Seventy years ago today, the U.S. Supreme Court declared the "separate but equal" doctrine unconstitutional in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision, ending segregation in schools. Chalkbeat has several articles on the impacts of that decision in Tennessee.

Cleotha Abston has been sentenced to 80 years in prison for three charges related to the 2021 rape of Alicia Franklin. Shelby County Criminal Court Division 7 Judge Lee Coffee handed down three consecutive sentences: 40 years for aggravated rape, 20 years for aggravated kidnapping and 20 years for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He will not be eligible for parole on the rape or kidnapping charges, but has release eligibility after serving 85% of his firearm possession sentence. He cannot appeal his sentence because he agreed to it, though he can appeal his trial conviction. The Daily Memphian reports that Abston was not charged in the Franklin rape case until after he was charged in the September 2022 death of Memphis teacher Eliza Fletcher. Due to a testing backlog, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation had not tested Franklin’s sexual-assault kit prior to Fletcher’s abduction and death.

St. Thomas Rutherford Hospital on Monday filed a lawsuit in Davidson County Chancery Court, challenging the Tennessee Health Facilities Commission’s decision to grant approval for Vanderbilt Rutherford Hospital, a proposed 42-bed, acute care facility to be built near Murfreesboro. The Tennessee Lookout reports that the commission’s February decision marked a sharp reversal of an earlier decision by an administrative judge, who in 2023, denied Vanderbilt a so-called certificate of need, siding with three area hospitals who disputed a new hospital in the same market was necessary. TriStar StoneCrest Medical Center and Williamson Medical Center have contested plans for a new Vanderbilt facility but have not yet filed legal challenges.

Dr. Laura Andreson, a Franklin OB-GYN who has sued Tennessee over its abortion ban, will challenge incumbent Republican Rep. Jake McCalmon for House District 63, running as a Democrat. The Tennessean reports that Andreson's campaign platform heavily focuses on reproductive rights and health care, the issue that drove her to become more politically involved in 2022 after the U.S. Supreme Court's Dobbs decision ushered in Tennessee's abortion law. Andreson joined a group of physicians lobbying lawmakers for increased exceptions to Tennessee's near-total ban, expressing concern about patient health and criminal liability for doctors.

Rep. Caleb Hemmer, D-Nashville, on Thursday filed an ethics complaint against Tennessee Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds, alleging that she accepted travel reimbursements paid for by ExcelinEd, a national advocacy group that also lobbies to expand education choice policies. The group employed a lobbyist in Tennessee who lobbied for Gov. Bill Lee's school choice proposal. The Tennessean reports that state law prohibits members of the executive branch, lawmakers and political candidates and their immediate families from soliciting or accepting gifts — directly or indirectly. In April, Reynolds was called out by lawmakers on both sides after she signed forms misrepresenting her tenure with the state to receive a tuition waiver. Hemmer in February asked Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti to determine whether Reynolds met the qualifications to hold the position of commissioner. Skrmetti reponded in April saying Lee has “unchecked authority” under Tennessee law to pick whoever he wants to run the Education Department.

If you have registered for Convention but not yet booked your hotel room, time is running out! The TBA hotel room block at the historic Peabody Hotel in Memphis will close next week on May 22. Book now for a special discounted rate.

According to new data from the American Bar Association (ABA), white law students are more likely to land full scholarships and less likely to receive scholarships covering less than half their tuition compared with non-white classmates. Reuters reports that white students were awarded 70% of the full-tuition scholarships given by law schools this year while comprising about 61% of the national pool of full-time law students. By contrast, students of color make up nearly 32% of full-time law students but received fewer than 23% of full-tuition scholarships. They were awarded nearly 34% of scholarships worth less than half tuition. Hispanic law students, which represent nearly 13% of the national student pool, received 9% of full-tuition scholarships, while Black students, which comprise more than 7% of all law students, and got just 5.5% of full scholarships.

The city of Memphis has subpoenaed all correspondence, documents and communication between Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy and attorneys for Tyre Nichols’ estate, and any communication between Mulroy’s office and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), reports the Daily Memphian. In the subpoena, the city is seeking any information that Mulroy’s office passed on to attorneys for Nichols’ estate. That information, if shared, could aid lawyers in their effort to prove the city’s police policies, training practices and a lack of supervision contributed to Nichols’ death, which is the crux of a civil case against the city.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti on Monday filed a lawsuit against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleging federal agency overreach. The lawsuit claims that new sexual harassment guidance from the EEOC "unlawfully extends Title VII’s protections against sex-based discrimination to cover gender identity." The Tennessean reports that under the guidelines, an employer could be held liable under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act — which prohibits employment discrimination — if they (1) don't allow employees access to bathrooms consistent with their gender identity, (2) repeatedly and intentionally refer to an employee with pronouns inconsistent with their gender identity or (3) harass an employee because they dress or appear differently than the way typically "associated with that person’s sex."

The state Court of Appeals last week ruled that game wardens with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) must obtain warrants before entering private property. The Tennessee Lookout reports that a three-judge panel concluded TWRA’s warrantless forays onto private property violate Article 1, Section 7 of the Tennessee Constitution, which reads in part: “The people shall be secure in their persons, houses, papers and possessions, from unreasonable searches and seizures.” The decision will require TWRA to seek judicial warrants based on probable cause that a crime has been committed before entering private property — the same rules that bind every other law enforcement agency in the state.