Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson, R-Franklin, this week stated that he will file a new universal school voucher proposal on Nov. 6, and expects House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, to do the same in the House. Chalkbeat reports that Johnson plans to have the new bill be the first filed for Tennessee’s upcoming legislative session. Gov. Bill Lee has continued to promote the plan after it did not pass in the last session. The 114th Tennessee General Assembly convenes on Jan. 14, 2025.

Due to damage from Hurricane Helene, several East Tennessee counties have alternate polling places for early voters and for Election Day. Knox News details the changes in Carter, Cocke, Greene, Johnson, Unicoi and Washington counties. The U.S. Department of Justice and the Tennessee Secretary of State say they are working with local election administrators to ensure every county maintains its access to voting in the lead up to election day on Nov. 5.

Amy Willoughby Bryant, director of the Metro Nashville Office of Conservatorship Management and a member of TBA's Board of Governors, last week was elected as National Guardianship Association (NGA) president at the group's national conference. She will take office in January 2025. NGA represents more than 1000 guardians, conservators and fiduciaries from across the United States. It seeks to protect adults by ensuring that their guardians receive quality education and access to resources. The NGA also partners with other organizations such as the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the American Bar Association, the National College of Probate Judges and the AARP to affect positive change in guardianship and conservatorship policy.

The Trial Court Vacancy Commission will consider five applicants when it meets Nov. 12 in Sevierville to select nominees for a circuit court judge vacancy in the 4th Judicial District, which includes Cocke, Grainger, Jefferson and Sevier counties. The applicants are Jeremy D. Ball, Lu Ann H. Ballew, Susan Joanne Sheldon, Luke A. Shipley and S. Lane Wolfenbarger. The public hearing will be held in the third-floor courtroom of the Sevier County Courthouse, 125 Court Ave., Sevierville 37862 at 9 a.m. EST. The commission is expected to vote immediately following the interviews and forward three names to Gov. Bill Lee for his consideration. A vacancy on the court was created following the death of Judge O. Duane Slone on Aug. 24. Learn more about the candidates in a press release from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

The TBA is partnering with the Tennessee Urban Forestry Council (TUFC) to host a half-day forum focused on urban forestry and legal issues affecting municipal governance and sustainability. The "Trees and the Law" event kicks off the TUFC's annual meeting, which will highlight how individuals, organizations and municipalities are engaging to make an impact in communities. Join colleagues on Nov. 13 at noon CST at the Scarritt Bennett Center in Nashville. Get session information and register here. Members of the TBA Environmental Law Section enjoy discounted registration. Not a section member? Join here.

A three-judge panel, made up of Nashville Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal, 10th Judicial District Judge Sandra Donaghy and 25th Judicial District Chancellor Kasey Culbreath, on Thursday issued a ruling specifying certain conditions that fall under an exception for medical emergencies in Tennessee's law prohibiting abortion, reports the Tennessean. The ruling also blocks the state from taking disciplinary action against physicians for performing medically necessary abortions covered by the exceptions, which include previable preterm premature rupture of membranes and fatal fetal diagnoses that lead to maternal health conditions. The panel heard arguments in April on whether to issue the temporary injunction blocking the state's abortion ban for women who are suffering severe pregnancy complications or facing cases of lethal fetal conditions.

Davidson County Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal last week ruled that the city of Forest Hills could change the names of Confederate-themed streets, overruling the state's Historical Commission, which said the names were protected under the Heritage Protection Act, which specifically seeks to preserve Civil War-era monuments. The Tennessee Lookout reports that attorneys for the city have long argued the act should not apply to streets within subdivisions that were built on private property by private developers who constructed and named roads before they were formally recognized and adopted as public streets. State attorneys argued that the language of the act does not address this issue, and that the act requires that any street with a historic name that is now a public street remains subject to the law.

The Tennessee Innocence Project (TIP) recently announced that Lead Counsel and Executive Director Jessica Van Dyke will transition into the role of legal director. Jason Gichner has been appointed as the new executive director, effective Oct. 14. “I am honored to step into this role and continue building on the foundation that Jessica has laid,” says Gichner, who has served as deputy director since 2019. Chief Operating Officer Becca Morris states, “Jason’s deep commitment to justice and our cause makes this transition an exciting new chapter for TIP as we continue our fight for the exoneration of the wrongfully convicted.” Read more in a press release from the organization.

Knox County Assistant District Attorney Robert DeBusk resigned Tuesday following allegations that he lied under oath about violating attorney-client privilege by accessing protected communications between inmates and their defense attorneys. DeBusk was suspended after questions arose about his improper access to an email and a recorded voicemail from jail inmates to their attorneys, raising concerns about his handling of privileged information. Knox News has the story.

The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) last week sued the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of three environmental groups, claims that the TVA spent millions on the gas plant through agreements with pipeline operator Enbridge and GE before it studied negative environmental effects or renewable energy alternatives, or received community feedback, Knox News reports. The suit also alleges that the agreements, and a 2022 contract for combustion turbines from GE, violate the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Kingston was the site of the catastrophic coal ash spill in 2008 which resulted in more than a decade of litigtation over safety violations between workers and their families and Jacobs Solutions. A settlement was reached in 2023.