The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals is seeking comments on the reappointment of Jimmy Croom, bankruptcy judge for the Western District of Tennessee, to a 14-year term that would begin on March 20, 2027. Members of the bar and the public are invited to submit comments to be considered during the reappointment process. All comments will be kept confidential and should be mailed to Circuit Executive Marc Theriault, 503 Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse, 100 East Fifth St., Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 or be submitted via email. All comments must be received no later than June 11. Contact the Office of the Circuit Executive at 513-564-7200 for more information. Read the full announcement from the court.

Following federal reclassification of marijuana as a less dangerous drug, Tennessee state Rep. Jason Powell, D-Nashville, urged Gov. Bill Lee to call a special legislative session to consider legalizing medical cannabis, arguing that years of study and broad public support — surveys show that 81% of Tennesseans favor the move — make further delay unjustifiable. Powell framed the issue as one of compassionate care for veterans, cancer patients and other suffering Tennesseans, noting that 40 states already have established medical marijuana programs. Republican lawmakers recently voted to block an automatic state review that federal reclassification would have triggered, expressing concern about moving too quickly on cannabis policy. Marijuana possession remains a crime in Tennessee. According to the Tennessean, some Republicans have signaled openness to change as federal rescheduling shifts oversight toward doctors.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on April 27 permanently disbarred Hamilton County lawyer Arthur C. Grisham Jr. from the practice of law. The court found that Grisham violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3 and 1.4 when he knowingly and repeatedly failed to respond to court orders, pleadings and discovery requests; failed to communicate with his client about the impact of these actions; and failed to inform his client of the resulting dismissal of his action. Further, Grisham knowingly filed an appeal without informing his client and obtaining authorization, and knowingly ignored court orders to correct deficient pleadings, which resulted in the dismissal of the appeal. The court modified the recommendation of the Board of Professional Responsibility's hearing panel to impose a 10 year suspension. It said that a comparative analysis of similar cases and a review of American Bar Association (ABA) standards justified permanent disbarment.

Gov. Bill Lee has appointed lawyer Mark Stapleton of Rogersville to the 3rd Judicial District Circuit Court, the Administrative Office of the Courts announced today. Stapleton fills the vacancy created by the elevation of Judge William Phillips to the Court of Appeals, effective immediately. Stapleton currently serves as founding attorney at Stapleton Law Office. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Tennessee and his law degree from the Cumberland School of Law. The 3rd Judicial District covers Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins and Greene counties.

Richard Bean, the 85-year-old former superintendent of a Knox County juvenile detention center named for him, has filed a federal lawsuit seeking $5 million from Knox County, County Mayor Glenn Jacobs and Juvenile Court Judge Tim Irwin. Bean alleges his constitutional rights were violated through forced resignation, age discrimination and reputational damage from public statements made by county officials, Knox News reports. The lawsuit claims Irwin and Jacobs conspired against Bean after he fired two employees — a nurse and an IT specialist — who had exposed medical malfeasance at the facility, and that the officials pressured him to rehire those workers before he resigned three days later. Bean says the ordeal cost him lost wages and earning capacity and caused emotional pain and suffering.

A three-judge panel of the Tennessee Court of Appeals has ruled that Gov. Bill Lee's October 2025 deployment of the National Guard to Memphis is legal, reversing a judgement from Davidson County Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal. The Commercial Appeal reports that three questions were brought by the state to the appeal: whether plaintiffs invoked an available waiver of the government's immunity (known as sovereign immunity) from being sued, if they have standing and if Lee violated state law in deploying the National Guard to Memphis. According to the Daily Memphian, the panel weighed whether or not the plaintiffs had standing to sue — holding that they did not — and did not address whether Lee's deployment order was legal. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said in a press release that the ruling "recognizes that an elected official who disagrees with this effort does not have the right to veto the Governor by filing a lawsuit. When elected officials disagree about policy, we resolve that at the ballot box, not the courts." Read the appellate opinion.

Reporters from across the state gathered in Nashville today to learn about open meetings law, investigative journalism and more during the sixth annual Reporters Workshop program, produced jointly by the Tennessee Bar Association, the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters and the Tennessee Press Association Foundation. Participants were selected from applicants interested in developing a deeper understanding of media law issues that may affect their everyday work.

Today's programming included a panel of veteran investigative reporters — Phil Williams from NewsChannel 5, Meribah Knight from WPLN News and Stephen Elliott from the Nashville Banner — moderated by Amy Mohan of Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison. Other speakers were Jennifer Safstrom with Vanderbilt's First Amendment Clinic, who presented on reporter's privilege; a panel moderated by Todd Hambidge from Holland & Knight on public records that included Lisa Davidson and Ashley Rinehart from the Metro Nashville Police Department and Jay Miller from the Administrative Office of the Courts; and Deborah Fisher from Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, who discussed the open records law.

Programming will continue on Saturday with a session featuring an overview of defamation with Safstrom and Ryan Riedmueller from the Vanderbilt First Amendment Clinic and a panel on covering state and local government with Alex Apple from Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell's Office, Steve Cavendish from the Nashville Banner, Holly McCall from the Tennessee Lookout, and Erik Schelzig with State Affairs (Tennessee Journal). That panel will be moderated by Clint Brewer from Imperium Public Strategies. The day will wrap up with a panel moderated by Robb Harvey of Holland & Knight on covering the courts with Judges Valerie Smith and Ana Escobar and Chancellor Anne Martin. See photos from the event. Thanks to this year's sponsors Holland & Knight, Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison and Womble Bond Dickinson.

The Tennessee Department of Revenue will host a free webinar on sales tax exemptions on April 28 at 9 a.m. CDT. Participants will hear an overview of Tennessee’s sales tax exemptions and how they apply to businesses across the state. The session also will break down common exemption categories, documentation requirements, and compliance best practices. Each business webinar, offered quarterly, covers topics such as tax registration, sales and use tax, business tax, franchise and excise taxes and how to get help from the department and other relevant state agencies. Register for the webinar here. 

The TBA’s Legislative Updates podcast returns this week with attorneys and TBA lobbyists Berkley Schwarz with Pier Strategies and Ashley Harbin of Adams & Reese. This week they discuss the 2026 legislative session winding down, the passing of the state's budget and what's left before legislators hit the campaign trail. Tune in on the TBA website or through this link. Attorneys interested in supporting the TBA’s lobbying efforts may do so by contributing to LAWPAC.

President Donald Trump in mid-March released a national AI regulatory framework building on his December executive order, calling for children's online protections, reduced permitting barriers for data centers, anti-censorship provisions and expanded AI workforce training — while also aiming to preempt the growing patchwork of state-level AI laws, Bloomberg Law reports. Shortly after Trump's announcement, Tennessee hosted its inaugural AI Tennessee Summit in Nashville, uniting federal and state officials, industry executives and university leaders to address how national AI priorities translate to the state level, where AI is projected to affect roughly 500,000 jobs in the near future. The Nashville Post reports on the event and its goals as Tennessee positions itself as a proactive leader in AI innovation and workforce development. Meanwhile, Axios reports that U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, whose own draft proposal closely mirrors the White House framework, released an updated version of her TRUMP AMERICA AI Act, which incorporates a "duty of care" for AI developers, chatbot safety provisions and a full sunset of Section 230, all framed around protecting children, creators, conservatives and communities. Finally, the state legislature is considering a bill requiring a study on how AI is governed in other states and at the federal level, as well as the potential economic impact of regulation on businesses in Tennessee. WKRN reports on that measure.