Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has announced that a bipartisan coalition of states led by Tennessee has reached a settlement in principle in its lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA). Skrmetti and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, along with the Florida, District of Columbia and New York attorneys general, filed a federal lawsuit against the NCAA in January 2024, alleging that its Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) Recruiting Ban creates anticompetitive restrictions that violate federal antitrust law and harm current and future student-athletes. In February 2024, a federal judge in east Tennessee agreed and blocked the NCAA’s enforcement of the rule throughout the duration of the litigation.

The Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference (TNDAGC) released its first immigration report today summarizing data from local law enforcement on individuals not lawfully present in the U.S. who were charged or convicted of a crime in the state during the previous year. According to a press release from the TNDAGC, the report covers the period from Oct. 1, 2024, to Dec. 31, 2024, with 73 of Tennessee’s 95 counties submitting monthly reports and 71 of those counties providing data for all three months. During that time, TNDAGC received about 2,719 reports of individuals charged or convicted of a crime, including 447 violent offenses. The report also notes that 11 homicides were reported statewide during the three-month period. The full report is available on the TNDAGC website.

The Rutherford County School Board passed a resolution Thursday urging state lawmakers to "expedite the closure of the nation’s borders," WKRN reports. Board members cited a surge in students needing English language learner courses, which they say is placing a financial strain on the district and has created a need for 25 additional positions. As a result, the board is seeking more federal funding to cover the cost of the language services it is required to provide for students for whom English is not their first language.

TBA members were sent an email today with a ballot for the two candidates running for TBA vice president. The email was sent this morning from Intelliscan Inc. If you did not receive the email in your inbox, please check your spam folder. If you still did not receive it, contact elections@tnbar.org to request that it be resent. Electronic voting begins today and will close on Feb. 14.

Knoxville attorney Stephen Ross Johnson has worked to reestablish the University of Tennessee College of Law Legal Clinic’s commitment to addressing wrongful convictions. In 2000, Johnson, a student at the time, was one of the founding members of an innocence project, which developed into the Innocence and Wrongful Convictions Clinic. In 2018, the clinic was temporarily shut down to develop the Tennessee Innocence Project (TIP), a statewide organization with a mission to exonerate individuals with innocence claims. Since TIP, now based in Nashville and Memphis, has thrived, Johnson is returning his focus on wrongful conviction work in East Tennessee and Appalachia. The new Wrongful Convictions Clinic will maintain a small caseload of clients referred by local courts, prosecutors, defense attorneys or through collaborations with innocence clinics nationwide. Johnson, a partner at Ritchie, Johnson & Stovall, has spent three decades defending criminal cases in state and federal courts nationwide. Read more in a press release from the law school.

Elizabeth Workman, assistant dean for career services at Vanderbilt Law School, has announced her intention to retire at the end of summer 2025 after holding the position for more than 25 years. Workman joined Vanderbilt Law in 1996 as director of the annual fund and became assistant dean for career services in 1999. As head of the Career Services Office, she developed strong relationships with alumni and hiring partners, creating programs to meet employer needs. She also launched the Public Service Pathways initiative, which generated opportunities for graduates to provide legal services to underserved populations across the country. “I cannot adequately express what an honor it has been to work in the Career Services Office ... To everyone here at Vanderbilt, I am truly, truly grateful.” Workman said in a press release from the law school.

The state House passed the governor’s immigration enforcement proposals yesterday after the state Senate did so on Wednesday, the Tennessean reports. The legislation (SB6002/HB6001) funds a $5 million office within the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, allowing Gov. Bill Lee to tap an enforcement director and incentivize local law enforcement entities to enter into a contract program with federal immigration authorities. The bill also establishes a new driver's license that distinguishes U.S. citizens from legal permanent residents. In addition, the bill establishes criminal penalties for local and state officials who adopt “sanctuary” policies that limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement officials. WKRN has more on that proposal. Lee actively supported the measure and is expected to sign it into law. He released a statement late yesterday afternoon marking the end of the special session. One group already has indicated an intent to sue over the law; the ACLU of Tennessee is calling the criminal penalty provision “unconstitutional” and promising to challenge the law.

A second round of pardons from President Donald Trump includes 11 individuals convicted for blockading a Mt. Juliet abortion clinic. The Tennessean reports that the protestors had been convicted under the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which prohibits obstruction, property damage or threats of force intended to interfere with access to reproductive health care. Prosecutors said the defendants passed out flyers, recorded video of their actions and refused to leave when asked. The president said the individuals should not have been prosecuted and noted that many were elderly. Going forward, prosecutions likely will be less common under a new Justice Department policy limiting application of the law to "extraordinary circumstances, or in cases presenting significant aggravating factors, such as death, serious bodily harm, or serious property damage."

West Tennessee Legal Services (WTLS) has named Jackson lawyer and former TBA president Jonathan Steen as its new medical legal partnership director. Medical-legal partnerships focus on collaboration among lawyers, physicians, case managers and social workers to address structural barriers that impact health outcomes. Steen joins the nonprofit after more than 30 years of civil legal experience in both trial and appellate courts, most recently with Spragins, Barnett & Cobb PLC. While he was TBA president, Steen established a Medical-Legal Partnership Working Group as part of the TBA’s Access to Justice Committee. Of his new position, Steen says, “I look forward to serving the community through my new role at WTLS in developing and supporting medical-legal partnerships that integrate legal expertise into health care settings to improve the health of those in our community.” Read more in a release from the organization.

Shelby County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Anthony Buckner says the doors at the Shelby County Jail began failing in March 2024 and now the facility has 636 that need replacing. Buckner says the project will cost $6.2 million and take two years to complete, the Daily Memphian reports. The doors, which operate on a sliding mechanism, have failed repeatedly throughout the last year, leading to a rise in inmate-on-inmate assaults and assaults against jail staff according to Buckner. He also says that “inmates learned strategies on defeating the doors or taking the doors back offline,” including kicking the doors in certain spots to keep them off their rails. Repairs have started and crews will be working on two pods at a time. The sheriff’s office received funding for door repairs at least twice last year, most recently a $10 million tranche from the Shelby County Commission in September. Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr. has repeatedly stated his desire for a new jail, which could cost upwards of $1 billion.