The U.S. Supreme Court today heard arguments on whether a dog toy, which looks like a bottle of Jack Daniel’s whiskey but carries the words "Bad Spaniels" on the label, violated the Jack Daniel’s trademark or whether it is protected as parody under the First Amendment. At issue is whether humorous products that parody a brand enjoy special protection from trademark claims under the First Amendment, or whether funny knock-offs violate trademark law because they could confuse consumers or disparage the original product. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit sided with toy maker, ruling that – because the product is a parody – it enjoys special protection from trademark claims. The Tennessean has more details.

A Shelby County judge has ruled that a class-action lawsuit seeking damages related to 12,000 untested rape kits can move forward. The Commercial Appeal reports that Circuit Court Judge Gina Higgins’ ruling is the latest in a nearly nine-year journey through the court system, including last-minute motions from both plaintiff and defense attorneys that pushed back Higgins' ruling since October 2022. The lawsuit was originally filed in 2014 after the Memphis Police Department disclosed the existence of some 12,000 untested rape kits with forensic evidence taken from victims of sexual assault between the 1980s and 2012. The ruling was delayed two weeks after last-minute filings from plaintiffs' attorneys, city attorneys and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

The Daily Memphian reports that Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris has given Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert a deadline of Friday to choose another location for her satellite office in Poplar Plaza. If she does not, he says she could be derelict in her duty. The clerk’s lease at its Poplar Plaza office runs out at the end of June and is not being renewed. Halbert has called for more office locations as a solution to last year’s backlog in the renewal of car tags, which resulted in her office’s closure for two weeks to deal with the surfeit. However, a planned office on Riverdale Road has not yet opened, and she has not found a new location in Poplar Plaza.

Join the TBA YLD's Civil Rights Walking Tour on April 14 in downtown Nashville. Learn about the impact that legal history has had in making the city of Nashville a more inclusive place to thrive. This CLE will offer a uniquely interactive historical perspective regarding the role Nashville played in the civil rights movement, women’s right to vote, enactment of disability laws and changes to access for public education. It will end with a panel discussion on the future of civil rights litigation and how attorneys can incorporate it into their practice. For more information, including tour stops, and to register, click here.

Memorial service arrangements for 21st District Attorney General Kim Helper will be held this weekend. The family will receive friends from 4–8 p.m. CDT on Saturday at Williamson Memorial Funeral Home, 3009 Columbia Ave., Franklin 37064. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. CDT on Sunday at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 510 West Main St., Franklin 37064. Helper died Monday following a brief illness.

The Mount Pleasant Commission has appointed longtime Columbia attorney Kevin S. Latta as the city's new municipal judge. Latta was selected from 11 applicants for the vacant position and was sworn in by the Hon. Caleb Bayless, 22nd Judicial District Circuit Court judge, in a brief ceremony on Feb. 27. Latta previously served as both an assistant district attorney general and as an assistant public defender. Most recently the Cumberland School of Law grad has served as an associate attorney at the Columbia firm Parks, Bryant & Snyder PLLC, where he will maintain his private practice while serving in the part-time judicial position. “I am simultaneously humbled an honored by the faith the mayor and commissioners have placed in me, and I look forward to operating an open, fair and expedient city court which reflects the values of this wonderful community,” Latta said.

Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, won a vote of confidence by the state Senate Republican Caucus, the Nashville Scene reports. Caucus members voted 19-7 in a closed meeting Monday in favor of McNally’s continued leadership of the Senate. The vote followed a flurry of local and national media attention focused on his supportive comments on a young gay man’s Instagram page. "I have always been honored, humbled and grateful for the support of my caucus,” McNally said via a spokesperson. “I remain so today." Critics have called McNally hypocritical for making the social media comments while leading a body that has passed legislation restricting drag and trans health care, among other anti-LGBTQ positions.

The Associated Press reports that the Tennessee House advanced legislation that would add a narrow exemption to the state’s strict abortion ban, despite concerns raised by Democrats and medical experts that the bill does not go far enough to protect doctors and pregnant patients. The legislation was drastically reworked from its original version that was introduced in February. The proposed exemption allows doctors to use a “reasonable medical judgment” when determining if an abortion is necessary to prevent the death of a pregnant patient or to spare her from the irreversible, severe impairment of a major bodily function.

You can't win your case in a deposition, but it can be one of the most important discovery tools (if not the most important) in preparing your case for trial. Join us May 16 at noon CDT for a webcast on the do's and don’ts of taking, defending and using depositions. This program will cover tips and techniques on taking depositions, defending them and using them as your case progresses, including how to prepare yourself and your client for depositions. It will also cover tips on how to avoid and recover from common pitfalls.

Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services (TALS) is hosting a course on expungement on March 30 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT. This will be a virtual event covering the ins and outs of expungement, starting with non-conviction expungement, moving through conviction expungement and ending with information about re-entry and potential upcoming changes during this legislative session. There will be a 15 minute break between sessions. Sign up here for this free training.