Public health clinics in Tennessee will no longer give teens access to certain health care — including birth control, sexually transmitted infection treatment and pregnancy testing — without parental consent, according to the Department of Health. The department's interpretation of the Family Rights and Responsibilities Act, which went into effect July 1, is changing the way doctors and nurses interact with teenage patients seeking care at public health clinics, Tennessee Lookout reports. Before the law took effect, teens 14 and older could access contraceptives, HIV and pregnancy tests, and a range of primary health care from public health clinics without parental consent. Now, the department is requiring that a parent be present or give verbal consent over the phone. The department also is interpreting the law to require that all health care providers obtain parental consent before offering counseling or psychological services, but it remains unclear how the state intends to apply this provision of the law to the spectrum of mental health professionals.

Dallas-based AT&T is facing a class action lawsuit after the company announced that the data of “nearly all” of its customers was downloaded to a third-party platform in a security breach. It was the company’s second data breach reported this year, WFAA in Dallas reports. The suit, filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, alleges that AT&T “has not been transparent about the nature and extent of data security lapses impacting its customers,” failed to adequately protect customers’ data from third parties, and earned “unjust enrichment” from customers after failing to protect their information.

The Tennessee Trial Court Vacancy Commission met in Charlotte recently to consider nominees for a circuit court judge in the 23rd Judicial District, which includes Cheatham, Dickson, Houston, Humphreys and Stewart counties. After holding a public hearing and interviews, the commission selected the following three nominees to forward to Gov. Bill Lee for his consideration: Ashland City lawyer Jack Arnold, an assistant district attorney; Ashland City lawyer Jennifer F. Noe, a partner in the law firm of Balthrop, Perry and Noe; and Charlotte lawyer Joshua Turnbow, an assistant district attorney. Read more about each of the candidates from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

The American Bar Association (ABA) Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, which began its work in April, is mobilizing the nation’s lawyers and others to combat the growing trend of antisemitism, the group said in a release today. The task force plans to issue a report in August 2025 “describing the extent and immediacy of the issue and efforts undertaken by the profession to address and ameliorate instances of antisemitism and provide a path of redress,” said Nashville lawyer Barbara Mendel Mayden, co-chair of the task force. Toward that end, the task force has established working groups in the areas of K-12 education, civic and higher education, outreach to law firms, outreach to stakeholders, programming for judges and bar associations, and developing legislation and public policy.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the constitutionality of Tennessee’s “Adult Entertainment Act,” which prohibits the exhibition of obscene material to minors, reports the Associated Press. The law was challenged last summer by Memphis-based theater group Friends of George’s and the district court halted enforcement of it in Shelby County. The appeals court reversed that decision, saying, “there is no constitutional interest in exhibiting indecent material to minors.” Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti applauded the court’s decision in a statement. Read the opinion.

Tennessee elections officials now say that any registered voter who received a letter asking them to prove their citizenship to stay on the voting rolls will not be removed even if they do not respond to the request. The Associated Press reports that the state clarified its position in a follow-up letter to all those did not respond to the first correspondence, which was sent to more than 14,000 registered voters. According to state election officials, nearly 3,200 of those have provided proof of citizenship, while more than 300 requested to be removed from the rolls. The ACLU informed the state late last month of plans to sue if the state did not change its plans. In related news, the Nashville Banner reports in its newsletter that the Secretary of State’s office has retained a private law firm to assist with the matter. In responding to the ACLU, the firm says the original letter was an “attempt to fulfill … obligations under Tennessee law, to avoid burdening voters and to ensure a fair and efficient election.”

Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy and County Mayor Lee Harris has announced that judicial commissioners will now be able to view a defendant’s detailed criminal history before setting initial bail. This is a change from current practice, under which commissioners receive limited general information from the county government’s pretrial services office. Mulroy said although commissioners may call for more detailed information, not all do and it is harder to keep track of information shared over the phone. He said the change is being made to try to avoid cases in which a person is let out on bail and then reoffends, “sometimes even violently.” The new process will be implemented for all violent offenses, the Daily Memphian reports.

An injunction barring the Biden administration's expansion of Title IX to transgender students will remain in effect after a three-judge panel of the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals denied the U.S. Department of Education’s appeal according to the Tennessean. Tennessee joined a group of six states to sue the administration and a federal judge in Kentucky imposed the injunction. The Nashville Banner reports that Judge Andre Mathis of Memphis dissented.

The American Bar Association (ABA) 2024 Annual Meeting in Chicago will feature the group’s first-ever Democracy Summit on Aug. 2. The program will be led by former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson and former federal Judge J. Michael Luttig, co-chairs of the ABA Task Force for American Democracy. The task force will present its findings on the state of U.S. democracy as well as concrete steps for those in the legal profession to defend the rule of law in their local areas. Other elements of the meeting, which will run from July 31 through Aug. 6, include remarks by U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, the second ranking official at the U.S. Department of Justice, awards presentations and programs on a range of legal topics. Get details in this release.

As of July 1, youth aged 15 and older in Tennessee may be tried in adult court for two nonviolent offenses: shoplifting of items valued over $1,000 with the intent to sell or fraudulently return the merchandise, or for stealing a firearm or attempting to do so. In the past, judges could decide to try a young person in adult court for violent or otherwise extreme offenses, the Nashville Banner reports. Davidson County Juvenile Court Judge Sheila Calloway is questioning whether the law is necessary. “Organized retail crime was not on our radar as an issue for the youth that we serve.” The bill’s lead sponsor Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Memphis, says he backed the legislation because “smash and grabs in Memphis have reached a crisis point.”