The Food and Drug Administration Wednesday approved the overdose medication naloxone (Narcan) for over-the-counter use, reports the Daily Memphian. Tennessee has been disproportionately affected by the opioid crisis, and residents could soon find Narcan at drug stores, convenience stores, grocery stores and gas stations, as well as online. For more than a decade, Tennessee has ranked in the top five states nationally for opioid prescription rates per person and was among the top five states for overdose rates in 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Wednesday’s FDA decision clears the way for naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray, which rapidly reverses the effects of opioid overdose, to be sold directly to consumers.

More than a thousand people protested at the Tennessee State Capitol today in favor of tighter gun controls, urging the legislature to take action following this week’s mass shooting at Covenant Christian School in Nashville in which three children and three adults were killed, the Tennessean reported. The protests followed a Wednesday night candlelight vigil in Nashville where lawmakers stood alongside First Lady Jill Biden and musicians, including Sheryl Crow, who has called for stricter gun controls since the attack. The Tennessee Journal reports that in a letter to Gov. Bill Lee, Republican Lt. Gov. Randy McNally called for securing windows and glass in school buildings, adding magnetic locks on doors, modernizing camera systems and increasing armed guards.

Circuit Court Judge Michael E. Spitzer of Hohenwald was presented with the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program (TLAP) Volunteer of the Year Award at TLAP’s Annual Camp TLAP, held March 25 at Montgomery Bell State Park near Dickson. Spitzer currently serves as chair of the TLAP Commission. According to the organization, his leadership over several years has been instrumental in supporting TLAP’s “gold standard” programming and monitoring support that rendered an 85% no-relapse rate in addiction cases last year. Camp TLAP included presentations by nationally recognized addiction doctors and leaders in the realm of supporting the recovery of licensed professionals and monitoring fitness to practice, all of whom joined the TLAP community in honoring Spitzer.

This year's Immigration Law Forum will cover timely topics affecting immigration attorneys. Sessions will include the discussion of the Southeastern Provision plant raid, family law immigration updates and the intersection of criminal and immigration law. More information and additional sessions to be announced! Join us in person May 10 at 1212 Germantown. Registration is from 8:30-9 a.m. CDT with programming running from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

Voting for the 2023 TBA election will end at 11:59 p.m. CDT on Monday. Access to the electronic ballot was emailed on March 1 and 22. It was sent from the email address TBA.Election@intelliscanvotes.com. Please check your spam filters if you did not receive a ballot notification. Reach out to elections@tnbar.org if you have any questions or concerns.

The Women’s Political Collaborative released a statement today saying it will postpone its 50th Anniversary Celebration "out of respect for the lives lost in the tragic Covenant School shooting on Monday. Our hearts go out to everyone affected by the shocking and devastating tragedy." The group will keep event registrations on file and communicate more information when a new date is chosen. Contact Joyce at WPC with questions.

West Tennessee Legal Services (WTLS), Tennessee Department of Labor and the Tennessee Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission will host an expungement clinic in Madison County on April 6. All attorney work will be completed virtually prior to the event. Attorney volunteers will be needed April 3-5. All applicants will be prescreened for expungement eligibility and WTLS will provide forms to completed via phone. WTLS is also available to answer any questions related to the clinic. Volunteers can register here.

The Hill reports that Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are considering an attempt to force votes on stricter gun laws following yesterday’s shooting in Nashville. The group is considering using a discharge petition, which would force proposed gun law reforms, now pending before various committees, to come straight to the House floor. A simple majority vote is needed to bring the bills up for consideration. Some House Republicans have shown little interest in strengthening gun laws, even though both sides of the aisle have condemned the violence. Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Knoxville, told reporters that there is no way to “fix” gun violence. “It’s a horrible, horrible situation,” Burchett said. “And we’re not gonna fix it. Criminals are gonna be criminals.” Burchett also said he doesn’t see “any real role” for Congress to play in reducing gun violence, other than to “mess things up.”

A federal whistleblower lawsuit filed against Erlanger Health System accuses hospital leaders of illegal billing practices by knowingly overlapping surgeries and allowing trainees to operate on patients without physician supervision, among other patient safety and compliance issues. The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports that the complaint, brought under the federal False Claims Act and Tennessee Medicaid False Claims Act and filed in April 2021 in federal district court, alleges that surgeons who practice at Erlanger violated state and federal law by regularly billing for two or three different surgeries in the same timeframe while leaving residents and interns alone to complete operations without proper oversight or patient consent. 

Tenth Judicial District Attorney General Stephen Crump will step down in July for a job as executive director of the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference in Nashville. "My last day in the DA's office will be July 15, and my first day as executive director will be July 16," Crump, said Monday in a phone interview. The 10th Judicial District consists of Bradley, Polk, McMinn and Monroe counties. Crump said he will fulfill the remaining term of the conference's retiring executive director Guy Jones, and then will serve at the pleasure of the group if it reappoints him in June 2024. Jones has held the post since 2020. Along with serving as a liaison between state district attorneys and the General Assembly and other state departments, the conference handles all bill paying, payroll, human resources, hiring policies and technological support for DAs across the state. The Chattanooga Times Free Press has the full story.