Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has filed an appeal with the Tennessee Court of Appeals to challenge a special three-judge panel’s decision that found a state-constituted airport board for the Nashville Airport Authority to be unconstitutional. In November 2023, the state indicated its intention to challenge the ruling and ask the appeals court to reverse it. The special panel ruled in October 2023 that state legislators violated the home rule concept by targeting Nashville and immediately reinstated the Metro board. That board has been meeting while the issue remains in litigation. The Nashville Business Journal reports that the state argues that the law does not illegally single-out Nashville and that because the airport authority is a separate legal entity, Metro does not have standing to sue.

A federal judge in Louisiana has dismissed a lawsuit by 19 Republican-led states challenging a 2022 rule adopted by the Biden administration dealing with asylum claims and deportations at the southern border. U.S. District Judge David Joseph said that while policies adopted by the administration have led to a "dramatic increase in illegal aliens entering the United States through the southern border," the states challenging the rule lacked standing. He went on say that while the states may be able to show they have been harmed by the administration’s overall immigration policies, they could not prove they were economically harmed by this one specific rule. Reuters has more on the decision.

Submissions for the TBA's Fourth Estate Award: Honoring Courageous Reporting on Justice and the Law are due next week on Thursday. This year's prize, honoring reporting in 2023, includes a $250 honorarium for the winner. The TBA strongly supports freedom of expression under the First Amendment, as exercised by lawyers on behalf of their clients and by journalists on behalf of the public, and particularly wants to recognize and encourage journalists who promote public understanding of the rule of law and our system of justice through vigorous exercise of their First Amendment rights. The deadline for entry is April 25. Attorneys who have relationships with reporters or observed a particularly compelling piece of journalism in 2023 are encouraged to submit a nomination. Read about past recipients here and read the TBA's full press release.

The TBA has released a statement on the General Assembly’s recent approval of additional funding to increase the hourly rate for court-appointed attorneys representing the indigent. The funding, included in the budget for Fiscal Year 2024-2025, will raise the reimbursement rate by $10 an hour to $60 an hour, as well as the corresponding caps. TBA President Jim Barry thanked the General Assembly for making indigent representation funding a priority, as well as Chief Justice Holly Kirby, the Tennessee Supreme Court and the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) for their leadership and partnership in helping spotlight this critical issue. The TBA had supported the AOC's budget request of $26.145 million, which would have raised the hourly rate to $80. It remains committed to working with stakeholders to secure additional resources to fairly compensate lawyers who do this important work. Read the TBA’s full statement. To learn more about this issue and advocacy efforts on behalf of Tennessee lawyers, visit the TBA’s Indigent Representation Resources webpage. In related news, a story in yesterday’s TBA Today incorrectly stated that the hourly is rate is set by statute. In fact, it is set by the Tennessee Supreme Court through Rule 13. Any proposed rate increase then must be funded by the General Assembly.

Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner has announced that his office would hand over management of the Youth Justice and Education Center to the Shelby County Juvenile Court by the end of 2024. In an email to the Shelby County Commission, Bonner cited the need to focus deputies at adult facilities, including the jail at 201 Poplar Ave., as his office deals with understaffing, reports the Daily Memphian. The sheriff's office voluntarily took on management of the youth center in 2014 at the request of then-Shelby County Juvenile Court Judge Dan Michael. The facility was under the oversight of the U.S. Department of Justice. Juvenile Judge Tarik Sugarmon agreed with Bonner that it makes sense to bring the operation of the center back under the control of the juvenile court, but expressed concern that the timeline doesn’t provide enough time to set up an appropriate management plan. Sugarmon told Action News 5 that he sees the transition as an opportunity to improve the care of young people in the justice system.

The Tennessee House and Senate both passed the budget for Fiscal Years 2024 and 2025 today. HB2973/SB2942 includes $8.6 million in additional recurring funding to increase the hourly rate for court-appointed attorneys representing the indigent. The funding, which was added by the House and Senate Finance committees earlier this week, will raise the rate by $10 an hour to $60 an hour. The appropriation will mark the first time the rate has been increased since 1997. The TBA remains committed to working with stakeholders to secure additional resources to fairly compensate lawyers who do this important work.

Davidson County Chancellor I’Ashea Myles has asked for more information on copyright law before ruling on whether the Covenant School shooter's writings can be made public. Covenant parents have gained legal ownership of the writings from the shooter’s parents and now hold the copyright. None of the attorneys on the case claim to be copyright experts. Myles said she will write an order outlining specific questions she wants them to address. Only after that will she rule on when, if ever, the writings can be released to the public. The Associated Press has the story.

In an interview on Tuesday, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights Director Melanie Fontes Rainer said the agency will "continue to support health care and privacy rights" for Tennesseans who might be affected by HB1895/SB1971. The proposed legislation targets an adult who "recruits, harbors or transports" a pregnant minor for the purposes of receiving an abortion, defined by Tennessee's abortion ban, or for getting abortion medication. The Tennessean reports that while HIPAA-covered entities like health care providers are allowed to share records with law enforcement if asked, they are not required to do so. Rainer said her agency is working to close that permissive gap, with a proposed rule banning HIPAA entities from sharing personal health care records with law enforcement.

The Tennessee Trial Court Vacancy Commission will meet on May 21 in Gallatin to consider nine applicants for a circuit court judge vacancy in the 18th Judicial District, which serves Sumner County. The new judicial position was created by the Tennessee General Assembly in March and will take effect Sept. 1. The applicants are Sumner County attorneys Michael Begley, Thomas B. Dean, Keith C. Dennen, Matthew Grosland, Eric Mauldin, Jennifer S. Nichols, Kathryn Strong, William J. Whalen Sr. and Tara A. Wylie. The public hearing will take place at Volunteer State Community College, 1480 Nashville Pk., Gallatin 37066, beginning at 9 a.m. CDT. The commission is expected to vote immediately following the interviews and forward three names to Gov. Bill Lee for his consideration. Read more in a press release from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has joined a 23-state coalition opposing Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations that require it to consider “disparate impacts” to forward race-conscious “environmental justice” initiatives. The group argues that the regulations are illegal and distract the EPA from its core mission of lawfully enforcing the nation’s environmental laws. Read more about the issue.