Gov. Bill Lee has signed SB2763, a preemption bill that blocks any local Tennessee municipality from passing its own version of an extreme risk protection order or "red flag" law, which could remove guns from individuals deemed a threat. The bill passed in the final days of session, a year after Lee failed to pressure lawmakers into a vote over his version of an extreme risk measure following the Covenant School shooting. The Tennessean has the story.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) along with the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and Southeastern Conference last week announced they will pay nearly $2.8 billion to settle several antitrust claims that could force schools to share athletics-related revenue with their athletes, reports the AP. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti on Friday released the following statement: "While our case is a little different than House v. NCAA, it seems like by and large we all want the same thing: for the NCAA to follow the law and for our student-athletes to have a clearly defined set of rules that give them a fair share of the revenue they generate. For decades, the NCAA and adjacent entities have made billions of dollars from the tireless work of kids playing sports, while fighting to keep these student-athletes from negotiating market compensation. The NCAA’s behavior has been illegal and unfair, which is why we filed our suit and why a federal judge ruled in our favor and issued a preliminary injunction to stop the NCAA’s illegal behavior. We will run every legal play in the book to protect Tennessee’s student-athletes."

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch on Tuesday urged Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts and Utah to stop using juries with fewer than 12 people in some criminal trials as the high court declined to revisit a 50 year old precedent that has allowed them to do so. The court declined to hear an appeal that raised the question of whether the U.S. Constitution bars juries with as few as six people from deciding felony cases. Williams v. Florida was a 1970 case in which the Supreme Court ruled that the 6th Amendment does not require 12-member juries. Reuters has more.

State Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Eads, asked Gov. Bill Lee to hire William Bratton, a former two-time New York Police Department commissioner known for his enforcement of petty crimes, to have him study Memphis’ crime problem. In a letter to the governor, Taylor described the city as a "warzone" with a diminishing quality of life, noting that businesses are closing and people are leaving because of the crime rates. The Daily Memphian reports that according to data released last week, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city lost 5,200 residents from 2022 to 2023. Sen. London Lamar, D-Memphis, said "Yes, we need to hold criminals accountable, but, more importantly, we need to break the cycle of violence with initiatives that prevent crime before it happens ... This isn’t rocket science. When people’s basic needs are being met and you target illegal guns, crime goes down."

Sen. Ken Yager, R-Kingston, filed a collusion complaint with the Registry of Election Finance against the East Tennessee Conservatives PAC. The Registry has now referred the complaint to the Tennessee Attorney General's Office for investigation. The Tennessee Journal reports that the complaint states the treasurer of the PAC, which has published ads attacking incumbent Sen. Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, is also the treasurer for U.S. Rep. Diane Harshbarger, a Kingsport Republican. Harshbarger's son, Bobby, is challenging Lundberg for the District 4 seat.

Virginia-based IT staffing firm Arthur Grand Technologies Inc. (AGT) has reached a settlement agreement with the U.S. Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Labor (DOL) over a job posting that read "whites only." NPR reports that under the arrangement, AGT will pay a civil penalty of $7,500, along with a total of $31,000 to 31 people who complained about the posting. The company — which is minority-owned and a federal contractor designated as a disadvantaged business — also will be monitored to ensure compliance with anti-discrimination laws. "Arthur Grand Technologies vehemently denies any guilt or wrongdoing in relation to the discriminatory job posting," AGT CEO Sheik Rahmathullah said, adding that the job notice was an "unauthorized posting" by disgruntled employee.

Nashville Metro Arts Executive Director Daniel Singh has agreed to resign after less than two years in the position, reports WPLN. The arts funding agency has been under intense scrutiny over the last several months after it failed to distribute millions of dollars in promised grant funds. Singh’s resignation was approved by the Metro Arts Commission at a specially-called meeting on Friday. In return, he’ll receive a $200,000 settlement payment from the city government, which will prevent Singh from suing Nashville, Metro Legal Director Wally Dietz said during the meeting. Housing activist and former Metro Arts Commission Chair Paulette Coleman has been appointed as interim executive director.

Nashville School of Law (NSL) celebrated its 116th commencement ceremony on Saturday, conferring law degrees on 69 graduates. NSL Dean William C. Koch Jr.; Aubrey B. Harwell Jr., chair of the NSL Board of Trust; and commencement speaker Tennessee Court of Appeals Judge W. Neal McBrayer shared messages with attendees. In his keynote address, McBrayer stated that ambitious NSL graduates could become outstanding lawyers by championing pro bono work. “It strikes me that the great attorneys tend to have one thing in common: sharing their skills free of charge where there is a need for legal services.” Read more in a press release from the school and see pictures from the event.

Join your colleagues in Memphis June 12-15 for the TBA's Annual Convention, the largest annual gathering of the Tennessee legal community. This year’s convention theme “A Bridge to the Future” reflects the historic role lawyers play in society, while looking ahead to how technology will affect the legal profession for years to come. Online registration for the TBA's Annual Convention closes at 11:59 p.m. CDT on June 9. Only on-site registrations will be accepted after that point. There are a limited number of hotel rooms available in the room block.

U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman in Maryland on Monday ruled that the estate of Henrietta Lacks can move forward with a lawsuit against biopharmaceutical company Ultragenyx. Reuters reports that cancer cells (now known as "HeLa cells") were cut from Lacks' cervix without her knowledge during a cancer-treatment procedure at a Baltimore hospital in 1951. The cell line was the first to survive and reproduce indefinitely in lab conditions and has been used in a wide range of medical research worldwide. The lawsuit claims that Ultragenyx wrongly profited from its research using the "immortal" HeLa cell line. The estate previously sued Thermo Fisher Scientific for its alleged misuse of the HeLa line in a case that settled last year.