Rural Bledsoe County, with a population of 15,060 and a poverty rate of 26% — one of the highest in the state — received about $69,000 in opioid settlement money last year from Tennessee's Opioid Abatement Council. County Mayor Greg Ridley felt that the money would be most impactful in funding an opioid prevention program in the school district. Director of Schools Selina Sparkman and School Health Director Michelle Rains developed a program based on grant guidelines to deliver opioid prevention classes within already-required health courses for high school freshmen. Bledsoe County is the only system in the state to hire a teacher focused entirely on opioid prevention education. The Tennessean has the story.

After a friend was pulled over and arrested for DUI despite being sober, state Rep. Lowell Russell, R-Vonore, asked the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) to calculate the number of sober DUI arrests over the last few years in Tennessee. According to TBI data, since 2107, 609 people were charged with DUI, whose alcohol and drug test results ultimately came back negative. News Channel 9 reports that Russell, a former highway patrol officer, also officially asked the agency to post lab test results for all DUI arrests in the Tennessee Incident-Based Reporting System (TIBRS) database. He also says he wants to work with the Administrative Office of the Courts on its new $75 million database to make sure dismissed DUI cases are clearly posted, or that the information can be easily given to the public if requested.

After a 16-monthlong investigation, the Justice Department (DOJ) released a report finding that the Memphis Police Department (MPD) and the city of Memphis engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law. According to a press release, the DOJ found that MPD uses excessive force; conducts unlawful stops, searches and arrests; unlawfully discriminates against Black people when enforcing the law; and the city and MPD unlawfully discriminate in their response to people with behavioral health disabilities. The DOJ also identified serious concerns about MPD’s treatment of children, as well as deficiencies in policy, training, supervision and accountability that contribute to MPD’s and the city’s unlawful conduct. This morning, the city of Memphis published letters from Mayor Paul Young and Interim Police Chief C.J. Davis that acknowledged some of the DOJ's findings but also noted progress has been made on some of the issues. The city has notified the DOJ that it will not enter into negotiations for, or sign, a consent decree, reports the Daily Memphian. The DOJ said it could possibly sue the city and file an injunction, forcing negotiations, but did not commit to taking that step yet, according to the Commercial Appeal.

Vanderbilt Law School has received a $10 million commitment from Sara J. Finley, a 1985 graduate, to advance the school’s leadership in the study of how law, regulation and policy impact equality, equity and opportunity for women. The gift will be used to establish a chair and to endow a program for research, education and advocacy relating to equal rights, equal opportunity and nondiscrimination. “This is an extraordinary gift that will advance our understanding of the ways in which law and policy shape our experiences in leadership, in the workplace and across so many other spheres,” Provost C. Cybele Raver said. Read more in a press release from the law school.

The Tennessee Supreme Court reinstated Knox County lawyer Jedidiah Charles McKeehan to the active practice of law on Dec. 5. On Dec. 3, the court suspended McKeehan for 30 days. The next day, the Board of Professional Responsibility notified the court that the motion to suspend had been filed prematurely and filed a joint motion with McKeehan requesting that the court vacate the order. The new order reinstates McKeehan to the active practice of law.

Get CLE hours in your specific practice area with TBA's curated packages! As the year comes to a close, choose from packages that include sessions from the 36th Annual Health Law Forum, Corporate Counsel Forum, Elder Law Forum, Labor and Employment Law Forum, Hot Topics in Real Estate and more. See all package options or build your own any time by visiting cle.tba.org to access more than 200 on-demand courses.

In this webcast, ethics expert Stuart Teicher will tell true stories about lawyers who break the law and the ethics rules they break (or could have broken). Ethics topics will include the connection between competence, withdrawal and mental health issues; how sexual harassment creates problems; the duty to report lawyer and judicial misconduct; and how the rule on supervision guides lawyers in creating an ethically positive office environment. Tune in at noon CST on Dec. 12 and receive one hour of dual credit.

Cheatham Middle School in Ashland City must choose a new mascot after the University of Cincinnati (UC) sent a cease-and-desist letter concerning copyright and licensing infringements regarding the school's current mascot, the Bearcats. In a social media post, Cheatham Middle School submitted a proposal to UC agreeing to remove the logo and create a new one but was denied and informed that the school can no longer use or refer to themselves as the "Bearcats." UC owns a sports licensing copyright for the word. The Tennessean reports that, after gathering community input, the top four choices for a new mascot are Musketeers, Bobcats, Cubs or Coyotes.

The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in two cases on Dec. 4 at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville as part of its Supreme Court Advancing Legal Education for Students (SCALES) program. The cases are Theresa Thompson Locke et al. v. Jason D. Aston M.D. et al. and State of Tennessee v. Ambreia Washington. SCALES is an initiative launched by the court in 1995 to educate high school students about the Tennessee legal system and the functions of the judicial branch. SCALES has provided more than 40,000 students from more than 500 high schools the ability to witness the Tennessee Supreme Court in action. Read more about the program and the cases to be heard beginning at 9 a.m. CST that day. The session also will be livestreamed on the court's Youtube page.

Tennessee House of Representatives Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, recently announced a review of Shelby County General Sessions Criminal Court Judge Bill Anderson’s cases, stating that the judge "stands with violent criminals rather than law enforcement, victims, families and protecting Memphis." The Daily Memphian reports that Anderson has been criticized for releasing several defendants on their own recognizance in recent months. Recently, Anderson released without bail a defendant accused of shooting at police during a 12-hour standoff and three other suspects charged in the shooting of a FedEx employee at a company facility near Memphis International Airport. Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy says he will appeal some of those decisions. Anderson responded saying, "I will only say that Speaker Sexton or anyone else who wants to review my cases is certainly free to do so as much as they please. Mine is a court of public record and is open to the public." In April, a Shelby County commissioner also called on Anderson to resign.