The former deputy commissioner and chief financial officer for the Tennessee Department of Corrections (TDOC), Wesley Olan Landers, has been charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice and to commit perjury in connection with a $123 million contract to provide behavioral health services. According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Tennessee, Landers used his personal email account to provide confidential TDOC information related to the bidding process for a new behavioral health service provider for TDOC inmates. After a new contract was awarded to a new provider, Landers was hired as vice president of operations, reporting to Jeffrey Scott Wells, to whom he had passed the confidential TDOC information and who also was charged in the case. If convicted, both defendants face up to five years in federal prison.

Baker Donelson shareholder Lang Wiseman recently was named to the Tennessee Artificial Intelligence (AI) Advisory Council and will chair the council's policy subcommittee. The Nashville Post spoke with Wiseman about his appointment and to get his thoughts on AI in the legal community and beyond. He addresses the importance of protecting client data, the purposes and goals of the council and shares how the council can help identify opportunities to make Tennessee a leader in the AI movement.

U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger has ruled that a federal lawsuit alleging Tennessee’s mental health and disability agencies discriminated against deaf individuals living in privately run group homes can move forward. The Tennessee Lookout reports that attorneys for the state attempted to dismiss all claims brought by six individuals who say they were denied the ability to communicate and deprived of sign language interpreters and communication technologies in group homes. The state argued that Tennessee's mental health and disability agencies are not responsible for the way private group homes operate, but according to Trauger's decision, federal law “recognizes that a government agency’s decision to rely on a privatize-and-license model, rather than a direct services model, does not inherently excuse it from its antidiscrimination obligations in performing the underlying public services.”

Today marks the 237th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution, the world’s longest surviving written charter of government. U.S. District Judge Curtis L. Collier and law clerks Carrie Brown Stefaniak, Rachel Elaine Noveroske and Katherine E. Philyaw discuss some of the current sentiment for changing or amending the Constitution. They consider the dissatisfaction that some people have with the document, the role and function of the federal judiciary and the procedural steps required to change the Constitution. Interested in learning more about Constitution Day? The TBA has a collection of online resources.

TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD) Past President Billy Leslie, Secretary Ross Smith and TBA House of Delegates Member Princess Rogers visited the Nashville School of Law (NSL) this week to speak with students about the benefits of their free membership with the TBA, including the Diversity Leadership Institute (DLI) and mentoring programs. They encouraged students to get involved with the TBA early by volunteering at pro bono clinics and attending CLE programs. NSL 3L student Diane Tress, a member of the 2024 DLI class, also was on hand to encourage her peers to apply for that program. See photos from the event.

Henry C. Leventis, U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, has announced he will resign effective Oct. 4. During his two-year tenure, Leventis led the office's efforts in public safety, civil rights and combating health care fraud. Notable achievements, according to a press release from the office, included prosecuting international gangs, seizing significant amounts of drugs and intervening in a lawsuit challenging Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care. Leventis will return to private practice after his departure. “I am eternally grateful to President Biden, Attorney General Garland, and Senators Blackburn and Hagerty for the opportunity to lead the United States Attorney’s Office and to work alongside so many talented and committed public servants,” Leventis said in the release.

TikTok and the U.S. government today began oral arguments in a federal court case that could determine the future of the popular social media platform in the United States, WSMV 4 reports. Attorneys for the two sides appeared before a panel of three judges at a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. The case centers around a law enacted in April that requires TikTok's China-based parent company, ByteDance, to divest its U.S. operations by mid-January or face a ban. The social media platform sued after the law's enactment. The government argues that TikTok poses a national security risk due to its data collection practices and susceptibility to Chinese government influence. TikTok, however, contends that the law violates the First Amendment and is akin to authoritarian censorship. The company claims it has made significant efforts to address the government's concerns, including a proposed agreement and investments in security measures, according to the report.

An outside prosecutor is seeking a harsher sentence for a man charged with making threats against a judge, a federal building and other individuals. According to the Chattanoogan, Robert Edward Millsaps, who has a history of violent crime, is accused of threatening to bomb the courtroom of Hamilton County General Sessions Court Judge Gary Starnes as well as the federal building in Chattanooga. He also was charged with an act of terrorism and filing false reports. Local judges and prosecutors had recused themselves from the case so Bradley Sherman, a circuit court judge from Winchester, presided over the hearing last week. Millsaps is currently held on bond. ABA President Mary Smith noted this past spring that serious threats against judges have doubled since 2019, highlighting the growing concern for the safety of judicial officers.

A legal clinic in Campbell County on Saturday helped more than 40 individuals expunge their criminal records, thanks to the efforts of local officials and legal professionals. Campbell County General Sessions Judge Bill Jones, 8th Judicial District Public Defender Leif Jeffers and District Attorney General Jared Effler, Circuit Court Clerk Bobby Vann, the Bullock Law Firm, and members of the TBA Young Lawyers Division and University of Tennessee College of Law Legal Clinic contributed their time and expertise to the event. The Campbell County Sheriff's Office provided courthouse security for the clinic. See photos from the event.

The University of Tennessee College of Law has welcomed five new faculty members and appointed three associate deans. The new faculty members specialize in various legal areas, including health care law, environmental and energy law, legal writing and academic success, criminal law and procedure, and legal research and pedagogy, according to a press release. In a separate release, the school announced that Zack Buck will serve as associate dean for faculty development, Michael Higdon will serve as associate dean for academic affairs, and Briana Rosenbaum will serve as associate dean for diversity, inclusion and community engagement. "It was a banner recruiting year for us, and we are so fortunate to have attracted these outstanding teachers and scholars to further strengthen our faculty and expand the breadth of our academic offerings and scholarly expertise,” said Dean Lonnie T. Brown Jr.