Arizona's program that allows people who are not lawyers to co-own law firms now has more than 100 approved businesses, Reuters reports. In 2020, Arizona became the first U.S. state to eliminate rules barring non-lawyers from having an economic interest in law firms, allowing lawyers and non-lawyers to co-own legal service businesses if approved by the state's Supreme Court. The court earlier this week approved additional applications, including one from online legal services company Rocket Lawyer. Other national legal services businesses such as LegalZoom, Elevate and Axiom previously were approved. Supporters of the program argue that loosening barriers for non-lawyers to hold a stake in legal services firms can make legal advice more affordable, spur innovation and expand access to justice. Critics contend the changes can lead to abuses if providers are not fully bound by professional ethics rules. The article also looks at pilot programs in Utah, Washington State, California and Florida.

Following release of a state investigative report, which found that the Nashville District Attorney’s Office secretly recorded criminal defense attorneys, office employees and visitors, Comptroller Jason Mumpower is calling for the appointment of a special prosecutor to determine if any laws were violated. Mumpower made those comments in an interview with NewsChannel 5 after Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said he would not prosecute anyone. While Skrmetti said there may have been ethical breaches, he determined that “the facts and law do not provide sufficient basis for a successful criminal prosecution.” District Attorney Glenn Funk has maintained that the recordings were lawful because there is no expectation of privacy within a district attorney's office.

A U.S. district judge ruled that the U.S. Department of Transportation’s consideration of race or gender when awarding federal highway and transit project funding to disadvantaged small businesses is unconstitutional. According to Reuters, the judge on Monday ruled that a federal program that was enacted in 1983, which treats businesses owned by racial minorities and women as presumptively disadvantaged and eligible for funding, violated the U.S. Constitution's equal protection guarantees. The plaintiffs argued the program discriminated against other racial groups, such as white people, and violated the Fifth Amendment. The judge cited a recent Supreme Court ruling that effectively prohibited affirmative action policies long used in college admissions to raise the number of Black, Hispanic and other underrepresented minority students on American campuses.

A Nashville judge’s ruling last week that a man serving a life sentence is eligible for credits that could reduce his prison time by up to 36 years has raised questions about whether others in prison have sentences that should have ended. According to The Tennessean, the decision by Chancellor Russell Perkins means that anyone sentenced to life in prison before 1995 or sentenced to life as a juvenile should have sentence reduction credits, or “good time,” applied to their sentences’ expiration dates, says David Esquivel, an attorney representing the plaintiff in the case. A 1995 sentencing law required people serving life sentences to serve at least 51 years behind bars. However, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled in 2022 that this law was unconstitutional as applied to minors. As a result, juveniles sentenced after 1995 have had their sentences recalculated under a less harsh law. Adults sentenced after 1995 are not affected by this ruling. It remains unclear how the Tennessee Department of Correction will respond to this court decision and its potential implications.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an antitrust lawsuit against Visa, one of the world's largest payment networks, of violating antitrust law by suppressing competition by threatening merchants with high fees and paying off potential rivals, according to Reuters. The DOJ seeks a court order barring these practices to restore competition for processing debit transactions. Julie Rottenberg, Visa's general counsel, says competition is thriving in the debit market. According to the report, prosecutors are seeking to block Visa from imposing pricing structures that discourage competition, and paying rivals not to compete, which prosecutors say will restore competition for services to process debit payments both online and at physical stores.

The Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury is investigating an incident at the Knox County Property Assessor’s Office where a newly purchased laptop was reported stolen after the office was ransacked. According to Knox News, the missing laptop may have contained sensitive taxpayer information. The county’s IT department confirmed that the laptop was purchased outside of normal procedures and was not connected to the county’s internal network, which is uncommon practice and forbidden for most county offices. The incident has raised questions about the security and oversight of constitutional offices in Knox County. According to the report, whether the laptop factors into the state investigation remains to be determined, but if it contains taxpayers’ personal information, Knox County Property Assessor Phil Ballard implies it will likely come under scrutiny.

In a lawsuit filed Monday in federal court, Lonesome Ten Miles LLC, an entity affiliated with Good Time Design Hospitality Group, challenged what it called “extortionate” Metro Nashville permitting policies. The developers alleged that Metro required the developer to replace a waterline along Division Street “at enormous expense” as a condition of its permits, according to the Nashville Banner. In the complaint, the plaintiff asked the court to award damages to cover the expense of the replaced waterline and alleged that it bore all the costs. Earlier this year, the Tennessee legislature passed a law giving developers the option of appealing offsite improvement conditions imposed by local utilities to the Tennessee Board of Utility Regulation. In recent years, Metro has paid out multiple settlements to developers who successfully sued over a city policy, according to the report.

Tennessee educators plan to meet with lawmakers this week to propose ideas for potential legislation, including a bill to allow the state to place students who make credible school threats in holding cells in juvenile detention facilities for up to three days. According to WKRN News, the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security has investigated more than 320 school threats so far this year that were reported to their department. J.C. Bowman, executive director and CEO of Professional Educators of Tennessee, told the news outlet that school threats are negatively impacting students, staff and communities. “If it is a credible threat, we need to take action,” Bowman said.

In 2018, Elizabethton High School (EHS) students in Alex Campbell’s sociology class began investigating a series of cold-case murders dubbed “The Redhead Murders” that took place in and around the state in the 1980s. With help from various investigators, including an FBI behavioral analyst, the students developed a theory that six of the murders fit the profile of the same killer and eventually gave him the moniker of "The Bible Belt Strangler." Their findings led to at least one of the victims being linked to a possible suspect who died before more charges could be brought. In January of this year, the "Murder 101" podcast was released, telling the story of the class' investigation. Now, the Board of Education has approved release documents for students and staff members to participate in a documentary related to the project, to be directed by Jon Watts of "Spider-Man: Homecoming" fame and released by Amazon MGM Studios. According to the agreement, filming was to begin Friday and extend until May 31, 2027. The Elizabethton Star has the story.

The Shelby County Board of Commissioners on Monday approved $10 million for "emergency repairs" at the Shelby County Jail. In May, the commission approved emergency funding to repair locks on cell doors and earlier this month, broken elevators at 901 Poplar raised safety concerns for employees, visitors and inmates. Sheriff Floyd Bonner's office will be responsible for the rest of the $16.4 million estimate for repairs. The Daily Memphian has the story.