Save the date for the annual Federal Practice Forum, which will take place virtually on July 15 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CDT. Speakers and topics will be announced soon. Stay tuned here for more information.

The Estes Kefauver Federal Building and Annex in downtown Nashville has been approved for sale by the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) after a report recommended closure of the aging office building. The Tennessean reports that the building is one of 11 federal properties across the U.S. recommended for closure by the Public Buildings Reform Board. The building currently houses the Nashville offices of the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Veterans Affairs, though the building is only about 66% leased. The Annex is about 77% leased. The building served as Nashville's federal courthouse until the Fred D. Thompson U.S. Courthouse opened in 2022 on Church Street.

Chattanooga attorney Patrick Bryant Hawley reached a plea deal in connection with a sex crimes case involving a 14-year-old Pennsylvania girl and is expected to register as a sex offender, reports the Chattanooga Times Free Press. The charge carries a minimum sentence of 15 years and up to 30 years in prison. Prosecutors dismissed six other criminal counts involving animal crushing, coercion, enticement and the receipt, possession and distribution of child pornography. Hawley was temporarily suspended from the practice of law in November 2024.

The Trial Court Vacancy Commission is currently accepting applications to fill a vacancy in the 20th Judicial District for a criminal court judge following the retirement of Judge Cheryl A. Blackburn on May 31. Applicants must be licensed to practice law in Tennessee, be at least 30 years old, have been a state resident for at least five years and reside in the judicial district. Public hearings for the position will be held July 31 at 9 a.m. CDT at the Cordell Hull Building, Senate Hearing Room 1, 425 Rep. John Lewis Way N., Nashville 37243. Applications must be received by the commission by June 27 at noon CDT. For more information, contact Assistant General Counsel John Jefferson.

The Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance (TDCI) and the Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office (SFMO) on Monday announced that Tennessee fire departments are beginning to transition to the National Emergency Response Information System (NERIS) — a secure, cloud-based platform built to modernize how emergency incidents are reported and analyzed. NERIS is replacing the 40-year-old National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) in order to provide local agencies with timely data tools, location-based analytics and flexible options for incident reporting. NFIRS will be formally decommissioned on Jan. 1, 2026. Tennessee is part of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region 4, which also includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina. Departments across the region are onboarding NERIS as part of a phased national rollout. Read more in a press release from the state fire marshal.

A three-judge panel of the Tennessee Court of Appeals has reversed a lower court ruling that a law cutting in half the size of Metro Nashville's City Council is unconstitutional. Axios Nashville reports that if the panel's 2-1 decision stands, the council would be reduced to 20 members for the 2027 election. In 2023, the Tennessee General Assembly passed a law that reduced the council's size from 40 to 20 members. In 2023 and again in 2024, a court placed an injunction on that law finding it to be unconstitutional under the state's Home Rule amendment, which prohibits legislation that specifically targets one local government. The state appealed. The city could seek a review of this latest decision from the Tennessee Supreme Court. Read the ruling and the dissent.

Pre-registration for next week's TBA Convention in Franklin will close Sunday at 11:59 p.m. CDT. Only on-site registration will be accepted after that point. The event will run from June 11-14. Visit the TBA Convention site for more information.

Gov. Bill Lee has signed HB1376/SB1413, introducing strict new regulations on Tennessee’s hemp industry effective Jan. 1, 2026. The law bans THCA and synthetic cannabinoids, prohibits direct-to-consumer sales, and limits all hemp-derived cannabinoids — other than Delta-9 THC — to a maximum concentration of 0.3%. The Commercial Appeal reports that oversight of these products will shift from the Department of Agriculture to the Alcoholic Beverage Commission, which will enforce new packaging, age, licensing, taxation and marketing rules. Sen. Richard Briggs, R-Knoxville, who sponsored the bill, said during debate, “We have a situation here in Tennessee where we are essentially dealing with unregulated recreational marijuana ... It’s the wild west out there.” Critics have warned that the law could hurt small business and local farmers, like this business in Clarksville, which spoke to News Channel 5.

Knox County prosecutors on Monday dropped all attempted murder charges against Ahmad Gatlin after recently discovered cell phone data corroborated his claim that he was across town when the crime was committed. Gatlin was convicted in 2023 after police and prosecutors argued he was in a car when shots were fired into another car near Austin-East Magnet High School in 2021. Knox News reports that Gatlin's defense team had argued for a new trial on the grounds that the prosecutors initially withheld evidence, including metadata from Snapchat that would have proven Gatlin's location. Prosecutors said the data was withheld in error. In a press conference after Gatlin's release, defense attorney Stephen Johnson stated, “[Ahmad] saw justice today for the first time in over four years ... We are honored to have helped bring him home.” WBIR has the story.

Events marking this year's Juneteenth celebration are being planned across the state this month. In Memphis, the 32nd Annual Memphis Juneteenth Festival will take place June 6 and 7 in Medical District Park while the 5th Annual Juneteenth Freedom Ride will occur on June 14. In Nashville, the Music City Freedom Fest will take place June 14 and 15 in Historic Hadley Park while the National African American Music Museum will celebrate with a block party at Assembly Food Hall's Sky Deck on June 19. The Tennessee State Museum also will offer Juneteenth programming on June 19, including a curator talk on antebellum and Civil War photography and an African American highlight tour of the galleries. Rounding out celebrations in Nashville will be Juneteenth 615 on June 19 with living history tours and fireworks at Fort Negley. In Chattanooga, the Juneteenth Unity Run and Walk and the Southside Juneteenth Jubilee at the Bethlehem Center will take place on June 14, while other events are planned throughout the month. In Knoxville, the Annual MLK Jr. Parade/March will take place in Chilhowee Park, followed by the Juneteenth Celebration in Dr. Walter Hardy Park on June 19.