Tennessee Sports Wagering Council (SWC) has announced new rules and regulations that will take effect June 30. The rules revisions strengthen player protections and build on ongoing efforts to eliminate fraudulent activity on wagering platforms. The rules also add multi-factor identification requirements for different account activities, define more responsible gaming terms, and put new conditions on the processes for voiding or canceling wagers, among other changes. “Making these rule changes is a staff-wide effort working with the industry and consumers to solicit feedback and constantly reevaluate what’s working and what could be improved, and we appreciate everyone who participated in this public process,” SWC Chair Billy Orgel said. Read more in a press release. The revisions have been approved by the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office and are posted on the SWC’s website and with the Secretary of State’s Office.

Tennessee Attorney General (AG) Jonathan Skrmetti is alerting customers of genetic testing company 23andMe of their rights to download their personal data from their account, delete their account and instruct the company to destroy their biological sample and not use it for research purposes following the company’s bankruptcy filing. All of these options are protected under Tennessee’s Genetic Information Privacy Act (GIPA), which went into effect in July 2023, Skrmetti said in a press release. "Our genetic information is some of our most personal data, giving insight about not just us but our families,” he said.

A 36-year-old Shelby County Jail inmate, Courtney Berry, was discovered "unresponsive in a restroom" Sunday morning, according to a statement from the Shelby County Sheriff's Office to the Commercial Appeal. "Lifesaving measures were taken by staff members and Memphis Fire Department paramedics," the sheriff's office said in a statement. "A pre-existing medical condition may have played a part in the event." The investigation into Berry's death is ongoing. He was arrested without bond while a petition by state prosecutors to revoke his suspended sentence was pending. He previously had been convicted of criminal attempt to possess a firearm while being a convicted felon. Berry's death is at least the fifth so far this year. In early February, four inmates died within a week.

One week after Tennessee's Republican U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty wrote an op-ed calling for the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) board to be replaced, President Donald Trump fired Michelle Moore from the TVA Board of Directors. Moore was dismissed on March 27, according to a March 28 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All five members of the board, down from six after Moore's termination, were nominated by President Joe Biden and confirmed to five-year terms by the U.S. Senate. Three members, who were nominated by President Trump during his first term, rolled off after their terms expired. The board needs five of its nine members to conduct business. In other news, TVA announced on Monday that Chief Operating Officer Don Moul would succeed Jeff Lyash as CEO on April 9 following Lyash's retirement. Knox News has the story

The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear two cases — Alan C. Cartwright v. Thomason Hendrix PC, et al. and Alice Cartwright Garner et al. v. Thomason, Hendrix, Harvey, Johnson & Mitchell PLLC, et al. — during its April 9 docket in Jackson. The two cases are related actions involving similar legal issues. The cases will be heard at the Tennessee Supreme Court, 6 US-45 Bypass, Jackson 38301, beginning at 9 a.m. CDT and livestreamed to the TNCourts YouTube page. Read more about the cases in a press release from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

The annual Robert Ballow Excellence in Writing Awards were presented to Nashville School of Law (NSL) 4L students on March 19. Six students were recognized for their performance in the Rigorous Writing Exercise (RWE) program. The RWE is a project all NSL 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. See the list of winners and read their work. Former TBA President and current Tennessee Bar Foundation Treasurer Jackie Dixon was named the 2024 Mentor of the Year. The honor is conferred in recognition of a mentor’s exceptional service to the program; Dixon is in her sixth year as a mentor.

The Metro Nashville School Board last week voted unanimously to rename Brick Church Middle School for the late Judge Richard H. Dinkins in time for the 2025-2026 school year. According to the board, Dinkins had a profound impact on Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) as the lead attorney in a long-running school desegregation case that led to nearly three decades of court supervision of the district before he helped settle it in 1998. He later became the first Black judge on the Tennessee Court of Appeals in 2008 and served with distinction until his retirement in 2022. Dinkins died in 2023.

HB811/SB227, sponsored by Rep. Rusty Grills, R-Newbern, and Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Memphis, proposes that charitable organizations across the state, such as churches and homeless shelters, might be held accountable if an undocumented immigrant they knowingly house commits a crime. A spokesperson for the Nashville Rescue Mission told Fox17 that the bill would punish organizations and strain resources. In response, Grills said, "The intention of this bill is not to incriminate those who provide temporary housing for a homeless shelter. It's to deter criminal activity." The sponsors say they plan to add amendments to the bill for more clarity, including possibly expanding what liability entails. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed the bill last week. The House Civil Justice Subcommittee is set to consider the bill tomorrow.

Mason & Associates Law Firm, which focuses its practice on elder law and estate planning, has moved to 880 Greenlea Blvd., Suite B, Gallatin 37066 in the Greensboro Village Business Center. The firm can be reached at 615-989-7054 or info@planyourlegacy.com.

Twenty-seven attorneys general, including Tennessee Attorney General (AG) Jonathan Skrmetti, signed onto a U.S. Supreme Court amicus brief filed March 18 by Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr. The Nashville Banner reports in its newsletter that the brief calls for the reversal of U.S. District Court Chief Judge James Boasberg’s decision that deportation of Venezuelan immigrants to a prison in El Salvador is unconstitutional. The attorneys general argue in the brief that allowing the temporary restraining order to stand undermines public safety and national security. Read more in a press release from the Georgia AG's office. In imposing the temporary ban on March 15, Boasberg raised concerns over due process and reports of possible misidentification. The Trump administration today acknowledged that a Maryland man was wrongly deported to El Salvador due to an "administrative error," despite his protected status, The Hill reports. A split three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit kept the ban in place last week. On Friday, the administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on the case according to the Associated Press.