The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments received only three applications to fill a vacancy on the Court of Criminal Appeals, Eastern Section. As a result, the council will not hold a meeting as previously announced and will forward the applications directly to the governor. The applicants are Sevierville lawyer Bryce William McKenzie, Greenville lawyer Willie Santana and Knoxville lawyer Steven W. Sword. Feedback on any applicant can be submitted to the governor’s legal office at 615-734-8314 or emailed to Katelin.Brown@tn.gov. The deadline for submitting feedback is Jan. 3, 2025. More information about the applicants can be viewed on the Administrative Office of the Court's website.

The Justice Department (DOJ) on Wednesday asked a federal judge overseeing the antitrust case against Google to order the company to sell its popular Chrome browser, National Public Radio reports. In its filing, the agency also called for Google to stop making third-party payments to phone makers to secure its default search position, allow websites to opt out of having their data used to train Google’s artificial intelligence (AI) models, and either divest from its Android phone business or have the court oversee its Android division to prevent potential anticompetitive practices. DOJ officials argue that requiring Google to sell Chrome would separate its browser from its search engine, increasing competition in the online search market. A federal judge in the District of Columbia will now decide whether pushing Google to offload Chrome is the best way to foster more competition.

Local leaders gathered Thursday night to discuss two ordinances being considered by the Shelby County Board of Commissioners aimed at supporting justice-involved youth. According to the Daily Memphian, one ordinance would require the Shelby County Juvenile Court Clerk’s Office to provide families of justice-involved youth with information on how to expunge their records after their cases are completed. The other ordinance would mandate legal representation for youth during questioning by law enforcement and require that those interrogations be recorded. The commission is also requesting the office accept additional forms of identification, beyond licenses and state IDs, to streamline the process for children. According to the Memphis-Shelby County Crime Commission, youth charged with delinquent offenses in Memphis increased by 3.7% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.

More than 2,000 U.S. law school faculty members said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their current position, according to a new national study by the Association of American Law Schools. Women and faculty of color reported slightly lower satisfaction rates. Flexibility for family matters, teaching loads and leave policies were among the top factors law professors cited as reasons they enjoy their work. The study was one of the most comprehensive analyses of law professors in recent years, Reuters reports.

Knox County, County Mayor Glenn Jacobs and the Pension and Retirement Board have asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by sheriff's office employees who claim they were denied their entitled pensions. The lawsuit was filed in June in Knox County Chancery Court after limits were imposed on pensions for patrol officers and jailers. About 300 officers and jailers are affected by the cap, and the plaintiffs argue that it violates the county's charter, Knox News reports. In 2023, the Knox County Commission approved a plan to limit how much of an employee's salary is used to calculate retirees' pension payments, capping the pension calculation at 3% per year. The officers and jailers contend they signed onto a plan that guaranteed pension payments based on their full pay each year, without restrictions, and say the change violates the terms for those who joined the plan between 2007 and 2014. A judge will hear arguments on Dec. 16.

Environmental groups American Riverkeepers and American Whitewater filed a lawsuit in federal court Monday against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Forest Service. The lawsuit alleges the agencies illegally allowed CSX Transportation to dredge the Nolichucky River gorge in East Tennessee for rocks and other materials to rebuild rail lines damaged or washed away by floods from Hurricane Helene. According to the Tennessee Lookout, the dredging poses risks to the river, its aquatic life and the potential for future downstream flooding that could affect communities dependent on the river for tourism revenue. The lawsuit claims the federal approvals violated standard agency procedures and several federal environmental laws designed to protect river ecosystems. CSX said it would continue to work with federal agencies to "ensure rail infrastructure is recovered and restored in the safest and most environmentally responsible way," the newspaper reports.

The Office of the Tennessee Attorney General is urging consumers to be aware of scam websites posing as classic car and heavy equipment dealerships. Even though scammers answer the phones, send videos and present fake business licenses, consumers will be swindled out of their money if they fall for these scams, the office said in a release this week. Among the scams are a fake classic car seller named Leo’s Luxury Motors and a fake website for heavy machinery, which was made using the name of Equipment Express, an authentic forklift dealer in Lebanon, Tennessee. The office recommends viewing any vehicles or machinery in person before purchasing and following five tips to ensure dealings are with reputable sellers. Learn more and get the tips on the office’s website.

Nashville’s Community Review Board voted unanimously this week to approve a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Metro Nashville Police Department, formalizing the procedures both sides will follow as the board reviews internal police investigations. The agreement comes more than a year after the review board was established to take the place of a stronger oversight board that was eliminated by a 2023 state law. Details of the agreement were not released, but recent board discussions had focused on making sure the board had timely access to body camera footage and received entire case files associated with complaints against officers, the Nashville Banner reports.

The federal judiciary’s first annual report detailing the steps it has taken to address allegations of workplace misconduct is out and shows most of the complaints were not lodged against judges but other court staff, Reuters reports. According to the report, only half of the 178 workplace misconduct claims between 2021-2023 involved the courts themselves as opposed to probation offices or federal public defender offices. Of that, 14% of claims concerned law clerks and other staff in a judge's chambers. The Office of Judicial Integrity within the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts published the report, which was one of several reforms adopted amid allegations of sexual harassment by judges during the “Me Too” movement.

A federal judge has ruled that meetings of the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Rules of Practice and Procedure do not have to be open to the public and press, Bloomberg Law reports. The ruling came in a suit filed by Dan McCaleb, executive editor of the online news organization The Center Square, against the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson previously granted a temporary injunction requested by McCaleb that opened the meetings. The commission has streamed its meetings live on YouTube throughout this year. The judge now has found that the commission can close its meetings because it is a rulemaking body and not part of an adjudicative process. The Center Square said in a news report that the case was quickly appealed to the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.