Vanderbilt University announced that it has hired Nashville attorney Aubrey B. Harwell Jr. to review the school’s response to a student demonstrations last week, as well as the campus media access policy. Nashville Scene reporter Eli Motycka was covering the student protest and was arrested by campus police. Four student demonstrators were also arrested and several others suspended. The Tennessean reports that Vanderbilt University Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said the university’s response to media on campus was a “rightful concern” and a “free speech issue.” The review comes after strong criticism of the arrests from community members and public officials.

Deans from 26 law schools, including three from Tennessee, are asking the American Bar Association (ABA) to pull back on a proposal to accredit fully online law schools, saying more employment and bar pass data for graduates of online and hybrid programs is needed before making the change. The public comment period on the proposal opened Jan. 23 and ended March 25. The deans of the University of Memphis School of Law and Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law signed on to the group letter, Reuters reports. Alberto Gonzales, dean of Belmont University College of Law and former U.S attorney general under President George W. Bush wrote in a separate comment that, “Despite offering a lesser educational experience, online schools would be able to out-compete traditional law schools on cost, convenience and scale.”

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands (LAS) has received a grant totaling $684,475 over three years from the U.S. Justice Department's Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) under its Legal Aid for Victims program. The grant will be used to fund the Survivors Immigrant Legal Project, which provides legal assistance to immigrant victims of domestic and/or sexual violence across the 48 counties in Middle Tennessee served by LAS. In addition to continuing its direct work with clients, LAS will produce two client-centered educational brochures that will be available in Spanish, Arabic, Burmese, Kurdish, Nepali, Somali, Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese, Chinese and Lao. Read more in a release from the organization.

Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Melissa Boyd has resigned her position effective immediately, rather than wait until May 31, as she previously planned. According to the Daily Memphian, the resignation will stop a planned vote by the state legislature on Thursday to remove her from the bench. Boyd was recommended for removal in January by the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct, which oversees disciplinary proceedings for judges in the state. A joint committee of state legislators voted unanimously March 14 in favor of that recommendation. Rep. William Lamberth, R-Portland, who co-chaired the committee, told the news outlet Monday that if Boyd were to resign effective immediately, it would be accepted and there would be no need for a vote.

Coffee County Mayor Judd Matheny was found dead at his Tullahoma home Tuesday morning. He was 53 years old. WKRN reports that no cause of death was released and the investigation has since been handed over to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI). Matheny had been mayor of Coffee County since September 2022. He served in the state House of Representatives from 2002 to 2018, representing Coffee and parts of Warren counties.

Russ McKamey, owner of Summertown attraction McKamey Manor, on Friday filed a lawsuit against Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Commerce and the State Fire Marshall Carter Lawrence. The Tennessean reports that McKamey is seeking a court order to ensure he will not have to testify in a state investigation he considers politically motivated. In late 2023, a Hulu documentary prompted Skrmetti's office to open an investigation into McKamey Manor's business practices. The lawsuit stems from that investigation, arguing that providing testimony is not necessary for Skrmetti’s office to conduct its probe. The suit also argues that information obtained under oath could lead to discovery of evidence that could be used to prosecute McKamey.

Two bills with the potential to affect foster children are on their way to Gov. Bill Lee's desk for his signature. HB2169/SB1738 would block the Department of Children's Services (DCS) from excluding potential adoptive or foster parents who hold anti-LGBTQ beliefs for "religious or moral" reasons. Another bill, SB2359/HB1726, would prohibit DCS from requiring foster parents to get the flu or whooping cough vaccine, regardless of the medical vulnerabilities of the child. Republicans have claimed that both bills will widen the pool of prospective foster families, while Democrats have voiced concerns over the mental and physical well-being of vulnerable children. The Tennessean has the story.

State Sen. Steve Southerland, R-Morristown, experienced a medical emergency during a Senate floor session Monday and was taken to the hospital, WPLN reports. A spokesperson for the Senate speaker’s office stated that other senators came to Southerland's aid and removed him from the chamber, before emergency personnel attended to him. Southerland was alert when he was taken out. He represents District 9, which serves parts of Cocke, Greene, Hamblen, Sevier and Unicoi counties.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled today that Meta Platforms cannot delay a U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) probe into alleged privacy failures by its Facebook unit while the company pursues a lawsuit challenging the agency's authority. Reuters reports that the court found that Meta had not shown its challenge was likely to be successful. The court said Meta has "not met its heavy burden of showing entitlement to an injunction pending appeal." The same appeals court panel on March 12 denied a separate request by Meta in a related case to pause the FTC’s probe, which was announced last year, despite Meta's objections that it already paid a $5 billion fine and agreed to a range of safeguards.

Gov. Bill Lee on Thursday signed off on the repeal of police traffic stop reforms made in Memphis after the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols by officers in January 2023, despite pleas from Nichols’ parents to give them a chance to find compromise, reports the Associated Press. The governor’s signature means the law immediately renders some of Memphis’ ordinances null and void, including one that outlawed so-called "pretextual" traffic stops, such as those for a broken taillight and other minor violations.