TBA staff and leadership are continuing to develop and update educational and advocacy resources on issues relevant to the practice of law in our state and we want your help! We know TBA members have incredible knowledge and insight about the policy issues we are focused on, including resources for indigent representation. Through our Grassroots Advocacy Initiative, we are building a network of lawyers who are informed and engaged. There are a few ways to connect with the TBA's Government Affairs team if you are interested in learning more and getting involved with our advocacy work, especially as related to indigent representation. Sign up for TBA Grassroots Advocacy Updates, which will highlight related policy content across all of TBA's communication platforms. For attorneys with experience working with clients who are indigent or vulnerable, there is a longer survey that includes questions about court appointed representation as well as options for getting involved with TBA’s efforts in this area. We want to hear directly from you on these issues. More information is available on our main Indigent Representation Resource Page.

Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti on Thursday announced that two multi-settlement agreements with pharmaceutical companies Heritage Pharmaceuticals and Apotex have entered the final stages and just need signatures from the participating states. According to a release from Skrmetti's office, the two companies have agreed to pay a total of $49.1 million to settle allegations of long-running conspiracies to artificially inflate and manipulate prices, reduce competition and unreasonably restrain trade with regard to numerous generic prescription drugs. Tennesseans who purchased generic prescriptions from either company between 2010 and 2018 may be eligible for compensation.

Williamson County Circuit and Chancery Courts are seeking attorneys for appointment to represent indigent clients. Attorneys are not required to be in court at the time of appointment. To sign up for appointments, please send your name, address, cell phone, email and area of interest (criminal defense, termination of parental rights, criminal contempt, etc.) to Stacy Green at stacy.green@tncourts.gov.

Five Tennessee trial court judges recently completed an intensive two-week general jurisdiction course at the National Judicial College. Circuit court judges Brent Bradberry of Carroll County, Damita Dandridge of Shelby County and Mark Hayes of Dyer and Lake counties, and criminal court judges Cynthia Chappell of Davidson County and Ryan Spitzer of Anderson County took the immersive course, which aims to provide judges with a solid foundation on courtroom leadership, judicial ethics, evidence, case management, judicial security and decision-making. Graduates can earn credit hours toward a Master of Judicial Studies degree. According to a press release, the Tennessee judges all agreed that the experience was worthy and will benefit the administration of justice in their respective judicial districts. Read more in the release and see a picture of the group.

The Memphis Police Department (MPD) recently launched a new fugitive task force and hired a new investigative counsel to tackle thousands of outstanding warrants in county. The Daily Memphian reports that the task force operates under MPD’s Organized Crime Unit with 29 officers assigned to it. Forrest Edwards also has been hired to serve as the task force’s new investigative counsel. Edwards, a former prosecutor in the Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office, will serve as a liaison between the department and the prosecutor’s office, helping prosecutors build cases. MPD says there are about 24,000 outstanding warrants in the county and that the task force has made 280 arrests since its formation last month.

Live Nation Entertainment and its subsidiary Ticketmaster failed to persuade a U.S. appeals court to block a proposed class action accusing them of charging artificially high ticket prices, Reuter reports. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals this week upheld a lower court’s ruling that Live Nation could not force ticket buyers to arbitrate their claims through a new arbitration body called New Era ADR. The court said the arbitration rules — which it called “so dense, convoluted and internally contradictory to be borderline unintelligible” — were unfair to consumers and “overtly” beneficial to the company. Live Nation defended New Era, calling its rules "sensible, fair and similar" to those at other platforms. In a separate case, the U.S. Justice Department and a group of states, including Tennessee, asked a U.S. judge in May to break up Live Nation for allegedly violating antitrust law by controlling ticket sales and pricing.

The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals recently considered two cases: government-proposed net neutrality rules and alleged unfair labor practices by Starbucks. In the first case, a panel of three judges heard oral arguments about whether the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had the authority to issue rules prohibiting internet service providers from blocking or slowing traffic from competitors or giving preferential treatment to certain customers. While industry groups argued that the “major questions doctrine” should limit the agency’s power, the government argued that the doctrine was properly applied. In the second case, the court heard from Starbucks Corp., which argued that the National Labor Relations Board erred when it ordered the company to pay “all direct or foreseeable pecuniary harms” stemming from it found to be the illegal firing of an employee. Bloomberg Law reports on both hearings.

A lawsuit against the National Museum of African American Music brought by former CEO Henry Hicks III — who departed the role in August 2023 — was dismissed last week after the parties reached a settlement out of court. Hicks’ suit, filed in August, alleged that the museum owed him $293,654 of $350,000 promised as part of a separation agreement. The agreement allegedly included assurances that Hicks would drop certain unspecified claims he had against the museum in exchange for the pay out. The Nashville Business Journal reports on the deal.

The Nashville Metro Council’s Public Health and Safety Committee held its final special meeting on domestic violence policy this week. Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk and Assistant District Attorney Christina Johnson, who leads that office’s domestic violence team, spoke, recommending several changes they said would improve Nashville’s response. Among their suggestions was sending a domestic violence professional or survivor advocate on calls with police, hiring someone specifically to work on gun dispossession, and changing state law to remove assaults between roommates from the domestic violence statute. Johnson said those cases do not include the sort of intimate partner violence the law was meant to address. Read more in the Nashville Banner’s newsletter.

The TBA is adding to its grassroots advocacy resources with a new primer on indigent representation, which will provide updated information on the role and importance of appointed counsel in our justice system. Topics will explore basics and real-world questions about Tennessee's system, as well as examples and innovations from other jurisdictions. These resources and more can be accessed on the TBA's Indigent Representation Resources page and will be shared across TBA's communications platforms. Those who would like to receive policy and advocacy updates by email, can sign up here.