U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger on Wednesday sentenced four anti-abortion activists who were convicted in January on felony conspiracy charges for their roles in a 2021 clinic blockade in Mt. Juliet. The sentences, which are less than what prosecutors requested, range from six months in prison to three years of supervised release. The Associated Press reports that while the judge recognized activists' actions were based on sincerely held religious beliefs, she said that was not an excuse to break the law. The defendants used their religious fervor to “give themselves permission to ignore the pain they caused other people and ignore their own humanity,” Trauger said. Two others charged with felonies in the case will be sentenced in September. Five more people were charged with misdemeanors in April.

Nashville Chancellor I'Ashea Myles late Thursday ruled that the Covenant School shooter's writings should not be made public "at this time." The Tennessean reports that in her 60-page ruling, Myles was swayed in part by the argument brought by a group of Covenant School families, who said that materials created by the shooter, including the shooter’s journals, were protected by copyright laws and should not be treated as public records. The shooter’s parents transferred ownership of these materials to a group of Covenant families, allowing them to assert a copyright interest in them. Following the shooting in March 2023, reporters and others requested that the Metro Nashville Police Deprtment (MNPD) release records related to the shooting, which MNPD denied. In response, six groups sued the city about a month after the shooting, seeking a court order to grant them access to several different records, most notably a pair of journals found in the shooter’s home and car.

East Tennessee Lawyers Association of Women (ETLAW) will host its Summer Social event July 25 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. EDT at Printshop Beer Co., 1532 Island Home Ave., Knoxville 37920, at which attendees can screen print their own tote bags. The event is free for current members and will include a complimentary beverage and appetizers. Tyler Ford with TNAchieves will give a short presentation on the many benefits of becoming a mentor to high school seniors in the TNAchieves pipeline. Get more information and register here.

Overton County lawyer Jonathan Lee Young has received a public censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court. Young represented a client in an emergency conservatorship petition. During the representation, Young signed another attorney’s name, “with permission,” to an order without authorization from said attorney and then presented said order to the presiding judge ex parte and obtained the judge’s signature. The order named an attorney ad litem to the conservatorship case, and Young, after obtaining the judge’s signature, failed to then file the pleading with the clerk of the court and failed to advise the guardian ad litem or the newly appointed attorney ad litem of the court order. In the same case, Young also filed pleadings with incomplete information and multiple documents with improper notarizations. Young executed a conditional guilty plea acknowledging that his conduct violated Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 3.3(a) and 3.5(b).

A federal court in Mississippi has issued a preliminary injunction temporarily blocking a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rule that would extend federal prohibition of sex discrimination, part of the Affordable Care Act health insurance law, to discrimination against transgender people. The rule would have gone into effect on July 5. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced the lawsuit in May. Read Skrmetti's statement on the ruling.

President Joe Biden awarded posthumous Medals of Honor to two Civil War veterans whose remains are buried in Chattanooga for their role in the "Great Locomotive Chase." The Times Free Press reports that Pvt. Philip G. Shadrach and Pvt. George D. Wilson were members of Andrews' Raiders — a group that attempted a daring train hijacking behind Confederate lines in Georgia in 1862 before the participants were caught and most of them executed. Nearly all of them received the then-newly created Medal of Honor not long after. But because of what advocates say was an administrative error, Shadrach and Wilson did not. "Today's decision rectifies a historical oversight that has deprived Privates Shadrach and Wilson from receiving our nation's highest military honor for valor on the battlefield," David Currey, the executive director of Chattanooga's Medal of Honor Heritage Center, said in a statement.

The University of Tennessee (UT) at Knoxville will give honorary degrees to former Sen. Lamar Alexander and civil rights leader Rita Sanders Geier. The Knoxville News Sentinel reports that a date for conferring the degrees has not been set, but UT has announced that Alexander will receive an honorary Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy from the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences, while Geier will receive an honorary Doctorate of Laws. Alexander, originally from Maryville, was Tennessee's governor from 1979 to 1987 and served as the 18th UT president from 1988 to 1991. He helped set some groundwork for UT to move forward with his vision for connecting with Oak Ridge National Lab. Geier, a Memphis native, attended Fisk University, then received her master's degree from the University of Chicago and her law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School. Along with four other plaintiffs, Geier filed a class action lawsuit against the state of Tennessee in 1968, saying Black students and faculty members were segregated from equal higher education opportunities. The lawsuit brought systemic change to higher education systems across the South, including through the 2001 Geier Consent Decree, which provided $77 million from the state of Tennessee to help diversify institutions and fund scholarships.

Shelby County General Sessions Criminal Court Division 8 Judge Lee Wilson, who also runs the county’s drug court program, will now manage Shelby County’s 14 judicial commissioners, taking over for General Sessions Division 7 Judge Bill Anderson who has led the commissioners for the last two years. The Daily Memphian reports that a new law that took effect on July 1 requires an annual rotation of management of judicial commissioner programs in counties with more than one General Sessions judge. Shelby County has nine.

Effective July 1, West Tennessee Legal Services (WTLS), which is headquartered in Jackson, will be funded by the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) to provide people in the greater Memphis metropolitan area with free legal help on civil matters. LSC is a federally funded agency that provides financial support to civil legal aid programs like WTLS nationwide, ensuring access to civil legal assistance for low-income individuals and families across the United States. WTLS’ work in Shelby, Tipton, Fayette and Lauderdale counties will be funded for the remainder of 2024 with a $940,301 grant from LSC. WTLS’ annual budget is supplemented with grants from individuals, foundations, the state of Tennessee and federal grants. “Our team is eager to get work providing these crucial services to individuals and families across this region,” says WTLS Executive Director Ashley Holliday. “As we grow, our focus will remain constant: to ensure that people in need have access to justice and the support they deserve.” Read the press release from the organization.

Dorris Caldwell "Jim" Daniel Jr. died June 30 at age 89. After college Daniel entered the U.S. Army Reserve receiving his honorable discharge in 1963. He received his law degree from George Washington University Law School. In 1974 he joined the law firm of Daniel, Burton, Bolin & LaRoche in Murfreesboro. In 1991 he began a private practice as a Social Security Disability attorney, retiring in 2008. Daniel was a past president of the Nashville chapter of the Federal Bar Association and a member of the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He served as a board member of Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands until his retirement. A memorial service is planned at First Presbyterian Church, 210 N Spring St., Murfreesboro 37130, on July 13 at 1 p.m. CDT, preceded by entombment at the church’s Columbarium with family only. A reception will be held in the church’s Common Room following the service. Memorial gifts in lieu of flowers may be sent to Shriner’s Children Hospital and the First Presbyterian Church’s Music Ministry.