The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS) has announced a change to the Tennessee Child Abuse Hotline. During designated weekend hours — Fridays at 11 p.m. CST through Sundays at 11 p.m. CST — the hotline will transition to an online-only reporting system for the public. The pilot program aims to increase the efficiency of the hotline and reduce long wait times for callers, according to a press release. Callers wishing to report child abuse or neglect during weekend hours will hear a recorded message prompting them to submit information through DCS’s secure online referral portal. The hotline will remain staffed during weekend hours, and online reports will continue to be reviewed in real-time. The change only affects the hotline’s public line. The dedicated line for law enforcement and medical personnel will remain available during weekend hours.

Miles Mason Family Law Group (MMFLG) in Memphis has moved to a new office on the fourth floor of the Crescent Center at 6075 Poplar Ave., Suite 403, Memphis, TN 38119. In a press release announcing the move, Miles Mason said, "We couldn’t be more thrilled to see MMFLG settling into their brand-new space! Transforming a previously all-white, contemporary office into a warm and welcoming environment, we added calming blue accents and homey touches to create a cozy atmosphere." Mason says his daughter's firm, Anne Mason Design, helped create the new environment with residential elements throughout the office so clients would feel safe and at ease.

Tennessee State University (TSU) appointed a new interim president shortly after its previous interim president resigned last week citing disagreements with the board over how to prevent the university from running out of money. The Tennessean reports that the board named one of its own members to the post. Dwayne Tucker, CEO of the charter school network LEAD Public Schools and a TSU alumnus, will serve as interim president. "We don't want to start 2025 off by litigating the past," Tucker said at a board meeting last week. Tucker's term as interim president will end June 30. The board plans to relaunch its search for a permanent president in January, with the goal of appointing someone to start in July, the paper reports. Since Tucker had to resigned his seat on the board, Gov. Bill Lee will be tasked with appointing a replacement, according to the paper.

A man wrongfully convicted in the early 2000s for a robbery he says he did not commit has filed a lawsuit against the city of Memphis, the Memphis Police Department and the officers who worked his case in federal court. Arits Whitehead was convicted and sentenced to 249 years in prison after a police investigation stalled for more than eight months. A year ago, he was released from prison after nearly two decades behind bars when a judge found evidence that Whitehead was wrongfully convicted. According to the Commercial Appeal, Whitehead claims he was inadequately represented and that the police knowingly relied on a shaky informant — later concealed behind a CrimeStoppers tip — to arrest him. The lawsuit does not request a specific amount in damages, instead seeking compensatory damages, attorneys' fees, court costs and punitive damages.

Virginia and South Dakota are now among 29 states that will use the new bar exam set to debut in July 2026, bringing the total number of jurisdictions to more than half of the 56 states and territories that rely on a bar exam for attorney licensing, Reuters reports. The "NextGen" bar exam is the first major redesign of the national lawyer licensing test in 25 years. It began development in 2021 with the goal of creating a test that emphasizes legal skills and relies less on memorization of laws. The Tennessee Supreme Court announced in April that, starting in July 2027, law school graduates seeking to be licensed in Tennessee will take the NextGen exam, rather than the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE), which has been used since 2019. Only two states — California and Nevada — have announced they will not adopt the NextGen bar exam.

The Memphis Bar Association recently held its annual meeting. Lauran Stimac with Glassman, Wyatt, Tuttle and Cox took over as president of the association from Adam Johnson with Nahon, Saharovich & Trotz. Seven new board members also were announced. In addition, five individuals were recognized with the association’s annual awards. Walter Bailey received the Judge Jerome Turner Lawyer’s Lawyer Award, which recognizes a Memphis attorney who has practiced law for more than 15 years and embodies professionalism, civility and courtesy; Lee Whitwell received the Sam A. Myar Jr. Memorial Award, which honors an attorney under 40 years old who has shown dedication and commitment to their practice and the legal community; Haavi Morreim received the W.J. Michael Cody Access to Justice Award; and Justin Joy and Memphis City Councilwoman Janika White received President’s Awards. Read more about Stimac or see a recap of the award recipients in the MBA Facebook post.

County music artist Morgan Wallen pleaded guilty to two counts of misdemeanor reckless endangerment Thursday stemming from an April incident in which he threw a chair off the roof of Eric Church’s Lower Broadway bar. According to NBC News, the deal calls for Wallen to spend seven days at a “DUI education center” followed by two years of probation. In related news, Wallen's bar is set to be a topic of discussion at next week’s Nashville Metro Council meeting, according to the Nashville Banner newsletter (see the third story). The council again will consider whether to approve a large sign planned for Wallen’s Lower Broadway establishment. The council rejected a resolution on the sign in May, with members highlighting Wallen’s recent arrest for the chair incident, as well as the time he was caught on camera shouting racial slurs.

Hamilton County is launching a new recovery court aimed at veterans involved in the criminal justice system, officials announced Wednesday. County Mayor Weston Wamp, Criminal Court Judge Boyd Patterson and General Sessions Court Judge Gary Starnes introduced the Hamilton County Veterans Treatment Court, which will address the specific needs of veterans in the system. Wamp said in a news release that the program furthers the county's commitment to supporting those who have served in defense of American values. The county allocated funding in this year's budget for a case manager to oversee the court and plans to pursue grant funding to sustain and expand the program in the future, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press. The court will handle misdemeanor cases and certain felony offenses, such as assault, drunk driving and theft, but will not hear felony cases related to crimes such as child abuse or sexual assault.

Hernandez Govan, the man accused of masterminding the 2021 death of Memphis rapper, Young Dolph, rejected a plea deal from prosecutors Friday. The case is now set to go to trial, with proceedings scheduled to begin July 28, 2025, according to the Commercial Appeal. Govan's decision comes months after Justin Johnson was convicted of first-degree murder for his involvement in the killing. Govan will face trial on charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and attempted first-degree murder. By rejecting the plea deal, Govan is prohibited from taking another plea offer before the trial.

A federal grand jury recently returned an indictment charging Catherine Corrine Daly with embezzlement from a Memphis law firm. According to the indictment, Daly was office manager at a law firm where she had access to the firm’s bank accounts, including the operating account. According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Tennessee, Daly had two American Express (AmEx) charge accounts in her name and a total of five AmEx charge cards issued through the two accounts to her and two of her relatives. Daly is alleged to have used money in the firm’s operating account to pay off amounts due on those personal AmEx accounts. In total, she is alleged to have embezzled $1.2 million of the law firm’s funds for her own use. The U.S. Secret Service is investigating while Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Murphy is prosecuting the case.