The chair of Tennessee’s Registry of Election Finance, Tom Lawless, said Tuesday he will seek to revive a 2020 request for a criminal investigation into Cade Cothren and the Faith Family Freedom Fund PAC, citing new evidence from the recently concluded federal corruption case against Cothren and former House Speaker Glen Casada. Cothren, a former aide to Casada, and Casada were convicted this month on nearly 20 federal charges each in a kickback scheme. Lawless emphasized the urgency of reactivating the state-level investigation, which had been paused during the federal proceedings. The case involves allegations of illegal coordination with Chapel Hill Republican Rep. Todd Warner's 2020 campaign against incumbent Rep. Rick Tillis, R-Lewisburg, which Warner went on to win. Warner is not facing criminal charges. The Tennessee Lookout has the story.

On Wednesday, Davidson County Chancellor Patricia Moskal ordered the sealing of affidavits related to a Department of Children's Services (DCS) case that had been publicly available for years. The case stems from a petition by Memphis journalist Stacy Jacobson seeking access to documents related to the death of a 14-year-old boy. The initial documents contained redactions that the Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled were too broad. Moskal also heard arguments over new redactions in related files, during which Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press Senior Attorney Paul McAdoo, representing Jacobson, urged the judge to make sure the redactions were limited to details truly identifying of the child. McAdoo also pointed out that certain newly made redactions were not previously made in publicly posted versions of the DCS documents. The Nashville Banner reports on the developments in its daily newsletter.

Another inmate has died at the Shelby County Jail, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office said in an email statement, according to the Commercial Appeal. Jail officers responded to the incident the morning of May 26. The Sheriff’s Office did not confirm the nature of the death and referred further questions to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which is investigating. An autopsy is being conducted to determine the cause and manner of death.

After a joint immigration enforcement operation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Tennessee Highway Patrol in May, Nashville attorneys are reporting a sharp rise in evictions targeting Hispanic immigrant families, according to the Nashville Scene. The paper reports that after a week of traffic stops — during which nearly 200 drivers, most without criminal records, were detained — local lawyers noticed a spike in illegal evictions. Anne Boatner, legal director at the Hispanic Bar Association, says her office has documented an increase in cases. She emphasizes that under Tennessee law, landlords must obtain a court order and use the sheriff’s office for evictions, but fear of exposure to federal immigration authorities is discouraging tenants from asserting their legal rights. Boatner and local officials are now seeking alternative legal remedies, including evaluating possible violations of fair housing laws, while helping displaced families find emergency housing.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has joined 27 other state attorneys general in asking Meta Platforms Inc. about allegations that its artificial intelligence assistant, Meta AI, may expose minors to sexually explicit content and enable adults to simulate grooming scenarios. The bipartisan coalition sent the letter following reports that Meta AI, used across Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, engaged in graphic sexual conversations with users posing as children, including scenarios involving user-generated and Meta-created personas, according to a press release. The attorneys general are seeking answers by June 10, including whether Meta removed safeguards, if such features remain active, and what steps the company is taking to protect minors.

The 2025 Peace Award, given by the Rotary Club of Knoxville, was presented to Judge Chuck Cerny, a 25-year veteran of the Knox County General Sessions Court. The Peace Award Luncheon was held last week at the Knoxville Museum of Art. In his remarks accepting the award, Cerny reflected on his years of service and highlighted his community involvement, including leadership in the Knox Recovery Court and participation in numerous expungement and fee waiver legal clinics. He also addressed the challenges faced by individuals in the criminal justice system, noting that most are struggling with mental health or addiction and “less than five percent are actually bad actors.” Read more about the award and event in Knox TN Today.

Gov. Bill Lee on Tuesday signed into law legislation that will establish a publicly accessible registry — much like existing sex offender registries — for individuals convicted multiple times of domestic violence offenses. Known as Savanna's Law, the measure is named in honor of Savanna Puckett, a Robertson County sheriff’s deputy who was killed in 2022 by a man with a known history of domestic assault. The registry, which will be overseen by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, will include offenders’ names, dates of birth, conviction dates and counties of conviction, according to Fox Chattanooga.

One day after the Department of Justice (DOJ) closed its investigation into the Memphis Police Department (MPD) and possible civil rights violations, Stand for Children Tennessee and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) submitted public records requests for "response to resistance" forms and internal investigation documents created since the DOJ report was released. The groups also are asking for policies that were in effect prior to Tyre Nichols being beaten by police in 2023. Community advocates say that a task force formed in lieu of federal oversight lacks transparency, and that collected data could inform legal action and continued advocacy for police reform. The Commercial Appeal reports that the effort is part of a broader campaign across seven states where DOJ findings were made but no consent decrees were signed.

Past TBA President and University of Tennessee College of Law (now Winston College of Law) graduate Jim Emison has devoted much of his retirement to finding justice for Elbert Williams, the first known NAACP member to be racially terrorized and slain. In 1939, Williams helped found the Brownsville chapter of the NAACP, which sought to regain voting rights for Haywood County African Americans. The next year, police and one civilian forcibly removed Williams from his home. Williams’ body was pulled out of the Hatchie River three days later with two bullet holes in his chest. Emison says, “Pursuing justice for Williams’ murder has taught me so much. I’m grateful to Vanderbilt because what perhaps is even better than good grades is a yearning to keep learning. My professors certainly instilled that in me.” Read more about Emison's work in this profile in Vanderbilt Magazine. Emison received his undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt.

U.S. District Judge John Bates in Washington, D.C., on Friday permanently blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting law firm Jenner & Block, ruling it an unconstitutional abuse of the president’s power, according to Bloomberg News. The firm sued the administration on March 28 in response to a March 25 executive order that sanctioned the firm for its pro bono work and ties to Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his investigation into Russian interference into the 2016 election. Bates initially imposed a temporary halt on the order. In Friday's ruling, he said, “This order, like the others, seeks to chill legal representation the administration doesn’t like, thereby insulating the Executive Branch from the judicial check fundamental to the separation of powers.” In a second case,  U.S. District Judge Richard Leon today ruled in favor of WilmerHale’s request to strike down a similar executive order targeting it from March 27. Leon also found that order unconstitutional and granted summary judgement to the firm in lieu of proceeding to a full trial.