Join the Vanderbilt Social Justice Reporter for its 2024 inaugural symposium "Capitalism & The Carceral State," focused on bridging academics, practitioners and impacted individuals. 2023 MacArthur Fellow Andrea Armstrong will be the keynote speaker. The event will take place March 21 from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. CDT in Flynn Auditorium at Vanderbilt University Law School, 131 21st Ave. S., Nashville 37203. Learn more and register here.

Former Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland is the "preferred candidate" to be the next dean of the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis, according to an email obtained by the Commercial Appeal. David J. Russomanno, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost for the University of Memphis, said in the email to faculty, "We have reached an extraordinary moment with a tremendous need for a collaborative dean who will demonstrate exemplary leadership and focus on initiatives and priorities to significantly increase enrollment, bar passage rates and philanthropic support to our law school to ensure its continued viability and vitality." The current dean and the first woman in the law school's history to hold the position, Katharine T. Schaffzin, announced in an August 2023 email to the law school community that she will step down at the end of this academic year.

A bill blocking local governments from passing police reform on traffic stop policies is heading to Gov. Bill Lee's desk after it passed the Senate. The Commercial Appeal reports that the bill passed with 26 "yes" votes and six "no" votes along party lines, with all Memphis and Nashville Democrats voting against it. The bill would directly nullify an ordinance passed by the Memphis City Council in the wake of Tyre Nichols being fatally beaten by now-former Memphis Police Department officers. The ordinance prevents police from conducting low-level traffic stops, often called "pretextual traffic stops." Nichols' parents have objected to the bill throughout the legislative process. According to the Daily Memphian, they now have requested a meeting with Lee and asked him to veto the bill.

A new episode of the Legislative Updates podcast is live! Join attorney and TBA lobbyist Berkley Schwarz and Adams and Reese attorney and TBA lobbyist Brad Lampley as they discuss committees closing for this legislative session, as well as TBA's upcoming Day on the Hill and Big Shrimp Legislative Reception, which will be held in Nashville on March 20. These events give Tennessee lawyers an opportunity to meet with their legislators and talk to them about issues important to the profession, including funding for indigent representation. Registration for the events will close on Monday. Legislative Updates airs each week on the TBA’s Facebook page. It is also released as a podcast on the same day and can be found on the TBA’s website or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Eric Bittner has been confirmed by the Clarksville City Council to become the next city attorney for Clarksville. He will succeed longtime City Attorney Lance Baker on May 1 after Baker's retirement. Bittner earned a degree in finance as well as his law degree from the University of Memphis (then Memphis State) and began practicing law in Clarksville in 1995. He served as deputy city attorney from July 2021 until February 2023. Since that time, Bittner has served as city risk manager in the Human Resources Department.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has presented its Technology Strategic Plan for Tennessee’s judicial system. The plan, developed by the Court System Information Technology Oversight Committee, outlines the design and implementation of a unified technology strategy for Tennessee’s judicial system. The committee, headed by Justice Sarah Campbell, included a variety of stakeholders and participants in Tennessee’s judicial system who provided meaningful input on both the challenges and opportunities technology presents. Moving forward, the committee will work collaboratively with the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) to collect detailed information from stakeholders as concrete action steps are developed for each goal.

Memphis attorney William Michael "Mike" Richards, age 77, died on March 12 after a long illness. Following his graduation with distinction from Rhodes College (then Southwestern), he obtained his law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School. He practiced law for 50 years at the Memphis law firm Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC. Richards served as vice president of the Tennessee Bar Association and president of the Memphis Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. Services will be held on March 19 at the Lord’s Chapel, located on the grounds of Elmwood Cemetery, 824 S Dudley St, Memphis 38104. Visitation is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. CDT, with burial following the 1 p.m. service. Memorials can be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

A federal judge on Friday rejected a challenge by Republican-led states to a Biden administration program that allows hundreds of thousands of migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to apply for emergency entry into the United States, reports Reuters. The states argued that the federak government's authority to use parole is "exceptionally limited" and can only be applied on a case-by-case basis. They also claimed they faced irreparable harm because arriving migrants increase the cost of public services. U.S. District Court Judge Drew Tipton said the 21 states, led by Texas and including Tennessee, lacked standing to pursue the suit because they could not show that the "parole" program, which allows up to 30,000 people per month to enter the U.S., caused them any injury. "The court has before it a case in which plaintiffs claim that they have been injured by a program that has actually lowered their out-of-pocket costs," he wrote.

The American Bar Association (ABA) online pro bono program ABA Free Legal Answers has released a nationwide list of lawyers, law firms, corporate law departments, law schools and other legal organizations that handled the most online questions in 2023. The list includes 10 Tennessee attorneys: Kevin D. Balkwill, Richard B. Gossett, Bryan C. Hathorn, Mary Jo Middlebrooks, Bruce A. Ralston, Caraline E. Rickard, Moriah C. Rue, Carl E. Seely, Yasmin K. Stiggons and Alissa N. Watson. The nationwide program was originally developed by the ABA and the law firm of Baker, Donelson, which worked to consolidate web programs in Tennessee and other states. Free Legal Answers has emerged as a no-cost way for income-eligible participants to obtain basic civil legal guidance. Since 2019, pro bono lawyers have fielded more than 40,000 inquiries annually for a total of 330,221 answered legal questions since the program's inception.

A bill mandating that police record interviews with juveniles is headed to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk for his signature. Introduced by Rep. Jesse Chism, D-Memphis, and co-sponsored by Sen. London Lamar, D-Memphis, HB1602/SB1577 passed the Senate on March 4 and the House on March 5 with bipartisan support. Chism told the Tri-State Defender that the measure offers protection for both the officer and the minor. “Making sure the interview is recorded will prevent any false claims from being made against our law enforcement officers while at the same time protecting any juveniles from being coerced into a false confession,” Chism said in a statement.