Francis M. Hamilton III, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee, announced that his office collected $12,352,268 in fiscal year 2023. Of that amount, $3,130,283 was collected in criminal actions and $9,221,985 was collected in civil actions. Additionally, the office, working with partner agencies, collected $1,610,245 in asset forfeiture actions, including $11,345 for victim compensation. Forfeited assets deposited into the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund are used to restore funds to crime victims and other law enforcement purposes. Read more in a press release.

Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti this week joined a 23-state coalition protesting the Biden administration and the Department of Energy’s temporary “pause” on the export of liquified natural gas (LNG). “The Administration’s LNG export pause is illegal and will hurt America’s national security,” Skrmetti said in a statement. The attorneys general also warned that the Department of Energy lacks authority to issue blanket denials for export permits without an act of Congress. The United States is the world’s largest producer of LNG, according to the group. Read the full letter.

The Smith County Board of Education and Board of Commissioners recently reached a settlement in a lawsuit that was filed last November. The suit alleged that the county violated the Open Meetings Act by not giving proper public notice of meetings and that certain commission members met and/or deliberated privately regarding county finances, reports the Smith County Insider. In a joint statement, the two parties said, "Throughout the process, it has been the Board of Education’s goal to be in a position to continue to provide outstanding educational opportunities to Smith County students. Likewise, the county commissioners sought to find a solution that allows county services to be delivered in a manner that creates the least burden on the taxpayer. The resolution of the issues provides a mechanism for both public bodies to 'have a seat at the table,' for the implementation of policies and procedures, and to move forward."

A Georgia woman, Bianca Clayborne, has filed a lawsuit alleging her constitutional rights and those of her children were violated by Tennessee law enforcement officers and state social workers following a misdemeanor traffic stop last February. The lawsuit names four Tennessee Highway Patrol officers involved in the traffic stop, three Department of Children’s Services (DCS) caseworkers who obtained a court order to take the children, 10 Coffee County Sheriff Department officers who detained the family at the county’s jail and Coffee County, which is responsible its officers’ supervision and training, reports the Tennessee Lookout. The traffic stop for “dark tint and not actively passing” on Interstate-24 culminated in the arrest of Clayborne's partner, Deonte Williams, and all five children being placed in foster care for 55 days. In a search of the car, troopers found fewer than five grams of marijuana — a misdemeanor offense which typically receives a citation, according to the news source.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has declared that calls made with AI-generated voices are illegal. The decision comes after a fake robocall imitating President Joe Biden sought to dissuade people from voting for him in New Hampshire's Democratic primary election. Reuters reports that the FCC noted that state attorneys general previously could target the outcome of an unwanted AI-voice-generated robocall, but the new action makes the act of using AI to generate a voice in these robocalls itself illegal. On Tuesday, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti joined 50 other bipartisan attorneys general on the nationwide Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force in sending a warning letter to Life Corporation (Life Corp), the company allegedly behind the New Hampshire robocalls. “Using AI to spam voters’ phones with robocalls and inaccurate election information is illegal and fundamentally anti-American. Not to mention, it’s creepy,” Skrmetti said in a statement.

Jonathan Cole, a shareholder in the Nashville office of Baker Donelson, has been nominated by the American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates as chair-elect of the 597-member policymaking body for a two-year term that begins after the Annual Meeting this August. The position is the second ranking officer in the ABA and serves as its chief policy officer. Cole has served as chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Bar Activities and Services and the ABA Young Lawyers Division, and he is past president of the National Conference of Bar Presidents and the Nashville Bar Association. The HOD's 69-member nominating committee endorsed Cole over William D. Johnston of Delaware in a contested election during the ABA Midyear Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky. See a photo from the meeting. In other leadership news, Wisconsin lawyer Michelle Behnke was nominated as the ABA's president for 2025-2026. The HOD will formally vote on her election at the August meeting.

A federal grand jury in Memphis returned a superseding indictment yesterday bringing new charges against three alleged members of the Unknown Vice Lords (UVL) — Ghost Mob, a criminal street gang, for causing the death of an individual through the use of a firearm during a crime of violence. According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Tennessee, the charges are the first to be brought as part of the Memphis Violent Crime Initiative. As part of the initiative, the U.S. Justice Department's Criminal Division has dedicated attorneys and other resources to prosecuting violent offenders and assisting intervention, prevention and reentry efforts to address the root causes of violent crime.

The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee is accepting comments regarding the reappointment of two incumbent magistrate judges: U.S. Magistrate Judge Alistair Newbern and U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffery S. Frensley. Newbern’s term will expire on Aug. 31, while Frensley’s term will expire on Oct. 9. Comments from the public and the legal community are encouraged and should be submitted by March 31 by email to MJComments@tnmd.uscourts.gov. Read more in a release from the court.

Following a federal judge’s ruling yesterday denying the state’s request for a temporary restraining order against NCAA rules regarding name, image and likeness (NIL) benefits for student athletes, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti released the following statement: “In today’s opinion, a federal judge said Tennessee and Virginia are likely to prevail in their antitrust suit against the NCAA. Although the court declined to issue a temporary restraining order, the judge reasoned the NCAA can be held monetarily liable for any harms, thus negating the need for a TRO.” He continues, “Tennessee remains committed to protecting the rights of our student-athletes. We look forward to litigating this case and enforcing the law.” Tennessee and Virginia filed suit against the NCAA in January alleging the NIL rules violate federal antitrust laws.

Those interested in running for an elected office with the Tennessee Bar Association or as a TBA delegate to the American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates have until Feb. 15 to qualify for the 2024 ballot. Positions open this year on the TBA Board of Governors include a new vice president from the state's West Grand Division, four district governors and six grand division governors. For the ABA House of Delegates, four positions are available. To qualify for any of these roles, candidates must file a nominating petition, including the signatures of 25 TBA members in good standing, with the TBA executive director by emailing barED@tnbar.org, or by mail to 3310 West End Ave., Ste. 590, Nashville, TN 37203. The TBA’s website has more information on the election process and the list of available positions.