Longtime Knoxville criminal defense attorney Wade Davies has opened The Davies Law Firm. He is joined by associate attorney Georgia Miller and paralegal Meghan Franklin. The firm will focus on federal and state criminal defense, white collar investigations and defense, and BPR matters. Their office is located at 800 S Gay St #700, Knoxville 37929 and can be reached at (865) 686-6333 or online at wadedavies.law. Davies is a member of the Tennessee Bar Journal editorial board and the criminal law columnist for Journal.

Combining the disciplines of history and law, Memphis attorney Bryce Ashby and Rhodes College history professor Michael J. LaRosa in a new book explore the economic and historical challenges present in each Latin American nation that force "out" migration. "Immigration, Policy and the People of Latin America: Seven Sending Nations" unpacks the contemporary socio/political and economic realities of the seven sending nations — Colombia, Cuba, Haiti, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico and Venezuela — and explains the complexity of immigration laws (as passed by Congress), executive actions taken by individual presidents in the United States, and some state initiatives. Read an interview with the authors and Chapter 16.

Memphis events scheduled to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.'s life and legacy include Volunteer Memphis' 2025 MLK Days of Service, which will take place between Jan. 16-20 and include a health and wellness fair and a community clean up. King Day at the National Civil Rights Museum will be celebrated on Jan. 20 with free admission to the site. This year’s celebration also will mark the launch of the museum’s yearlong observance themed Community Over Chaos, highlighting pivotal anniversaries in civil rights history, including the 60th anniversary year of the Selma March and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Also on Monday, the Memphis Grizzlies, National Civil Rights Museum, City of Memphis and Shelby County will host the 23rd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Game, including a panel on the intersection of race and sport.

Monday, Jan. 20, is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and several Nashville organizations are hosting events, volunteer opportunities and celebrations of life. The 40th Annual Nashville MLK Day celebration includes a youth symposium and intergenerational panel on Saturday, and a march along Jefferson Street and a convocation at Tennessee State University with author and professor Dr. Daniel Black. Get details on the MLK Joint Day of Service on Saturday, MLK: A Celebration in Song with Mickey Guyton and the Nashville Symphony on Sunday, and a screening of the film "A Better Way: James Lawson, Architect of Nonviolence" at Vanderbilt University.

Knox County District Attorney Charme Allen on Monday announced that two Knoxville police officers were justified in the shooting of Christopher Arons in late 2024 after Arons charged at them holding an axe. According to KnoxNews, Allen wrote that she had reviewed evidence collected by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the "force utilized in this incident amounted to a necessary response to thwart the threat involved." Arons survived the shooting and is charged with aggravated assault, domestic assault and vandalism.

Davidson County Chancellor Anne Martin on Monday ruled that Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell's transit plan could go forward. Voters approved the $3.1 billion plan nearly two-to-one in November. The Tennessean reports that the plan outlines major changes to the city’s bus systems, sidewalks and traffic signals over several years, funded by a sales tax increase from 9.25% to 9.75% and other sources like grants. Former Metro Council member Emily Evans and the opposition group she formed, Committee to Stop an UnFair Tax, had filed the lawsuit to block the plan and its accompanying half-cent-per-dollar sales tax before the tax increase goes into effect Feb. 1.

The Tennessee Commission on Children & Youth recently released its 2024 annual report, which finds the average cost of infant child care centers in Tennessee — at just over $13,000 per year — is now higher than in-state tuition at almost all of the state's public universities. That figure has steadily increased over the past five years, as has Tennessee's child poverty rate, despite a slight decline in child poverty nationwide. The study also found that more than half of Tennessee’s children are covered by TennCare; that since 2017, all measures of suicidal ideation have increased among Tennessee high school students; and that from April 2023 to March 2024, Tennessee had 5,026 children enter foster care, a rate of 3.20 per 1,000. Access the full report and data highlights here.

A three-judge panel from the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday ruled that Tennessee's new age verification law — which requires websites with content deemed "harmful to minors" to verify the age of each user — can take effect while a legal challenge to it continues. The decision overturns Chief U.S. District Court Judge Sheryl Lipman's decision in early January to block the law, citing free speech protections. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti released a statement in response, saying, “We’re glad that the unanimously-passed Protect Tennessee Minors Act remains in effect while this case proceeds ... [T]his law seeks to stem the flow of toxic content to kids and keep adult websites adults-only.” The Associated Press has the story.

The 114th Tennessee General Assembly has been gaveled into session with Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, being reelected speaker of the Senate and Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, reelected speaker of the House. The Tennessean reports that the House Select Committee on Rules convened later to discuss proposed changes to the rules. Ahead of the meeting, proposed rules changes included limiting the number of bills each member may introduce to 10 (down from 15), and a “three-strikes” rule proposing to permanently ban members of the public found to be disruptive from the gallery. In other organizational moves, the Senate is expected to name committee assignments on Thursday.

The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law recently announced the development and funding of the David Pickler Dean’s Professorship at the law school, thanks to a donation of $250,000 from law school alumnus and Memphis-area attorney David Pickler. The gift will be 100% matched by the University of Memphis through a grant received from the state of Tennessee as part of Gov. Bill Lee’s efforts to support the retention of the University of Memphis’ Carnegie R-1 designation. According to a press release from the law school, the $500,000 endowment will allow the school and the dean to support both students and faculty, and presents the dean with additional funds necessary to assist with priority items throughout the year, in perpetuity.