In an ongoing effort to halt construction of the new Memphis Art Museum, Friends for Our Riverfront and heirs of Memphis’ founders have filed an appeal seeking to reverse a June ruling by Chancellor Melanie Taylor Jefferson. The appeal claims that Taylor Jefferson did not distinguish between a temporary injunction and a temporary restraining order in the group's efforts to stop construction. The Daily Memphian reports that the chancellor denied the plaintiffs’ request for a temporary injunction sought nine months earlier because they did not post a $1 million bond for the restraining order. Attorneys for the plaintiffs say that a different bond for a longer period of time with the restraining order should have been at least argued by all sides before the court ruled.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently extended its suspension of 97-year-old Judge Pauline Newman for another year. The court’s judicial council suspended Newman in 2023 saying she refused to cooperate with an investigation into her fitness after staff raised concerns about her mental health. The members of the council now say that Newman did not convince them that the suspension should be lifted given the “voluminous record” showing “serious concerns” about her cognitive state. Newman’s lawyer vowed to continuing fighting the suspension, Reuters reports.

A decision issued last week from the Tennessee Supreme Court Special Workers’ Compensation Panel found two significant provisions of The Reform Act to be constitutional. Though the case — Worrell v. Obion County School District — was not the first to challenge the law, the decision was the most substantive appellate opinion on the subject to date, the Tennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims writes in a blog post. The court details the specific provisions of the act that were challenged and upheld. It also notes that full Supreme Court declined to hear the case, so the panel decision is final. 

A 9th U.S. Circuit panel has ruled that seven states lack legal standing to impose restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone, such as bans on telemedicine prescriptions and mail dispensing. The court found that these states could not demonstrate harm from the Federal Drug Administration's removal of the in-person dispensing requirement. The decision follows a similar ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, which upheld access to mifepristone after a challenge was filed by a group of anti-abortion doctors. Reuters reports several states also are pursuing related claims in a Texas federal court to reinstate restrictions on the drug.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has asked the U.S. Supreme Court for an emergency action to restore parts of a new Title IX rule in states where the regulations have been blocked. According to The Hill, U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar asked the court to limit the injunctions to only the gender identity discrimination provision, arguing that other elements of the rule — such as enhanced protections for pregnant and parenting students and updated procedures for sexual harassment and assault claims — should be allowed to take effect. In April, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti joined a multi-state lawsuit against the Department of Education, which challenged the new updates. That suit led to an injunction on implementation of the rule, which recently was upheld by a three-judge panel of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Nashville lawyer Ashley L. Upkins recently was elected president-elect of the National Bar Association (NBA) at the group’s annual meeting in Las Vegas. She will take over as president in 2025 and will be the first Tennessee woman to serve in the role. During her year as president-elect, Upkins will help plan the organization’s landmark 100th Annual Convention in Chicago next year, where she will be sworn in as president. Upkins has been an active NBA member since her days as a member of the inaugural Belmont University College of Law class and has held several leadership positions. She currently leads litigation at Silicon Ranch, an independent power producer. Founded in 1925, the NBA is the nation’s oldest and largest association of Black lawyers, judges, law professors and law students. Read more in a release from the group.

District Attorney General Robert Nash has asked the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) to examine the Millersville Police Department's child predator sting amid questions about whether the lead detective in the case committed perjury. The sting, conducted with the aid of the nonprofit Veterans for Child Rescue, led to one arrest. Discrepancies have now emerged regarding the nonprofit's involvement. Detective Todd Dorris claims that the nonprofit only provided advice, but recordings from a former member of the group suggest they were actively involved in the operation, including posing as a minor during the sting. News Channel 5 Nashville has more on the story.

TBA’s Young Lawyers Division and Law Student Development Coordinator Laura Labenberg has been selected to serve on two committees for the National High School Mock Trial Championship. Labenberg, who among other responsibilities, coordinates the state high school mock trial competition, will sit on the Site Selection and Grants committees. The national mock trial competition is held each May in locations across the country. Tennessee’s first place team goes on to compete at the competition each year. Labenberg joined the TBA in 2022 after serving as professor of rhetoric at Hofstra University and executive director of an educational nonprofit in New York. She holds a doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies from Hofstra.

Members of Tennessee's Registry of Election Finance have criticized Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, accusing him of “an abdication of responsibility” for his handling of a campaign finance investigation it referred to his office. There were previous complaints about the time it took the attorney general’s office to conduct the investigation into the Tennessee Constitutional Republicans and the Sumner County Constitutional Republicans. Registry members have now voted to subpoena involved parties and conduct their own investigation. At a recent meeting, they also questioned a $13 million increase in the attorney general's budget in light of what they perceive to be neglect in campaign finance oversight. The Tennessean reports on the developments.

Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration officials say nearly all of the state’s “citizen-facing” systems are up and running following last weekend’s wide ranging shut down caused by a defective software update to Microsoft's Windows operating system. The interruption impacted governments and private companies across the country that use cybersecurity company CloudStrike. A spokesperson says 99% of Tennessee systems are back online and that the occasional “blue screens of death” have ended, Tennessee Journal reports. The Tennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims also reported it was affected.