Judge Joshua Turnbow was sworn in to the 23rd Judicial District Circuit Court on Sept. 13. He received a degree in finance from the University of Tennessee and his law degree from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. After his first year of law school, he participated in a program that paired him with then 23rd District Circuit Court Judge Robert Burch. "He would let me ride with him to every county," Turnbow said. “[H]e also helped start the drug court program here in the 23rd district ... I was so impressed by that program and the impact it can have on peoples’ lives and the impact Judge Birch had on peoples’ lives through his judgeship." The 23rd Judicial District covers five counties: Cheatham, Dickson, Houston, Humphreys and Stewart. Turnbow grew up in Charlotte, in Dickson County, a few miles from the courthouse where he will preside. Read more from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Layla Soliz, a Knoxville woman arrested in May during pro-Palestinian protests on the campus of the University of Tennessee College of Law, is suing the Knox County Sheriff's Office in federal court. The suit stems from a mug shot of Soliz taken without her hijab that was subsequently made public, despite assurances to the contrary. According to Knox News, Soliz is suing for at least $250,000 in damages and for her picture to be expunged from the sheriff's office database. She also wants to amend the sheriff's office policy so that hijabi women no longer have to remove their head coverings for future mug shots.

Former Memphis police officers Tadarrius Bean and Justin Smith Jr. each filed motions Friday requesting their convictions in the Tyre Nichols federal criminal case be reversed, reports the Commercial Appeal. Bean and Smith were convicted last week of witness tampering related to a cover-up of the beating of Nichols, but acquitted of civil rights charges. The motions allege a lack of evidence that adequately established that Bean and Smith were attempting to lie or mislead their MPD supervisors.

A federal judge has ruled that Georgia failed to show it would be harmed by the Biden administration's plan to forgive $73 billion in student loan debt held by millions of Americans. "There is no indication that the rule is being implemented to attack the states or their income taxes, so any loss of ... tax revenue is incidental and insufficient to create standing for Georgia," U.S. District Judge J. Randal Hall wrote. The ruling removes Georgia from a lawsuit challenging the forgiveness plan and moves litigation to federal court in Missouri, one of the other seven states that is suing. Reuters reports that the states have asked the Missouri judge to rule on whether to continue blocking the proposal.

Lincoln Memorial University's Duncan School of Law recently announced the addition of a new dean of admissions and several new faculty members. Dr. Stephen Adkins has been named director of admissions. He joins the law school after serving in other programs at the university. In addition, three other faculty members have joined the school. Laura Mott joins as an assistant professor of law from CUNY School of Law in New York. She served there as director of the Academic Skills Center for the Evening 1L Program. John Poore and Celsy Johnson join as visiting assistant professors of law for the 2024-2025 academic year. Poore has spent nearly 15 years as a prosecutor in Southern California. Johnson is a solo practitioner and previously an attorney at Held Law Firm in the areas of family law, juvenile law and estate planning.

A six-judge panel on Monday ruled that two bonding companies did not break local court rules after Bricen Rivers bonded out in Nashville and was later accused of killing his girlfriend, Lauren Johansen, in Mississippi. The Tennessean reports that a clerical error prevented full implementation of Rivers' bond conditions, which included restrictions on traveling outside the county. "Obviously a calamity of human and institutional errors occurred in the release process of (Rivers)," the panel of judges wrote. "Ultimately, however, the cause and responsibility for any violations of release conditions, including the commission of additional criminal acts, rests squarely with the Defendant himself."

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has filed a motion in Tennessee's 20th Judicial District requesting the court provide remedies to address TikTok’s failure to preserve and produce relevant evidence in response to a state investigation into possible violations of Tennessee consumer protection laws. Skrmetti also asked the court to compel TikTok’s compliance with an order entered by the court on April 17, 2023. Tennessee’s investigation is part of a bipartisan, nationwide investigation by state attorneys general into whether TikTok engaged in unfair and deceptive conduct that harmed the mental health of Tennessee kids. In related news, Reuters reports that 13 states and the District of Columbia today filed new lawsuits accusing the popular social media platform of harming and failing to protect young people.

The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals on Friday reversed a May 2023 ruling by Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Paula Skahan, declaring that a law removing all postconviction death penalty proceedings from local district attorneys is constitutional. The Commercial Appeal reports that the court's ruling focused on who initiates an action during a case. For example, it found that locally elected district attorneys have broad discretion in cases they initiate, but because these collateral review proceedings are initiated by a defendant on death row, that discretion is narrowed. The paper also noted that prosecutorial discretion is vastly limited after a defendant has been indicted by a grand jury.

The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments is now accepting applications to fill a vacancy on the Western Section of the Court of Appeals, which will occur Jan. 4, 2025, with the retirement of Judge Arnold B. Goldin. Interested applicants must be licensed attorneys who are at least 30 years of age, a resident of the state for the past five years and a resident of the Western Grand Division of the state. The application is available on the Administrative Office of the Courts' website and is due by noon CDT on Oct. 25. The public hearing for this position will be Nov. 18 at 9 a.m. CST at the Tennessee Supreme Court Building in Jackson. Two other judicial openings were announced yesterday. Learn more about applying for the 4th Circuit Court and the Court of Criminal Appeals, Eastern Division.

Chattanooga-based law firm Summers, Rufolo & Rodgers made a $1 million pledge to the University of Tennessee College of Law to support scholarships for students interested in pursuing legal careers in advocacy and the Douglas A. Blaze Leadership Scholarship. “Robust scholarships are essential to attracting the best students nationwide," Dean Lonnie T. Brown Jr. said after the gift announcement. “We are deeply grateful for the firm’s continued support, which profoundly influences the lives of our graduates and the clients they represent.” Read more in a press release from the school.