The owner and operator of a network of orthopedic clinics in the Memphis area has agreed to pay the state of Tennessee more than $540,000 to resolve allegations that it improperly billed TennCare for the use of compounded steroids at its practices. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced the settlement saying, “In the past few years, Tennessee has seen increasing numbers of clinics using fraudulent billing rates for compounded drugs” and that his office will continue to “hold fraudulent medical billers accountable” and “protect the financial integrity of the TennCare system.” The action was brought against Tri-State Orthopedics LLC and Dr. Apurva Dalal for allegedly using a compounded version of a drug but billing TennCare for a higher cost, commercially available version.

The state of Alabama yesterday executed Kenneth Smith with nitrogen, the first new execution method in decades, Reuters reports. The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to halt the execution. Smith had argued before the high court that a second attempt to execute him — after the state failed previously using lethal injection — violates the constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. In a separate challenge, a federal judge on Jan. 10 denied Smith’s claims that the method could induce a stroke or leave him in a permanent vegetative state. Smith was found guilty in a murder-for-hire scheme in 1988.

U.S. Attorney Kevin G. Ritz announced today that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District collected $2,959,254.54 in criminal and civil actions in Fiscal Year 2023. Of that amount, $2,846,173.69 was for criminal actions while $113,080.85 was for civil actions. Additionally, Ritz said that the district worked with other U.S. attorney’s offices to collect $70,742.42 in joint cases, and worked with partner agencies to collect $1,689,156 in asset forfeiture actions. Read the full press release.

A federal judge ruled yesterday that the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Tennessee must hand over all available information on expert witnesses to defense attorneys representing former officers charged with violating Tyre Nichols' civil rights. The Commercial Appeal reports that after lead prosecutor David Pritchard confirmed his office plans to call experts, Judge Mark Norris questioned why corresponding documents had not yet been handed over to the defense, calling the omission “troubling.” Pritchard argued that the prosecution’s disclosure of hospital records, autopsy report and FBI interviews adequately provided a preview of upcoming expert witness testimony.

The Tennessee Registry of Election Finance has asked the state attorney general’s office to investigate two Constitutional Republican groups to determine if they should register as political action committees (PACs). The registry took the action Tuesday following a complaint that the groups — Sumner County Constitutional Republicans and Tennessee Constitutional Republicans — should register. The groups deny they are PACs, saying they are private social clubs that do not provide financial support to candidates, though they have endorsed candidates. They also say the complaint lacks substance and appears to be politically motivated. Tennessee Lookout reports on the developments.

The American Bar Association (ABA) on Monday hosted “The Impact of Deepfakes on the Justice System,” a program covering topics such as deepfake regulation, authentication and the potential burden to the justice system. The program featured law and research professors from Duke University and the University of California Berkley, as well as U.S. District Judge Paul Grimm of the District of Maryland. The group discussed the limits of tools such as watermarking and Rule 901 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure regarding authenticating evidence. Read more about the discussion.

The American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates will meet at the ABA's upcoming 2024 Midyear Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, on Feb. 5. The House has 31 resolutions on the agenda, including a measure requiring ABA-approved law schools to have broad free speech policies. The House encompasses 597 delegates from ABA-affiliated entities as well as state, local and specialty bar associations. Read more about issues to be debated.

The Marshall County Sheriff’s Office and two of its top employees have been ordered to pay $485,000 to a family after a jury found that the office unlawfully seized nearly 50 beef cattle from their Chapel Hill farm. The sheriff's office took the action after the couple was accused of animal cruelty, reports the Tennessean. The jury also found the office unlawfully forced a family member to escort the officers to the farm. According to documents filed in the lawsuit, the sheriff’s office routinely did not obtain warrants for accusations of animal cruelty for at least five years before the lawsuit. In some cases, the office sold the cattle for a profit according to a deposition by the county sheriff. The couple recently located to another county.

Robert Conrad Jr. will take over as director of the U.S. Administrative Office of the Courts as of March 1, Bloomberg Law reports. Conrad will replace Roslynn R. Mauskopf, who is stepping down at the end of this month. Lee Ann Bennett, the office’s deputy director, will lead the agency in an acting capacity for the month of February. Conrad has spent nearly two decades on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, including seven years as chief judge. He took senior status this past May. The office oversees administrative business affecting the federal court system, including drafting the judiciary’s budget requests to Congress. Read more in a press release from the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Tennessee Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges is opposing sunsetting of the Board of Court Reporting and elimination of the licensure requirements for court reporters in the state. In a statement, the council writes that, “properly trained and licensed court reporters” are necessary for certain juvenile court proceedings, including termination of parental rights. Because of the high stakes involved in these cases, the council says it is vital that transcripts accurately reflect what happens. Without licensed court reporters, the group says it is concerned that the “legitimacy and authenticity of the transcript may be challenged” — potentially leading an appellate court to vacate or reverse a juvenile court decision with “catastrophic consequences for the child and prospective adoptive family.” Public comments on possible sunsetting of the court reporting board were accepted through Jan. 19.