Fatal drug overdoses in Nashville continue to decline in the third quarter of the year, mirroring a national trend that has seen death counts fall for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Nashville Banner. As of Sept. 30, there were 391 fatal overdoses in Nashville, a 26% drop compared to last year. The data also shows there were nearly 1,100 suspected overdose-related emergency room visits through the first three quarters of 2024 marking a 28% drop.

Knox County Criminal Court Judge Hector Sanchez is Tennessee’s first Hispanic trial court judge. Raised by a single mother, he overcame challenges to pursue his passion for law. Sanchez moved to Knoxville in 2003 and interned at the Knox County District Attorney’s office throughout law school. After serving in the Marine Corps and working as a prosecutor, Sanchez was appointed to the bench in 2022. According to a press release from the Administrative Office of the Courts, Sanchez credits his military experience and upbringing for shaping his perspective as a judge, allowing him to empathize with defendants while maintaining a commitment to justice. Sanchez also presides over the Knox County Veterans Treatment Court.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, alongside a bipartisan coalition of 30 state attorneys general, today announced the completion of a $1.37 billion settlement agreement with Kroger, addressing the grocery chain’s role in the opioid crisis. Tennessee will receive up to $42.9 million for opioid abatement, with payments to begin early next year. According to a press release from Skrmetti's office, Tennessee has secured more than $1 billion in settlements from various parties involved in the crisis, with most funds directed to the state’s Opioid Abatement Fund. Kroger has agreed to injunctive relief that requires its pharmacies to monitor, report and share data about suspicious activity related to opioid prescriptions.

The Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration will host Gov. Bill Lee’s public budget hearings for Fiscal Year 2026 on Nov. 5, 6, 12 and 13. The hearings will be live streamed. Check the department's website for the schedule of dates and times for individual state agency hearings.

Candidates who passed the July 2024 Tennessee Bar Exam were admitted to the practice of law at a ceremony in Knoxville today. Representatives from the Tennessee Bar Association and its Young Lawyers Division were on hand to congratulate the new admittees. See photos from today. Ceremonies continue this week with events in Nashville tomorrow, Jackson on Wednesday and Memphis on Thursday. Watch for coverage and photos from these events coming soon in TBA Today and on social media.

Rideshare drivers in Tennessee are advocating for legislation to ban out-of-state drivers from operating within the state. Drivers have formed an organization to advocate for change and say they are in the process of working with an attorney to create a proposal to share with lawmakers next month, aiming for its introduction during the next legislative session, Fox Chattanooga reports. Drivers argue that the influx of out-of-state drivers, and a ban on out-of-state drivers in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Kentucky, has oversaturated the market, leading to decreased earnings. The group will also be holding a strike regarding this issue on Nov. 20.

Amazon asked a federal judge in Seattle to dismiss a multibillion-dollar consumer lawsuit case that claims the company’s cloud-based voice service Alexa illegally collected and recorded private conversations without consent. Amazon said in a federal court filing on Wednesday that after years of litigation, consumers had failed to show the company engaged in unfair or deceptive practices, Reuters reports. “Alexa recordings in fact contain none of the private, salacious or personal details they claimed in their complaint,” Amazon told the court. The plaintiff filings said the consumers “either knew or reasonably should have known how Alexa worked.” The lawsuit, filed in 2021, claimed Amazon violated state wiretap laws through its collection and storage of data from Alexa.

The U.S. Department of Transportation on Tuesday announced that three railroad projects in Tennessee will receive up to $25.7 million in federal infrastructure grants. Funded projects include upgrades to a railroad from Jackson to the northwest corner of the state, improvements to 13 miles of track between Manchester and Morrison, and a new rail yard in Watertown, east of Nashville, the Tennessee Lookout reports. The funds, distributed by the Federal Railroad Administration, are part funding dedicated by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to 122 rail improvement projects across the country.

A Muslim civil rights organization is calling on the Knox County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) to allow women to wear their hijab if they are forced to sit for a mug shot, Knox News reports. According to the paper, this is a policy followed by many police agencies nationwide out of respect for constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion. The statement from the Council on American-Islamic Relations comes less than a month after a Knoxville woman sued the KCSO in federal court because the agency published a mug shot of her taken without her hijab after she was arrested in May, and it still remains accessible on third-party mug shot databases. The woman is seeking damages and policy changes to accommodate Muslim women.

The Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO) last week announced it has expanded its Judicial Outreach Liaison (JOL) program to include two new judges, Judge Beau Pemberton of Dresden and Judge James Ross of Waynesboro. According to a press release from the THSO, Tennessee is first in the nation to expand the JOL program model beyond one judge. JOLs support the criminal justice system by preventing impaired driving, assigning appropriate consequences for traffic offenses, and providing training and guidance to judges and traffic safety professionals. “I’m excited to build our JOL team to help more local communities and those often underserved or disconnected,” said Judge Donald Parish, who retired after 41 years practicing law and is Tennessee’s state JOL in Huntingdon. Pemberton and Ross will serve as regional JOLs in support of Parrish.