Acting Attorney General (AG) Todd Blanche signed an order last week to immediately reclassify state-licensed medical marijuana as a less dangerous drug, according to The Hill. The order would shift state-licensed medical marijuana from a Schedule I drug to Schedule III drug and provide tax relief for licensed operators. The change would not legalize marijuana under federal law but would affect the 40 states that have approved medical marijuana programs. The order also is expected to expedite the process for state-licensed operators to register with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and affirms that cannabis researchers will not face legal repercussions for using state-licensed marijuana. Finally, the order directs the DEA to hold an expedited hearing to fully reschedule marijuana, according to a social media post from Blanche. The DEA plans to hold a hearing on June 29.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Board of Directors has selected Mike Skaggs, a former chief operating officer (COO) who retired in 2022, to serve as interim chief executive officer (CEO) for one year, effective immediately, Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. Skaggs will replace CEO Don Moul, who joined TVA in 2021 and recently informed the board of his plan to retire July 1. Skaggs worked for TVA from 1994 until his retirement and oversaw the $4.7 billion completion of Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Unit 2, which in 2016, became the first nuclear unit to come online in the United States in the 21st century. According to his offer letter, the board and Skaggs may agree to extend his term beyond the initial year.

Crow Estate Planning & Probate, with offices in Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky, has announced its expansion to East Tennessee with an office in downtown Chattanooga. John Crow, founder of the firm, said opening an office in Chattanooga is a “natural extension of what we have been building across Tennessee.” And “... we simply love Chattanooga. It's a city with character, strong families, and a real sense of community. That made it an easy decision for us to invest here and build something long-term.” Attorney Scott Grant will join the firm to lead the new office, which will open May 4. Grant previously served 29 years as an attorney and senior counsel at Grant, Konvalinka & Harrison in Chattanooga. The office will be located at 736 Georgia Ave., Ste. 504, Chattanooga 37402 and can be reached at 423-456-2953. Read more in a press release from the firm.

Members of the newly appointed 2026-2027 Young Lawyers Division (YLD) Board met in Nashville to plan for the upcoming bar year. The group also got to know one another better with a dinner at Ole Red and a wellness walk on Saturday planned by Health & Wellness Coordinator Chris Kelley. Later that day, the board conducted a Tennessee Free Legal Answers Clinic, continuing its commitment to being the "service arm of the bar." Working together, they answered 18 questions.

President-elect Jennifer Sneed-Perry, who will be sworn in as YLD president at the TBA Convention in June, provided an overview of the upcoming bar year as well as the expectations for all board members. She also introduced two initiatives for her year in office: increased law school engagement with the addition of six law student liaisons to the YLD Board and a focus on increasing education for attorneys and the public about estate planning, guardianships and conservatorships. The board also elected Andrea Morgan Hancock of Clinton as the District 2 representative. Mock Trial Chair Bridget Pyman was presented with the disco gavel for being the most enthusiastic participant at the meeting. Judge Zack Walden also was recognized with a disco gavel for his lively game of Traitors. See photos from the event.

The YLD has district representative openings in Districts 10 and 12. YLD members interested in serving in these roles should send a letter of interest and resume to llabenberg@tnbar.org.

DraftKings and FanDuel are the latest apps to be sued by consumers who say the platforms are deliberately designed to addict users, Bloomberg Law reports. Like the landmark social media addiction verdict against Meta and Google, three recent lawsuits against the sports betting apps point to features like push notifications, personalized algorithms and targeted advertising. The apps are accused of making sports betting more dangerous because they do not have the same barriers that inherently restrict in-person wagers.

The Tennessee Attorney General’s office has indefinitely delayed a legal challenge to the state’s abortion ban from going to trial as planned. According to the Nashville Banner newsletter, a two-week non-jury trial was supposed to start Monday in Davidson County Chancery Court, the culmination of a legal challenge that began in September 2023. On Tuesday, after receiving a chancellor’s order on a motion for summary judgment, the state filed a Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 3 (TRAP 3) appeal with the Tennessee Court of Appeals. In response, to save the trial, the plaintiffs filed an emergency motion for partial remand to the trial court and for expedited consideration, which the appeals court denied. As such, the chancery court removed the trial from the docket.

A federal jury found a woman guilty of two counts of cyberstalking for mailing harassing letters about a Shelby County assistant district attorney (ADA). U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant of the Western District of Tennessee announced the verdict today. Adrienne Rosse of Arlington, Tennessee, was found guilty following a three-day trial, with evidence showing she mailed anonymous, harassing letters in 2023 falsely accusing the prosecutor of having a secret pornography career and including explicit images of women resembling the attorney. Prosecutors said Rosse acted out of anger over the continued prosecution of her husband, whose rape and sexual battery case ended in a mistrial and remains pending. The harassment campaign prompted the assistant district attorney to leave her position and relocate, though she has continued her legal career. Rosse faces up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and up to three years of supervised release at sentencing scheduled for Aug. 5 before U.S. District Judge Mark S. Norris.

Tennessee Attorney General (AG) Jonathan Skrmetti announced that Solicitor General Matt Rice will conclude his tenure with the Office of the Attorney General this summer to join Kirkland & Ellis as a partner. Rice joined the AG's office in 2022 and was appointed as the top appellate lawyer in 2024. In that role, he has led litigation efforts for Tennessee and multistate coalitions in several high-profile cases. He argued a case before the U.S. Supreme Court and multiple cases before the Tennessee Supreme Court during his tenure as solicitor general. “We are deeply grateful for Matt’s service and thrilled for him and his family as he embarks on this new opportunity. Kirkland & Ellis is getting someone truly exceptional, and we couldn’t be prouder of everything he gave to this office and to the people of Tennessee,” Skrmetti said in a release. The attorney general’s office said Rice’s successor will be announced at a later date.

Of Tennessee’s 95 counties, 79 reported unemployment rates below 5% in February, even as most counties saw increases from the previous month, according to data from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Unemployment rates rose in 87 counties compared with January, remained unchanged in five and decreased in three. Williamson, Macon and Cheatham counties recorded the state’s lowest unemployment rates at 3%, while Pickett County had the highest rate at 6.7%, followed by Perry County at 6.6% and Cocke County at 6.5%. Tennessee’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.6% in February, up slightly from January but still below the national rate of 4.4%.

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.