsport, in District 4, and Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Plains, lost to challenger Jessie Seal, R-Claiborne County, in District 8. Harshbarger will face Independent Dalia Price of Rogersville in November; Seal will face Democrat R.E. Ellison of Seymour. In the Tennessee House of Representatives, 17 incumbents held off primary challengers; nine of them are unopposed in the general election. In District 4, Republican Renea Jones of Unicoi defeated Curt Alexander; in District 96, Gabby Salinas beat four other Democratic challengers. Both Jones and Salinas will be unopposed in November. In District 27, Republican Patsy Hazelwood lost her primary reelection bid to Michele Reneau, both of Signal Mountain. Reneau will face Democrat Kathy Lennon of Red Bank. District 33 Rep. John Ragan, R-Oak Ridge, also lost his reelection bid to challenger Rick Scarbrough of Clinton, who will face Anne Backus, D-Oak Ridge. Read more in-depth coverage here.

In the challenge for one of two U.S. Senate seats, current state Rep. Gloria Johnson of Knoxville won yesterday's Democratic primary against three other contenders, including Marquita Bradshaw, who was the Democratic nominee for the seat in 2020. Johnson will face incumbent Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn in the November election. The Tennessean reports on the race. Read more here about the primary results in the Tennessee delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Petitioner, Christopher A. Duncan, appeals from the Cheatham County Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his convictions for attempted second degree murder, aggravated arson, especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated burglary, and theft of property valued at more than $2,500 but less than $10,000, for which he is serving an effective seventy-eight-year sentence. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that the post-conviction court erred by denying relief on his ineffective assistance of counsel allegations for trial counsel’s failure (1) to file motions to suppress, (2) to file a motion to sever his trial from that of his codefendants, (3) to file a motion to dismiss count five of the indictment relating to theft of property and to object to other evidence relating to the theft of the victim’s car, (4) to request jury instructions for facilitation of a felony or accessory after the fact, and (5) to object to the State’s witness vouching during closing argument. We affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

The Defendant, Steven Mitchel Ambrose, appeals his jury convictions for four counts of rape of a child and his resulting effective sentence of sixty years. On appeal, he argues: (1) the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress his statements made to law enforcement; (2) the State provided an insufficient election of offenses which deprived him of a verdict by a unanimous jury; (3) the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions; (4) his sentence is excessive; and (5) the multiple “procedural errors and constitutional violations” that occurred in the trial court violated his right to due process and entitle him to relief under the cumulative error doctrine. After review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

PER CURIAM. In January 2019, Detective Lori Russ searched Connie Reguli’s private Facebook records allegedly because Russ disliked Reguli’s criticism of the police. Reguli learned of this search a year later when preparing for her criminal trial. She did not sue over the search at that time. Much later, however, Reguli learned that her speech had motivated the search when Russ seemed to admit as much at Reguli’s sentencing in July 2022. That November, Reguli filed a First Amendment retaliation claim against Russ and her employer under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. But Reguli’s § 1983 claim triggered a short one-year statute of limitations under Tennessee law. So the district court dismissed Reguli’s claim as untimely. The court reasoned that this claim had accrued when Reguli learned of Russ’s search—not when she learned of Russ’s motivation for it. We agree and affirm.

The Memphis City Council on Tuesday approved three ballot questions that could establish local gun control legislation. If it passes, the referendum would amend the city's charter. The Commercial Appeal reports that the first question is about handguns, carry permits and storage. Question two focuses on assault weapons and carry permits, and question three would create an extreme order of protection — often referred to as a red flag law — in the city charter.