Metro Nashville Council members are reviving the legislative body's Black Caucus, which has been inactive since 2011. According to Axios Nashville, the Black Caucus traces its roots to 1951, when the city's first Black council members, Z. Alexander Looby and Robert Lillard, were elected. Metro Council member Jennifer Gamble will now chair the caucus, which includes 11 members. According to a news release, the Black Caucus “recognizes that there are issues unique to Black Nashvillians that require a more targeted focus.”

Attorneys for Byron Black, a man on Tennessee’s death row, are asking the Tennessee Supreme Court to order a lower court to consider whether he is mentally competent to be executed. Black was sentenced to death in Nashville in 1989 for the murders of his girlfriend and her daughters. He is scheduled to be executed on Aug. 5. In court filings, Black’s attorneys have said he has an intellectual disability, progressive dementia and brain damage, which leave him incapable of grasping why he is being put to death. They argue that the trial court and Court of Criminal Appeals erred when they declined to consider competency. Nashville Public Radio has more on the story. In 2022, Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk agreed that Black should be removed from death row.

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to advance to the full Senate President Trump's nomination of Whitney Hermandorfer to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. During the committee hearing earlier this month, Hermandorfer faced questions about her experience and the president’s interpretation of the birthright citizenship issue but won praise from Tennessee's congressional delegation and state Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti. Most recently serving as director of the Strategic Litigation Unit in Skrmetti’s office, Hermandorfer would replace Judge Jane Branstetter Stranch if confirmed. The committee also approved four other trial court nominees today, the first of Trump’s second term. Reuters has more on the action.

Several new state laws will take effect on July 1 that cover public safety, youth protections, health care, consumer rights and transportation, with several designed to address evolving concerns around substance abuse, road safety and emerging technologies. House Bill 995 expands Tennessee’s good Samaritan Law to offer legal immunity from certain alcohol-related misdemeanors — including underage drinking and public intoxication — for those who call 911 or assist someone in need. House Bill 72 imposes mandatory jail time and fines on anyone convicted of selling hemp-derived cannabinoid products — like THC gummies — to individuals under 21. Similarly, House Bill 751 increases penalties for exposing children to fentanyl, creating a felony offense for endangering a child in such a way. If the child is younger than 8 years old, the offense is upgraded to a Class B felony. The Tennessee Ledger looks at all the upcoming changes.

Tennessee’s Flex Loan law, passed in 2014, has allowed high-interest lenders to trap borrowers in cycles of debt through repeated reborrowing, despite earlier state laws banning such practices for payday loans, a new report concludes. In a joint reporting project between Tennessee Lookout and ProPublica, borrowers described being encouraged through frequent emails and mailers to borrow back almost all of their loan payments, leading to ballooning debts and eventual lawsuits, even after paying far more than they initially borrowed. Critics argue the Flex Loan law’s structure enables predatory lending with interest rates effectively reaching over 279% while avoiding federal oversight. The reporting also found that despite complaints, regulatory responses have been minimal and lenders have continued aggressive collection tactics.

The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) has announced it will try Kilmar Abrego Garcia on federal human smuggling charges in Tennessee before pursuing deportation to a third country, not his native El Salvador, according to the Associated Press. Abrego Garcia's attorneys, concerned he could be swiftly deported before trial, have asked U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis in Maryland to intervene and have him transferred there while awaiting court proceedings. Abrego Garcia — who has lived in Maryland for more than a decade, was deported to El Salvador in March and brought back to the states in June — has denied gang ties and pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from a 2022 traffic stop in Tennessee. Nashville-based U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes has ruled for his conditional release pending trial, but yesterday delayed release due to concerns that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would deport him before trial.

California legal scholar Eugene Volokh has filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging Tennessee’s law that limits public records access to state residents. After being denied court records by the Williamson County Archives due to his California residency, Volokh argues the restriction violates his rights under the First Amendment and the Privileges and Immunities Clause. His suit contends that court records are essential for his academic research and that denying access based on residency is an unjust barrier. Although the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a similar Virginia law, Volokh asserts his case is different because it involves constitutional, not merely statutory, rights. The Nashville Banner has the story.

A Tennessee man whose conviction was overturned after spending 17 years in prison now faces the possibility of being reincarcerated, WSMV reports. Thomas Clardy was convicted in 2007 for a 2005 murder at an auto body shop in Madison based on a delayed, cross-racial eyewitness identification. A federal judge overturned his conviction in 2023, leading to his release. However, this month, the state filed a motion to return him to prison after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a 6th Circuit Court of Appeals decision reversing the lower court’s ruling. Clardy’s case has been remanded to federal district court for further consideration. His attorneys have filed petitions for exoneration and commutation, both of which would have to be granted by Gov. Bill Lee.

Judges, lawyers, friends and supporters gathered last week to honor Judge Cheryl Blackburn, who recently retired from Division III of the Davidson County Criminal Court. More than 100 people attended a reception at the Nashville School of Law to celebrate her nearly 30 years on the bench. The program featured remarks from former District Attorney Torry Johnson, Nashville School of Law Dean Bill Koch and Criminal Court Judges Angelita Dalton and Steve Dozier, all of whom praised Blackburn as a judge who strived to give both defendants and victims a fair hearing. Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Jeff Bivins presented Blackburn with a plaque from the Tennessee Judicial Conference recognizing her years of public service. Blackburn closed the program by thanking those in attendance.

Robert Taswell “Tas” Gardner has been elected by fellow public defenders to serve as president of the Tennessee District Public Defenders Conference. The conference is a statewide network of publicly elected district public defenders representing each of Tennessee’s 32 judicial districts. As president, Gardner will lead the conference’s Executive Committee, which supports public defenders across the state and works with lawmakers on policies and procedures that impact the justice system. He also will serve on the TBA Board of Governors as the conference's representative. Gardner currently serves as public defender for Tennessee’s 24th Judicial District, which includes Benton, Carroll, Decatur, Hardin and Henry counties. Read more in a press release from the group.