The American Bar Association (ABA) is mobilizing to assist victims of the wildfires in Southern California. Since erupting in the Los Angeles area on Jan. 7, the wildfires have reportedly burned more than 60 square miles of land and claimed at least 25 lives, making them some of the most destructive wildfires in the region's history, the ABA Journal reports. The ABA Young Lawyers Division's Disaster Legal Services program has supported survivors in the aftermath of presidentially declared disasters since 2007. Disaster Legal Services has responded to more than 300 declared disasters in 45 states and five U.S. territories. The program is now coordinating the delivery of free legal services in California. Former President Joe Biden declared a major disaster in the state on Jan. 8 and directed federal aid to assist areas affected by the wildfires and straight-line winds. Volunteers can sign up using the Disaster Legal Services volunteer interest form or email director@abaylddls.org. Members can also donate to support free civil legal aid for victims of the Southern California wildfires.

The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance (TDCI) announced that workers' compensation insurance premiums will decline for most Tennessee businesses in 2025, marking the 12th consecutive year of decreases. On Dec. 27, 2024, TDCI Commissioner Carter Lawrence signed an order approving a 3.6% overall loss cost decrease for the voluntary market, effective March 1, on new and renewal policies. This rate decrease allows carriers to blend the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) loss cost filings with company experience and expenses to set premiums for the coming year. According to a TDCI press release, Tennessee employers have seen substantial savings since the state's workers' compensation system reforms began in 2014. "Lower premiums allow business owners to have the flexibility they need to reinvest in their companies. I thank the Department of Commerce and Insurance for its work to serve Tennesseans," said Gov. Bill Lee.

The Tennessee Innocence Project (TIP), in partnership with the Innocence Project, successfully vacated the wrongful conviction of Scott Minton, who spent 31 years incarcerated for a crime he did not commit. The district attorney's office for Tennessee's 10th Judicial District on Jan. 23 dismissed all charges against Minton related to the 1994 aggravated rape, kidnapping and robbery of a woman. According to TIP, Minton's wrongful conviction resulted from tunnel vision, eyewitness misidentification — the leading contributor to wrongful convictions — and a false confession. Despite time-stamped receipts and 18 alibi witnesses proving he was in a different county at the time of the crime, Minton was convicted and spent over three decades in prison. "Exonerations like Scott's are why we do this work," says Jason Gichner, executive director of TIP. "They are a reminder of the resilience of the human spirit and the urgency of addressing wrongful convictions."

Two teens are dead and two were injured after a shooting Wednesday at Antioch High School in Nashville. The Associated Press reports that Solomon Henderson, a Black 17-year-old student at the school, shot and killed Josselin Corea Escalante, who was 16 and Hispanic, in the school’s cafeteria, before turning the gun on himself. Henderson's online writings reportedly included dozens of pages of racist ideologies and calls for violence. The Tennessean reports that although the school has an AI-powered weapon detection software installed on cameras, the system did not detect the gun. The district has invested more than $1 million in the software since February 2023.

Tennessee Attorney General (AG) Jonathan Skrmetti today announced that a bipartisan coalition of states and other parties have reached a $7.4 billion settlement in principle with members of the Sackler family and their company Purdue Pharma for their instrumental role in creating the opioid crisis. Although the final amount Tennessee will receive depends on multiple factors, the state anticipates receiving more than $90 million. Funding will be used to support opioid addiction treatment, prevention and recovery programs. The settlement also ends the Sackler family's control of Purdue and their ability to sell opioids in the United States. Read more about the agreement in news release from the AG’s office.

The U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division has put a pause on all active civil rights litigation and indicated it may want to revisit settlements made during the final months of the Biden administration, the Associated Press reports. The Commercial Appeal looks at how that decision might affect the department’s case against the Memphis Police Department and sentencing in the Tyre Nichols federal case.

Since taking office on Monday, President Donald Trump has signed a range of executive orders on immigration, diversity and criminal justice. Immigration orders included declaring a national emergency on the U.S.-Mexico border; designating Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations; reinstating the "Remain in Mexico" policy for asylum seekers; sending troops to the southern border; and suspending refugee resettlements for four months. The Associated Press looks at these and other immigration actions. Trump also signed orders rescinding Biden edicts that put a government-wide DEI apparatus in place and directing the attorney general to review DEI initiatives in the private sector, state and local bar associations and certain institutions of higher education. Bloomberg Law has more on those actions. Two bar association presidents commented on the order to Reuters. Finally, a number of orders will impact the justice system, including reinstating and expanding the federal death penalty and lifting a ban on federal contracts with privately run detention facilities.

The Tennessee Bar Foundation has awarded more than $3 million in grants from the IOLTA program. Funds will be used by organizations and programs that provide vital legal services and improve the administration of justice in Tennessee. In a news release announcing the grants, the foundation notes that this year’s amount is the largest in the 37-year history of the program due to higher interest rates paid by financial institutions. The total given in grants over the years has now passed $30 million. Jacqueline B. Dixon, chair of the foundation’s board of trustees, said IOLTA provides resources that “help organizations meet their mission to provide legal representation to low income and vulnerable people and improve the administration of justice." See the full list of grant recipients.

An executive order issued by President Donald Trump on Monday to limit who benefits from the U.S. Constitution’s “birthright citizenship” provision was blocked today by a federal judge, Reuters reports. The order made it official government policy that children born to mothers not legally in the country or here temporarily, and whose fathers are not citizens or lawful permanent residents at the time of the birth, would not automatically become citizens of the country. The order quickly was challenged by state attorneys general from Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon. U.S. District Judge John Coughenour in Seattle called the effort "blatantly unconstitutional" and issued a temporary restraining order preventing enforcement. Other challenges also are pending. Suits from the Boston-based Lawyers for Civil Rights and a coalition of 18 attorneys general are pending in Massachusetts, while the ACLU has filed a challenge in New Hampshire. Bloomberg Law reports on those.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee last week appointed Melanie Sellers as the new public defender for the 1st Judicial District. The appointment will take effect March 1. Sellers currently serves as assistant district public defender in the district and will replace Jeffery Kelly, who is retiring. Sellers earned her bachelor’s degree at East Tennessee State University and law degree at University of Tennessee College of Law. The 1st Judicial District Court covers Carter, Johnson, Unicoi and Washington counties. Read the full announcement from the governor.