The Tennessee Supreme Court has amended Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 13, sections 2 and 3, to reflect a $10 increase in the hourly reimbursement rate for indigent representation, along with a proportionate increase in the caps on the total amount a court-appointed attorney may earn per case. The changes are effective as of July 1 and are based on the Tennessee General Assembly’s recent approval of an additional $8.6 million in recurring funding for the indigent representation program, increasing the hourly rate to $60. Read the new language. 

The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) had requested $26.145 million from the state legislature, which would have raised the hourly rate to $80. The TBA supported that request and remains committed to working with stakeholders to secure additional resources to fairly compensate lawyers who do this important work. To learn more about this issue and advocacy efforts on behalf of Tennessee lawyers, read the TBA's statement about the funding or visit the TBA’s Indigent Representation Resources webpage.

A petition to remove Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert from office was dismissed on June 18, but the effort to oust her has been revived, the Daily Memphian reports. According to the paper, the Shelby County Attorney’s Office has hired outside counsel — Robert Meyers of Glanker Brown — to continue the ouster proceedings. The previous effort, spearheaded by Hamilton County District Attorney General Coty Wamp, was unsuccessful after a court ruled that Wamp did not have legal standing to sue. Shelby County Attorney Marlinee Iverson cannot bring the case because she has recused herself from the matter. Meyers has been involved in county matters in the past, serving as former chair of the Shelby County Election Commission and producing a legal opinion on the city charter’s residency requirement for mayoral candidates.

Nashville Conflict Resolution Center CEO Shannon Wagner recently sat down with the Nashville Post to talk about her transition to the top spot at the organization. Wagner, who previously served as the center’s assistant director, took the helm in April following the retirement of Sara Figal. Wagner explains the mission of the center (offering free community mediation for a myriad of conflicts), the types of cases it accepts and her goals for increasing unrestricted giving. She also talks about her desire to see the center take more juvenile cases and expand capacity in its parenting program. Volunteer mediators need not be lawyers but must complete about 40 hours of Rule 31 training. Read more from the interview.

Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Chris Craft has removed General Sessions Criminal Court Judge Sheila Renfroe from 28 cases she is presiding over amid allegations of bias from Melody Carlisle, an assistant public defender handling the matters. The Daily Memphian reports that Craft found that Renfroe took actions that were “clearly indicative of personal animosity," but he did not permanently ban Renfroe from presiding over other cases handled by Carlisle. Renfroe oversees General Sessions Division 9, which serves as the Shelby County Mental Health Court. She reportedly has had several tense interactions with Carlisle over the past year, including threatening to arrest her. Carlisle also has alleged that Renfroe is imbalanced and a danger to the community.

A three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has put on hold a Nashville judge’s ruling that Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett and State Election Coordinator Mark Goins ran afoul of federal law by not informing thousands of individuals convicted of felonies that they may still be eligible to vote. The appeals panel said that the ruling came too late in the election cycle to go into effect this year, Tennessee Journal reports. The decision comes in a 2020 lawsuit brought by the Tennessee chapter of the NAACP, the Campaign Legal Center, Brave Hearts and Baker Donelson law firm. Nashville-based U.S. District Judge William Campbell ruled in May that the state violated federal voting law and ordered it to develop new policies and procedures for processing felony voter registrations and train election workers how to follow it. State officials then asked the appeals court to postpone the changes until after this year’s elections. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued a new warning for lawyers and law firms to be on the lookout for cybercriminals offering fake legal services to recover digital assets. Victims have reported losses totaling nearly $10 million in the last year. In one scam, a potential victim receives notification that a criminal investigation is pending against them for failure to report possession of a cryptocurrency to an anti-money laundering regulator. The consumer is then offered a settlement to avoid a criminal conviction and sent a link to pay. Experts say most victims will pay the fine and not tell anyone about it. Read more in a public service announcement from the bureau.

Nashville has seen a recent string of violent suspects who have been released from custody after doctors determined they were mentally unfit to stand trial, but not a risk to themselves or others. In several recent cases, such individuals are alleged to have committed additional violent crimes after release. Two new state laws go into effect today to try to fix the system by mandating mental health evaluations and treatment for misdemeanor offenders and requiring automatic commitment for anyone deemed mentally unfit to stand trial. The Tennessean reviews three, high-profile cases. In related news, the paper also looks at concerns that the new laws will leave more people languishing in overcrowded jails due to the state’s lack of treatment programs and staffing for psychiatric beds.

Tennessee's ELVIS Act (Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security) went into effect today, ushering in a new era of legal ramifications for those who abuse artificial intelligence (AI) in their music-making process, the Tennessean reports. The new law enacts voice protections against deepfakes and unauthorized uses of individuals’ voices and likenesses. The paper conducted a dozen interviews with lawyers, tech companies and music trade organizations to find out what experts expect to happen in the coming months. Common themes among their findings? The ELVIS Act will lead to onslaught of legal action.

A federal judge in Texas on Friday temporarily blocked a Biden administration rule that would extend mandatory overtime pay to millions of salaried workers. U.S. District Judge Sean Jordan said the rule improperly bases eligibility for overtime pay on workers' wages rather than their job duties. The decision prohibits the U.S. Department of Labor from applying the rule to state workers in Texas pending the outcome of a wider legal challenge by the state. According to Reuters, Texas is seeking to strike the rule down nationwide. In the meantime, the Nashville Business Journal looks at the impact of the new rule on the rest of the country.

Youth residing in the Hamilton County Juvenile Detention Center recently presented artwork to the juvenile court. Under the tutelage of artist Olga de Klein and her colleagues, the young people created small, colorful pieces of art on three mosaic-style canvases. Hamilton County Juvenile Court Judge Robert Philyaw, Court Clerk Gary Behler, magistrates and staff gathered in the courthouse lobby to dedicate a display of the artwork. de Klein teaches weekly art classes in the detention center – a program that began in 2014. Since then, hundreds of Hamilton County youth have had opportunities to learn how to draw, sketch and paint, write poetry, engage in photography and more during the time they are detained. Chattanoogan.com has more on the story.Hamilton County Juvenile Court Judge Robert Philyaw, Court Clerk Gary Behler, Magistrates, and staff gathered in the courthouse lobby for dedication and display of artwork made by youth in the detention center.