An expedited hearing has been scheduled by Davidson County Chancellor Anne Martin for Monday in response to a legal dispute regarding the Tennessee House of Representatives' decision to prohibit protest signs during the special legislative session. The Tennessee Lookout reports that a temporary restraining order remains in place, preventing the enforcement of the ban on signs, as granted by Martin earlier this week. House Republican leaders claim that the temporary restraining order “intrudes on the core exercise of a co-equal branch’s authority” and that “disregard for separation of powers in this instance threatens to erode the structural protections that fortify the judicial and executive branches against undue incursion by the General Assembly.” WSMV has more on their arguments.

Fifty years ago, around 39,000 children in Memphis, roughly a third of the city's schools population, were instructed to integrate racially by transferring to new schools via a busing initiative known as Plan Z. This was an expansion of the earlier Plan A, aiming to integrate schools following the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education decision. However, Plan Z resulted in unintended consequences, with many white students leaving the system for private schools, leading to shifting demographics and development patterns in the city. The Daily Memphian is marking this anniversary with an oral history series, examining the impact of busing from various perspectives.

In a letter to Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AOC) Director Roslynn Mauskopf, the judicial watchdog group Fix the Court says that 31 U.S. federal appeals court judges have attended privately-funded seminars at luxury resorts on 76 occasions since 2021. Reuters reports that the group claims these seminars appear more like paid vacations than educational events. Fix the Court argues that the luxury nature and ideological content of the events may conflict with ethical guidelines. It urges further financial transparency and investigation into the events by the AOC.

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is honoring the legacy of U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia, in the form of a Forever Stamp, which was unveiled in Nashville Thursday at the American Baptist College, where Lewis went to school in 1957. “It’s historically powerful that on this spot, this place, the unveiling of a stamp honoring John Lewis would take place where he got his humble beginnings as a public servant,” Dr. Forest E. Harris Sr., president of the American Baptist College, said. WKRN reports that before he spent decades in Congress, Lewis was originally introduced to the Civil Rights Movement and the principles of nonviolent protest in Nashville, organizing sit-in demonstrations at segregated lunch counters in town. In addition, Action News 5 reports that the USPS Forever Stamp honoring the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., and be available for sale on Oct. 1.

This year's Creditor's Practice Forum will be held in person Oct. 18 at 1212 Germantown, 1212 6th Ave. N., Nashville 37208. The program, which offers three general and one dual credits, will cover topics including AI and its application to law practice, charging orders and related post judgement strategies, and using contractual and statutory liens to increase likelihood of payment. The program will conclude with a "tips and tricks" session presented by bankruptcy attorneys.

Five former Memphis Police Department officers facing charges in the death of Tyre Nichols appeared in court last week. Shelby County Criminal Court Judge James Jones Jr. scheduled a Sept. 15 date to consider motions from three officers — Desmond Mills Jr., Justin Smith and Tadarrius Bean — requesting separate trials. Mills is the most recent former officer to make this request; Smith and Bean filed their motions in June. The officers are charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and oppression. While some expect a federal criminal case against the officers, pretrial motions and a trial date are yet to be set, pending the judge's ruling on the release of additional documents and video footage related to the case. The Daily Memphian has the story.

House Democratic Caucus Chair John Ray Clemmons of Nashville is calling for an audit of Gov. Bill Lee’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives after concerns were raised about the allocation and transparency of $1.2 million in taxpayer funds provided to the office. Clemmons has asked the state comptroller to examine both the state office and its affiliated nonprofit, the Faith Based and Community Initiatives Foundation. The Tennessean reports that the audit request comes amid questions about the use of the funds and the operational effectiveness of the office, including the redirection of its website to a non-related site and a lack of recent social media activity.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has introduced new guidelines for safeguarding the rights of pregnant workers, building on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which became effective on June 27. The law extends the Americans with Disabilities Act to cover pregnant employees, necessitating that companies with 15 or more workers offer reasonable accommodations. The Nashville Business Journal reports that the proposed rule outlines various accommodation options, such as adjusted work schedules, equipment modifications and telework, while emphasizing that employers must promptly address accommodation requests, even without formal written notice from employees.

Saul Belz, a lawyer in Memphis for more than 40 years, died Wednesday. He was 81. Belz graduated from the University of Texas in 1964 and earned his law degree in 1967 from Vanderbilt University. Since 2000, he had practiced business litigation at Glankler Brown. Burial will be at 10 a.m. CDT on Monday at Temple Israel Cemetery, 1708 Hernando Rd., Memphis 38106. The Daily Memphian has this remembrance.

The American Bar Association (ABA) reports that former ABA President Philip S. Anderson Jr. of Little Rock, Arkansas, died Tuesday at age 88 of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. He earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Arkansas in 1959. Anderson was active in the ABA throughout his career, serving in the House of Delegates for 30 years, as chair of the House of Delegates from 1992-1994 and as president from 1998-1999.