Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti will not issue an opinion as to whether Donald Trump should remain on the state's presidential election ballot. The Tennessee Lookout reports that in a letter to Rep. Vincent Dixie, D-Nashville (who requested a formal legal opinion after Trump was convicted on felony charges in New York), Skrmetti said that after careful consideration, his office cannot opine based on a state law dealing with election eligibility. “The Attorney General’s statutory authority is limited to providing ‘written legal opinions’ on matters submitted by officials ‘in the discharge of their official duties.’” Skrmetti’s office notes, “And Tennessee’s election officials — not individual members of the General Assembly — enforce (the state law) in specific factual scenarios.” Dixie said in a statement he is “disappointed” but “not surprised” by the response.

An inmate in the Gibson County Correctional Complex in Trenton filed a lawsuit alleging unsafe living conditions and being denied access to file court documents. The Tennessean reports that Thomas Brandon Karnes is seeking $100,000 in mental and emotional damages and $100,000 for the jail's failure to pass inspection. The suit names Gibson County Sherriff Paul Thomas, who is currently facing misconduct charges, as well as other corrections employees. Records show the Gibson County jail passed inspections in 2020, 2022 and 2023; in 2021, two infractions were noted in terms of supervision and storage of medical and dental equipment.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division met last week at the TBA's 2024 Annual Convention in Memphis. On Friday, the group held its Annual Meeting during which Franklin attorney Sean Aiello took office as president. Others taking office were President-elect Alex McVeagh, Hamilton County General Sessions judge; Vice President Jen Sneed of Memphis; Secretary Ross Smith of Nashville; and Treasurer Darius Walker Jr. of Nashville. The 2024-2025 YLD Board met on Saturday for committee planning sessions and its first board meeting. On Friday evening, both the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 boards met for the YLD annual dinner and gavel pass tradition. They were joined by members of the 2024 DLI Class for their graduation and the YLD Fellows for induction of new fellows. The YLD Fellows also elected new officers: Jackson lawyer Michelle Greenway Sellers, president; Memphis lawyer Mason Wilson, vice president; Chattanooga lawyer David McDowell, secretary; and Memphis lawyer Nicole Grida, treasurer. Click the links above to see photos from the events.

The Tennessee Democratic Party (TNDP) on Thursday announced the hiring of Brian Córdova as its new executive director. Córdova is joining the TNDP after almost a decade of working in Tennessee politics. He served as political director for the House and Senate Democratic Caucuses in 2022 and has worked on or consulted on races across Tennessee and around the country, including in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Hawaii. Clarksville Online has more.

The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a federal law that bans people under domestic violence restraining orders from owning firearms, rejecting a defendant’s challenge to the ban. The Hill reports that the 8-1 decision, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing for the majority, noted a tradition of disarming individuals found to pose a credible threat to the physical safety of another. Justice Clarence Thomas was the lone dissenter, writing that “not a single historical regulation justifies that statute at issue.”

HB2472/SB2682, sponsored by Rep. Kevin Raper, R-Cleveland, and Sen. Dawn White, R-Murfreesboro — both former teachers — was signed into law recently by Gov. Bill Lee. The new law requires a one-year suspension for students who assault teachers at school. According to data from the Tennessee Department of Education, there were 1,918 assaults of teachers and staff reported by schools across Tennessee during the 2022-2023 school year ― the highest number in the last five years and up nearly 700 from the 2021-2022 school year. “We have a teacher shortage,” Raper said. “And we are losing a number of these teachers because they just said 'I'm not going back to this situation, and I'll go work somewhere else.'” The Tennessean reports on the story.

TBA's annual Adoption Law Forum will be held Sept. 9 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. CDT at the Tennessee Bankers Association's Barrett Training Center in Nashville. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available!

Nashville lawyer Ed Lanquist Jr. was sworn in last week as the 144th president of the Tennessee Bar Association. The oath of office was administered by Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Holly Kirby during the TBA’s Annual Lawyers Lunch on June 14. Lanquist is a shareholder in the Nashville office of Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz and has practiced intellectual property law for more than 30 years. During remarks following the swearing in, Lanquist pledged a renewed emphasis on serving members of the association during the coming bar year and an increased focus on educating lawyers about legislative issues important to the legal profession — including elimination of the professional privilege tax and increased funding for indigent representation. He also announced two exciting CLE programs: an Urban Bourbon trip to Louisville, Kentucky, and a return to Cuba in February 2025. Registration for that program is now open. Watch his remarks, as well as the full footage of the Lawyers Lunch, on the TBA's Facebook page. See photos from the lunch.

A new Tennessee law, which goes into effect July 1, authorizes the state to pursue capital punishment when an adult is convicted of aggravated rape of a child, reports WREG. Gov. Bill Lee signed the law in May without issuing a statement. Lee told reporters Tuesday that he did not sign the bill hoping it would be “tested” in court. Instead, he said crimes against children are “some of the most heinous that there are.” Opponents worry that the law may keep child rape victims from speaking out knowing their testimony could potentially result in an execution, especially since many children are abused by family members and close friends.

Attorneys for Zachary Adams, the man convicted in 2017 of murdering nursing student Holly Bobo, on Friday made arguments to a Savannah judge as part of an attempt by Adams to receive a new trial. The Associated Press reports that Adams requested a new trial based on statements made by Jason Autry, a key trial witness who earlier this year recanted the testimony that helped a jury convict Adams. The new filing, known as a coram nobis petition, says Autry is recanting his testimony to avoid spending life in prison. For the petition to be successful, Adams must prove that he is presenting new evidence, which must be supported by sworn affidavits.