A former Nashville police officer’s home was searched in September as part of the probe to determine who leaked documents related to the Covenant School shooting, WSMV reports. The newly released information shows that Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents searched the Portland home of Garet Davidson. A document filed by another officer says Davidson, who resigned from the department last December, controlled access to the safe where police stored the Covenant School investigation files. Davidson also has been a whistleblower in the department’s internal affairs office.

The parents of Jillian Ludwig, a Belmont University freshman who was shot and killed by a man determined to be mentally incompetent, are suing the Metro Nashville government, the state and multiple other entities and individuals over their daughter’s wrongful death. The suit argues that authorities erred when determining the shooter was not competent to stand trial but not so incompetent to qualify for involuntary commitment. They are seeking more than $50 million as relief. The Tennessean has more on the suit. Earlier this year, the state legislature approved “Jillian’s Law,” which requires involuntarily commitment of certain criminal defendants who are ruled incompetent to stand trial due to intellectual disability or mental illness.

A lawsuit seeking the ouster of Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert will go back to court next week, the Daily Memphian reports. Circuit Court Judge Felicia Corbin-Johnson has set Nov. 20 as the date to hear oral arguments on Halbert’s attorneys’ motion to dismiss the suit. Both sides have filed briefs on the question of whether the county attorney’s office could legally appoint a private attorney to file the ouster lawsuit in August. It is the second time Halbert has been the target of an ouster lawsuit alleging willful neglect of her office. Corbin-Johnson dismissed the first, filed in May, ruling that special attorney and Hamilton County District Attorney General Coty Wamp could not file the suit because she does not live in the jurisdiction where Halbert was elected. That decision led the county attorney’s office to contract with a private lawyer to bring the suit.

Two firearm advocacy groups, Gun Owners of America and the Tennessee Firearms Association, have sued the city of Memphis and Interim Memphis Police Chief C.J. Davis, the Daily Memphian reports. The groups are seeking a temporary restraining order to stop the city from enforcing gun control measures approved by voters last week. While measures have an effective date of Jan. 1, 2025, the Memphis City Council has acknowledged they have no enforceable effect since the Tennessee Constitution prohibits local governments from enacting gun restrictions. The groups argue that despite that, the referendums infringe on their rights.

During recent budget hearings, Gov. Bill Lee addressed the need to fill correctional officer roles. According to Lee, Tennessee prisons are experiencing a 26% vacancy rate in these positions with 651 current vacant positions. There were 1,200 officers hired this year; however, high turnover rates have left prisons struggling with long-term retention, WSMV reports. Lee floated the idea of setting up a retention specialist in each prison to help officers transition from the training academy to the job. He also announced that in about a month, the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville will begin a pilot program to shuttle employees from larger cities to the facility.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is sounding the alarm about a Venezuelan gang it says is operating in major cities across Tennessee, News 5 reports. In its budget request to the governor, the agency warned about the rising threat of Tren de Aragua, a violent criminal group. "We know they are on a pathway to more violence," TBI Director David Rausch said at a budget hearing on Tuesday. "They are back in all our major cities. They are running human trafficking operations." Rausch said the gang was first identified in the state years ago in a human trafficking bust but many of the members fled after the operation. He said there's been no sight of them since until recently.

The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments will consider three applicants when it meets next month to select nominees for a vacancy on the Tennessee Court of Appeals, Eastern Section. They are: Sevierville lawyer Bryce W. McKenzie, Greeneville lawyer Willie Santana and Knoxville lawyer Steven W. Sword. A public hearing is scheduled for Dec. 5 at 10:30 a.m. EST in the courtroom of the Tennessee Supreme Court Building, 505 Main St., Knoxville 37902. Any member of the public may attend the hearing and can express, orally or in writing, objections concerning applicants for the vacancy. Following the interviews, public hearing and deliberations, the council will vote on which candidates to forward to the governor. More information on the applicants is available in a release from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Personal and business bankruptcy filings rose 16.2% this year compared to 2023, according to statistics released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Business filings increased 33.5% in 2024, while non-business bankruptcy filings rose 15.5%. Bankruptcy totals for the previous 12 months are reported quarterly. According to the report, total filings steadily declined for more than a decade, from a high of nearly 1.6 million in September 2010 to a low of 380,634 in June 2022. Filings have increased each quarter since then, but they remain well below historical highs.

The American Bar Association (ABA) has approved a new process allowing law schools to admit students without requiring the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) or other standardized test, Reuters reports. The ABA’s Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admission to the Bar on Friday voted to create a new process that would allow schools to apply for a variance to bypass the LSAT requirement for up to 100% of their incoming classes for a period of three to five years. The Law School Admission Council supports the move, which is seen as a way to improve diversity in legal education and reduce financial burdens on applicants, according to the news outlet. The new variance is the latest development in debates over whether the ABA should continue to require law schools to use the LSAT or other standardized tests.

The Davidson County District Attorney’s Office has started a pilot program that diverts the cases of “survivor-defendants” away from the criminal justice system and towards resources offered to other Nashvillians facing domestic violence. The program is a partnership with the YWCA of Nashville and Middle Tennessee and since June 1, around 40 individuals have had their cases diverted through it, according to the Nashville Banner. Nashville was selected by the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys (APA) to be one of two pilot sites for similar programs. The APA will provide guidance and oversight along with data analysis to evaluate whether Nashville’s program is effective. For now, the program is only offered to people charged with a misdemeanor.