The Supreme Court today agreed to review the Biden administration’s student debt relief plan, but the justices declined to immediately revive the program, reports The Hill. In a brief unsigned order, the court indicated it would hear arguments in the case in February. The move comes after the administration urged the Supreme Court last month to clear one of the legal obstacles blocking the policy. The administration is currently fending off two separate rulings issued in recent weeks that have effectively halted the student loan forgiveness plan, which would give federal borrowers making less than $125,000 a year up to $10,000 debt relief. Separately, the New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit last night denied the administration’s request to revive the policy while it appeals a lower court ruling.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office – Eastern District of Tennessee has earned an award for its work in bringing to justice those who committed health care fraud on unsuspecting victims, reports the Claiborne Progress. Members of the Knoxville-based office staff along with participating federal partners received a national commendation for their work in “Operation Health Wrong” — a long-term, multi-defendant program that prosecuted those suspected of healthcare fraud. The National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association chose Operation Health Wrong for the award during its annual training conference. 

The Shelby County District Attorney's Justice Review Unit (JRU), tasked with identifying and addressing wrongful convictions and sentences, is now accepting cases for review, Shelby County DA Steve Mulroy says. The independent unit within the DA's office will be led by Chief Lorna McClusky and Assistant Chief Robert Gowen. Each has at least 24 years of high-level criminal defense experience in Shelby County. “I’m glad we were able to quickly get our new unit up and running,” Mulroy said. “We all know our criminal justice system is imperfect. When we correct injustices, we restore public confidence in the fairness of our system. That can get the community cooperating more with law enforcement to address crime.” Learn more about the mission and how to file an application.

Main Street Clarksville reports that a federal jury in late November convicted a Clarksville man of filing false tax returns that omitted income he earned from his business. The announcement came from U.S. Attorney Mark H. Wildasin for the Middle District of Tennessee and Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, David Haley, 65, of Clarksville failed to report income from Haley & Associates Mechanical Contractors, a heating and plumbing business, which was hired as the subcontractor on commercial projects in Middle Tennessee and was paid more than $1,000,000 for each year from 2014 to 2017.

Knoxville Area Transit (KAT) pays tribute to Civil Rights activist Rosa Parks today by keeping one seat open on every bus. Parks was arrested on Dec. 1, 1955 for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man in Montgomery, Ala. The honorary open bus seats feature a placard recognizing the contribution made by Parks in the fight for racial justice and equality. “Rosa Parks’s seemingly small act of courage in the fight for racial justice had enormous consequences,” says Isaac Thorne, Director of Transit for the City of Knoxville. “We honor that courage and the work of past civil rights leaders, while recognizing the responsibility we all have to continue to advance efforts to achieve racial equity across our city and our nation.”

Belmont Law, Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee, The Tennessee Supreme Court Access to Justice Initiative, the Montgomery County Bar and other community partners hosted an expungement clinic in Clarksville on Nov. 19. The clinic was dedicated to Belmont Law 1L Laurel Flaherty, who died earlier this semester. Fifteen law students and 20 attorneys assisted clients with expungement paperwork and fee waivers. The Montgomery County and Davidson County clerk’s offices along with four judges were present to process the expungement paperwork. See photos from the event.

The Tennessee Bar Association will be closed Nov. 21-25 in celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday. Offices will reopen on Nov. 28 at 8 a.m. CST. 

The Vanderbilt Project on Unity & American Democracy is hosting an event at Vanderbilt University’s Student Life Center Ballroom to examine the potential impact of recent Supreme Court decisions on the perceived politicization of federal courts. Panelists with experience as White House counsel in Republican and Democratic administrations are expected to discuss the intricacies of the federal judiciary’s nomination and confirmation process. Additionally, this expert group, including CBS News’ chief judicial correspondent, will highlight which decisions will generate headlines in the coming year and what effect, if any, the major decisions of 2022 had on the midterm elections. The free event will be held Nov. 29 at 11 a.m. CST. Advance registration is required. 

James Edward Wise, 90, of Memphis died on Nov. 4 and was remembered by family and friends in a memorial service at Temple Israel on Nov. 6. Wise was born and raised in Sumner, Mississippi. He graduated from Washington and Lee University in 1953 and from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1956, when he joined the U.S. Navy. Following his military service, Wise worked at a trial attorney for the National Labor Relations Board in Tampa. In 1965, he returned to the mid-south to join the general practice law firm later known as Armstrong Allen. In 1996, Wise and several colleagues left Armstrong Allen to join others and form a regional labor and employment law firm known as Kiesewetter Wise Kaplan Schwimmer & Prather. He continued with Kiesewetter Wise until it became part of the international labor and employment practice of Littler Mendelson in 2012. He retired from the active practice of law in 2016, though he continued to mentor and share his expertise with those who entered the field.

Almost 550 guests joined the Tennessee Innocence Project for an evening of music and inspiration at the Inspired by Innocence fundraiser on Oct. 27. It was the Tennessee Innocence Project's largest event since its founding in 2019, raising more than $340,000. Guests lit up the Music City Center with tea lights — 95 lights each representing one year wrongfully served in prison by each of the organization’s four exonerees — Shane Garrett, Joyce Watkins, Charlie Dunn and Claude Garrett. An additional 318 lights were later lit, each symbolizing one year lost in prison by the organization’s 12 current clients waiting to be exonerated. In total, 413 lights represented the 413 years served in prison by TIP clients. Read the full press release and see photos from the event.