Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk wants Tennessee’s criteria for involuntary commitment to a mental health facility to be changed. WPLN reports that Funk says Tennessee’s standards for involuntary commitment are nearly impossible to meet. Shaquille Taylor, accused of fatally shooting Belmont University freshman Jillian Ludwig last week, was tried earlier this year for aggravated assault and found incompetent to stand trial, but he did not meet the state’s criteria for involuntary commitment. The DA’s office told WPLN that it does not yet know how Taylor was able to procure a gun.

The U.S. Supreme Court has announced it is adopting its first code of ethics. In an unsigned statement, the justices said they have long adhered to ethics standards. “The absence of a Code, however, has led in recent years to the misunderstanding that the Justices of this Court, unlike all other jurists in this country, regard themselves as unrestricted by any ethics rules,” the justices wrote. “To dispel this misunderstanding, we are issuing this Code, which largely represents a codification of principles that we have long regarded as governing our conduct.” The Associated Press reports the impetus for an ethics code was sparked by a series of stories by ProPublica detailing the relationship between billionaire donors Harlan Crow and the Koch brothers and Justice Clarence Thomas. Justices Samuel Alito and Sonia Sotomayor have also come under scrutiny. Three justices, Amy Coney Barrett, Elena Kagan and Brett Kavanaugh, have voiced support for an ethics code in recent months. 

The Shelby County Public Defender’s Office is struggling to handle first-degree murder cases, citing staff shortages and an excessive workload. A July email from Chief Public Defender Phyllis Aluko asked all Shelby County General Sessions Criminal Court judges to stop appointing her office on first-degree murder cases. The Daily Memphian reports that most cases, including first-degree murders, start in Shelby County General Sessions Criminal Court, and judges typically only appoint private attorneys instead of public defenders if there is a conflict of interest.

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) plans to sell Nashville’s Estes Kefauver Federal Building, which opened in 1952. The Nashville Post reports that the building was essentially replaced by the Fred D. Thompson U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building, which opened in 2022. Various federal courts and offices operate from that building, with the Kefauver Building still accommodating an Internal Revenue Service taxpayer assistance center, a U.S. Community Credit Union branch and a U.S. Veterans Affairs Department office. The GSA also plans to sell the Joel W. Solomon Federal Building and Courthouse in Chattanooga.

West Tennessee Legal Services (WTLS) has announced that Ashley Holliday will be the organization’s new executive director, effective Jan. 1. Holliday currently serves as the WTLS General Counsel. She has worked for 14 years at WTLS, where she started as managing attorney. Prior to that she worked in private practice in Jackson after graduating from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. She succeeds Cathy Clayton, who is retiring from the role on Dec. 31. Read the full press release from WTLS.

Tennessee Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn has teamed up with Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-New Mexico, on a bipartisan bill called the Mitigating Automated Internet Networks for (MAIN) Event Ticketing Act. The bill would create reporting requirements so that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is quickly made aware of online ticketing misconduct. Axios Nashville has more information.

After a public reprimand from the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct for failing to abide by the terms of an earlier suspension order, Shelby County Criminal Court Division 9 Judge Melissa Boyd has admitted to possessing and using illegal drugs since her August 2022 election. The Daily Memphian reports that information was revealed in a letter from the board officially referring Boyd to the Tennessee General Assembly for “further action,” including potential removal. The letter acknowledges the seriousness of referring Boyd to the General Assembly, the only body that has the power to remove a sitting judge. State law requires the board to notify the General Assembly after a judge has received a second public reprimand while on the bench. Boyd received a reprimand in May and again in October of this year.

Tennessee state government offices and state courts were closed today in observance of Veterans Day, which is tomorrow, so there are no opinions today. See a full list of holiday office closures on the state’s website.

Legal Aid of East Tennessee (LAET) held its 2023 Pro Bono Night in Knoxville on Nov. 2. The event brings together attorneys, law firms, bar associations, law schools and partner agencies to recognize excellence in volunteerism with the region-wide Pro Bono Project. The Pro Bono Project is a program of LAET and is a collaborative effort to provide essential civil legal assistance to individuals in need of support to secure housing, financial stability, safety and overall well-being. Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs served as the event’s emcee. Awards also were presented. Thomas Dickenson was named Pro Bono Attorney of the Year; the Knoxville Bar Association was named Pro Bono Community Partner of the Year; and Kim Riddett was named Pro Bono Law Student of the Year. The University of Tennessee Legal Clinic and the LMU Duncan School of Law Expungement Clinic were recognized as the Pro Bono Law Firm of the Year. And retired Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee was inducted into the Donald F. Paine Memorial Pro Bono Hall of Fame. Read more in the group's news release or see photos from the event.

Sean and Leigh Ann Touhy have filed a court-ordered financial accounting that reveals Michael Oher received $138,311.01 from the family since 2007, the Commercial Appeal reports. That figure represents approximately one-third of the net profit the Tuohys received off the success of the movie "The Blind Side." The Memphis couple set up a conservatorship for Oher when he lived with them in the early 2000s. Oher, the former Briarcrest Christian School and Ole Miss star and NFL offensive lineman, filed a petition in August to end the Tuohys’ conservatorship, which Shelby County Probate Court Judge Kathleen Gomes granted. In that filing, Oher also asked for the financial accounting, alleging the family enriched itself at his expense.