A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has allowed President Joe Biden to move forward with implementing a key part of a new student debt relief plan designed to lower monthly payments for millions of Americans, Reuters reports. The move puts on hold an injunction issued by a judge in Kansas last week. That judge had concluded that the Higher Education Act of 1965 did not clearly authorize the type of "unprecedented and dramatic expansion" of income-based repayment plans envisioned. The Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan provides more generous terms than past income-based repayment plans, lowering monthly payments for eligible borrowers and allowing those whose original principal balances were $12,000 or less to have their debt forgiven after 10 years.

A collaborative, path-breaking effort between the University of Tennessee College of Law and the College of Arts & Sciences aims to serve residents in Appalachia and the Mountain South by addressing community justice issues in the region. The center will bring together university resources, faculty, students and community members to help solve urgent and historically under-addressed issues in the region. The center is co-directed by College of Law Professor Wendy A. Bach and College of Arts & Sciences Department of Sociology Professor Michelle Brown. Read more in a press release from the school.

Pauline Weaver will receive the Pickering Award of Achievement on Aug. 3 at the ABA 2024 Annual Meeting in Chicago. Originally from England, Weaver came to the U.S. at the age of 11. She earned her bachelor’s and law degree (1979) from the University of Memphis. After passing the state bar of California in 1980, Weaver became a public defender for Alameda County and worked there until 2011. She was one of the first women in Alameda County to try a death penalty case. She has been active with the ABA, serving on its board of governors and as secretary. She has been involved with more than 100 boards and served as literacy volunteer and mentor for recent parolees. In 2014, she successfully nominated former federal judge Bernice Donald for the Pickering Award.

A teen resident of Youth Villages, who died last year after an altercation with staff, likely died of complications of a restraint used against her with a contributing factor of bronchial asthma, an autopsy report indicates. But the review could not say with certainty what happened to 17-year old Alegend Jones due to unclear video footage of the incident. The center says the autopsy clears staff of wrongdoing, the Daily Memphian reports. The report also states that if further information is made available, the report could be updated.

The Knoxville Bar Association (KBA) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award recognizes a legal organization that best demonstrates outstanding leadership to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in furtherance of the KBA Strategic Inclusion Plan. Nominations must be submitted online through the KBA website by 5 p.m. on July 31. Learn more here.

The U.S. Department of Justice’s lawsuit seeking to break up entertainment industry giant Live Nation and its Ticketmaster unit could go to trial in early 2026. At the first hearing in the antitrust lawsuit, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian called the timeline "appropriate" given the scope of the case, but did not set a firm date. Live Nation said it would push to transfer the case to Washington, D.C., where a judge weighed and approved a consent decree in 2010 letting the merger take effect, Reuters reports. The state of Tennessee joined the suit in May.

The Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference is reserving an official opinion about the Republican-led push to oust Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy, the Daily Memphian reports. The group says it will wait until state Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Memphis, who has spearheaded the move, files an official resolution. “At this point, it is impossible to know what specific issues or allegations may be alleged in Sen. Taylor’s proposed resolution until it is made known. Until such a resolution is filed and the conference has an opportunity to read, review and analyze the same, we reserve comment,” Conference President Bryant Dunaway told the paper. One individual district attorney, Frederick Agee in the 28th Judicial District, has spoken out against the effort, criticizing those who would distract Mulroy from his official duties.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is threatening to sue the state of Tennessee over letters sent to 14,000 registered voters this month questioning their citizenship. In a letter sent to state officials, the group alleges violations of federal voter registration laws, including sending the letters too close to the Aug. 1 election, singling out likely new citizens, and likely engaging in voter intimidation. Several local and federal organizations that support voting rights and immigration, including the League of Women Voters, Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition and the Equity Alliance, joined the ACLU in sending the letter, which demands the state stop any effort to remove registered voters ahead of the August election, the Nashville Banner reports. Read more in a press release from the groups.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has sent a letter to three of the nation’s leading credit card financial institutions warning them of the need to comply with the “Tennessee Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act,” by July 1. The letter, sent to American Express, Mastercard and Visa, asks them to outline how they will comply with the law, which prohibits the use of merchant category codes to target firearms dealers. In other action this week, Skrmetti and Secretary of State Tre Hargett urged Tennesseans to remain vigilant against the rising threat of celebrity scams, whereby the name or likeness of a celebrity is used to scam consumers.

Celeste Murphy, the former police chief of the Chattanooga Police Department faces felony and misdemeanor criminal charges following an investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), Chattanoogan.com reports. The arrest comes one day after Murphy stepped down from her role. TBI agents began investigating Murphy’s residency in April. This week, the Hamilton County Grand Jury returned a 17-count indictment, charging her with one count of illegal voter registration, one count of false entries on official registration or election documents, three counts of false entries in governmental records, three counts of forgery, three counts of perjury, and six counts of official misconduct. She was released on a $19,000 bond after booking.