Lawyers for the city of Nashville yesterday argued before a three-judge panel to block a new law that cuts the Metro Council in half from 40 to 20, calling it an unconstitutional intrusion into local governance with an unrealistic timeline. Axios Nashville reports that the law requires Metro to reshape the Aug. 3 election by creating and approving new district maps by the May 18 filing deadline. If the council misses the deadline, the law would extend existing members' terms by one year. The panel will decide if part or all of the law should be blocked while the court battle is underway.

Gov. Bill Lee last week signed a law allowing private schools to contract with local law enforcement so they can hire school resource officers. The law takes effect immediately. Supporters said the bill was needed to clarify statutes that had kept private schools from working with local governments to hire school resource officers. The law now clears the path for them to do so, but does not make it a requirement. The Associated Press has the full story.

The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands (LAS) on Wednesday raised over $140,000 at its fifth annual Breakfast of Champions. This event brings together Middle Tennessee’s legal community and businesses in support of LAS. The funds raised at this event directly impact the low-income and vulnerable communities of Middle Tennessee by providing free community education and legal representation against illegal evictions, domestic violence, predatory lending and elder abuse.

A bill to add exceptions to Tennessee’s strict abortion ban has passed the state Senate. It now goes to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk for his signature or veto. The Tennessean reports that it's unlikely he will veto the bill, which would allow doctors to legally perform abortions to save the life of a pregnant patient. The legislation, Senate Bill 745 as amended, explicitly exempts ectopic and molar pregnancies from Tennessee's abortion ban, in addition to allowing doctors to perform abortions if in their "reasonable" medical judgment an abortion would prevent the death or "to prevent serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman."

Hosted by the TBA Family Law Section, the Intersections of Family Law CLE will examine how domestic law intersects with other legal segments, providing a more holistic view to incorporate into practice. Sessions will cover litigation regarding closely held businesses in divorces and criminal law considerations for domestic lawyers. A networking reception will follow the program. Join colleagues in Memphis on April 19 from 2-4:30 p.m. CDT for this program.

Join the East Tennessee Lawyers Association for Women (ETLAW) on May 3 for the annual Tennessee Supreme Court Luncheon. Each year, ETLAW joins together with members of the state's highest court to honor their service. This year’s program features Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger A. Page. Members of the judiciary, judicial officers and members of the bar across East Tennessee are all invited to join ETLAW in this annual tradition. Learn more or register now.

A bill is advancing in the state legislature that would require every polling place in Tennessee to display signs saying it is a crime to vote in a primary without being a bona fide party member. Tennessee currently has open primaries; voters aren’t required to register with a political party in order to vote, leaving it to voters to self-declare their party affiliation and vote in the primary of their choosing. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon, said the intent of the bill (SB0978/HB0828) is to “remind people they have to vote in the proper political party that they’re in.” Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, noted the state does not require any formal party registration in order to vote in primaries and such signage could serve to wrongly signal to voters that they had failed to take a necessary step before voting. The Tennessee Lookout has the full story.

The annual Robert Ballow Excellence in Writing Awards were presented to Nashville School of Law students on March 22. Eight students were recognized for their performance in the Rigorous Writing Exercise program. The Rigorous Writing Exercise is a project all Nashville School of Law students embark on as a requirement of graduation. Working with a volunteer mentor from the legal community, students research and write a 15–20-page paper on the topic of their choice. First prize went to Allison Wilson’s “Felony Voter Disenfranchisement: Putting an End to Second-Class Citizenship in Tennessee with the Implementation of Automatic Voter Restoration.” Visit NSL’s website for a complete list of the winners, their mentors and to read their submissions.

“Show Cause,” a Memphis Law School podcast, released a new episode featuring Prof. Daniel Kiel talking about his forthcoming book, “The Transition: Interpreting Justice from Thurgood Marshall to Clarence Thomas.” Kiel makes the case that not only did this particular transition shift the ideological balance on the court, it was inextricably entangled with the persistent American dilemma of race. He explores the lives and writings of the first two African American justices on the court, touching on lasting consequences for understandings of American citizenship as well as the central currents of Black political thought over the past century.

WPLN reports that the state legislature is deferring action on gun legislation, despite protests from students and local gun reform activists. The Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee postponed hearing a bill, SB1503, that would decrease the age for permitless carry in Tennessee from 21 to 18; the Senate Judiciary Committee pushed hearing three gun-related bills to the 2024 legislative session, including SB1325, which would have allowed teachers and other school employees across the state to carry concealed handguns on campus. SB1029 would have required safe storage of guns, but the Tennessee Lookout reports that it has been taken off notice to be reworked as a bill that could possibly earn bipartisan support.