Davidson County Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal last week ruled that the city of Forest Hills could change the names of Confederate-themed streets, overruling the state's Historical Commission, which said the names were protected under the Heritage Protection Act, which specifically seeks to preserve Civil War-era monuments. The Tennessee Lookout reports that attorneys for the city have long argued the act should not apply to streets within subdivisions that were built on private property by private developers who constructed and named roads before they were formally recognized and adopted as public streets. State attorneys argued that the language of the act does not address this issue, and that the act requires that any street with a historic name that is now a public street remains subject to the law.

The Tennessee Board of Law Examiners has released statistics about the state's July 2024 bar exam. According to the board, 759 individuals — 647 first time test takers and 112 repeaters — took the exam. They represent 103 different law schools and saw an overall pass rate of 72%. For first time test-takers at Tennessee law schools, Vanderbilt University Law School saw a 97% pass rate followed by Belmont University College of Law at 94.8%, the University of Tennessee College of Law at 91%, University of Memphis School of Law at 78.7%, Nashville School of Law at 70% and Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law at 64.2%. See all statistical information released by the board.

Indiana joins a growing number of states in exploring innovative approaches to expand delivery of legal services, including through regulatory reforms. This month, the Indiana Supreme Court issued an order responding to recommendations from its innovations commission's July report, including directing development of "initial parameters for a legal regulatory sandbox," Reuters reports. Sandbox programs provide a controlled venue allowing entities to offer legal services that may otherwise run afoul of existing regulations, while still protecting the profession and consumers by maintaining a professional discipline process. Indiana's program follows initiatives in other states that allow alternative business structures, including early innovators Arizona and Utah. Reuters has an update on Arizona's program, which now has over 100 approved entities that allow non-lawyers to have an economic interest in law firms. Utah, the first state with a regulatory sandbox, continues to review and update its program, writes the ABA Journal.

The Tennessee Innocence Project (TIP) recently announced that Lead Counsel and Executive Director Jessica Van Dyke will transition into the role of legal director. Jason Gichner has been appointed as the new executive director, effective Oct. 14. “I am honored to step into this role and continue building on the foundation that Jessica has laid,” says Gichner, who has served as deputy director since 2019. Chief Operating Officer Becca Morris states, “Jason’s deep commitment to justice and our cause makes this transition an exciting new chapter for TIP as we continue our fight for the exoneration of the wrongfully convicted.” Read more in a press release from the organization.

The TBA was recognized today with two major awards from the National Association of Bar Executives (NABE) at the annual NABE Communications Section Workshop in Raleigh, North Carolina. First, it earned a Luminary Award for “Authored Article” for Journal Editor Julia Canada Wilburn's article about former Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon G. Lee’s time on the bench. “A Justice for the People,” which ran in the July/August 2023 issue of the Journal, looks at a career that took Lee from rural Tennessee to state’s highest court. The TBA also was honored with an award for its 2023 year-end CLE marketing campaign, which offered a creative appeal to lawyers to take advantage of educational opportunities in days leading up to the compliance deadline. The “What’s Your CLE Mood?” and “12 Days of Ethics” series of social media and TBA Today posts used humor and nostalgic holiday imagery to market TBA’s CLE programs. See photos from today's award ceremony.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) has made progress in shortening the delays in laboratory testing of sexual assault evidence, according to a new audit by the state’s comptroller. The Tennessee Lookout reports that the turnaround has been reduced to 10 weeks. Two years ago, the bureau reported turnaround times of up to 45 weeks, delays that hindered criminal prosecutions and deferred justice for survivors. TBI Director David Rausch told a committee of lawmakers reviewing the report that the agency had hired 49 additional scientists — with another in the hiring process — to help speed up forensic testing. It also outsourced 908 kits to a private lab in Florida last year. This year, the bureau has contracted with the lab to test another 192 kits.

A new law sponsored by state Sen. Ken Yager, R-Kingston, and Rep. Ed Butler, R-Rickman, strengthens penalties for indecent exposure by inmates in correctional facilities from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class E felony. The new law aims to protect prison staff by cracking down on misconduct by inmates and reduce the number of incidents. At the time of its passage, Yager said, “Indecent exposure has no place in our correctional facilities, and unfortunately, this misconduct has become an increasing method for inmates to abuse and harass correctional staff.” Since the law went into effect July 1, the Tennessee Department of Corrections has identified 109 inmates across the state who could be charged under the new law. It will be up to local district attorneys to decide whether to charge and prosecute these cases, the LaFollette Press reports.

Knox County Assistant District Attorney Robert DeBusk resigned Tuesday following allegations that he lied under oath about violating attorney-client privilege by accessing protected communications between inmates and their defense attorneys. DeBusk was suspended after questions arose about his improper access to an email and a recorded voicemail from jail inmates to their attorneys, raising concerns about his handling of privileged information. Knox News has the story.

The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) last week sued the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of three environmental groups, claims that the TVA spent millions on the gas plant through agreements with pipeline operator Enbridge and GE before it studied negative environmental effects or renewable energy alternatives, or received community feedback, Knox News reports. The suit also alleges that the agreements, and a 2022 contract for combustion turbines from GE, violate the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Kingston was the site of the catastrophic coal ash spill in 2008 which resulted in more than a decade of litigtation over safety violations between workers and their families and Jacobs Solutions. A settlement was reached in 2023.

The Shelby County District Attorney's office last week announced that a new bail-setting form will include a “law-enforcement notes” section, replacing the previous bond-recommendation section. The form will include information on a defendant’s evidence of flight, evasion, violence, other crimes and other relevant information. The Daily Memphian reports that the new bail-setting form is the latest change to Shelby County’s bail-setting process, which has received criticism from local residents and state legislators who claim it often does not do enough to protect the community.