Retired Henry County General Sessions and Juvenile Court Judge Vicki S. Snyder is the 2026 recipient of the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth's (TCCY) Jim Pryor Award for Child Advocacy. “I’m humbled and honored by the award,” Snyder said. “A child should be safe, and every child deserves to be somebody’s someone and not be alone. It is in my heart. It’s my purpose.” During her tenure on the bench, Snyder helped develop the county's Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program and was one of the first juvenile court judges in Tennessee to establish a Safe Baby Court. TCCY awarded the first advocacy award posthumously to Pryor in 1995. Pryor, who died in 1994, was an attorney, a former assistant district attorney, a member of the state Child Sexual Abuse Task Force, and a member of the Northeast Regional Council on Children and Youth. Read more in a press release from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

New filing rules are in effect for the Tennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims. Attorneys now must file documents through TNComp, the court's new electronic filing system. Clerk of the Court Penny Shrum has written a blog post on "From the Bench" with answers to frequently asked questions about the new system, including formatting requirements and what to do if a BPR number is not recognized in the system. On April 1, the clerk’s office will begin returning documents that have not been properly filed electronically.

Rhodes College in Memphis is hosting the 2026 American Mock Trial Association (AMTA) qualifying tournament this weekend and still needs volunteers to serve as judges for the 4 p.m. CDT round on Friday. Other rounds will take place on Saturday and Sunday. The AMTA Opening Round Championship Series is the last stop before the national championship. The top six teams from this weekend’s event will advance to nationals. Sign up to help or contact Rhodes Mock Trial Coach Veda Krumpe at krumpev@rhodes.edu with any questions.

Vanderbilt University Law School has received a $10 million commitment to fund, among other priorities, its First Amendment Clinic, the Nashville Post reports. The gift will also go toward the law school’s “Respectfully Dissent” debate series, merit- and need-based scholarship aid, child-care funding for student-parents, services for student-veterans and an ongoing building renovation. According to a release from the law school, Vanderbilt law graduates Clay Travis (2004) and Lara Travis (2023) provided the gift. Travis is the founder of Outkick, a college football news site, and is known nationally for his writing and media commentary related to sports and politics. He has undertaken work with both Fox Sports and CBS Sports. “Lara and Clay have given the law school a powerful opportunity to deliver on our educational promise in several important ways,” said Dean Chris Guthrie. “I am beyond grateful for their generosity, vision and commitment to the Law School.”

Three plaintiffs who live in Tennessee have filed a class action lawsuit in the Northern District of California against Elon Musk’s xAI. The three minors allege that a perpetrator — who has already been arrested — used Grok, the AI assistant on X, to create fake sexually explicit images and videos based on their photographs and then distributed the images online. The suit argues that Musk and xAI designed “Spicy Mode” to assume “good intent” in users who referenced “teenage” or “girl” in their prompts. According to the Center for Countering Digital Hate, during an 11-day period between December 2025 and January 2026, Grok created three million sex-related images, including approximately 23,000 of children. The Nashville Banner has more on the case in a recent newsletter.

If you are a Tennessee-licensed attorney running for office this year, please let TBA know so we can share your news. While higher profile races get news coverage that we cover, many races will not make it into press reports. TBA Today wants to highlight lawyers making a difference in their communities through public service. To get your race covered, send an announcement of your candidacy and a head shot to tbatoday@tnbar.org. And if you are a candidate this cycle, TBA has resources to help you run an ethical campaign. Check out sessions from The Ethical Campaign CLE now available on demand as a 1-Click package or as individual programs.

The Tennessee Attorney General’s (AG) Office is warning consumers about scam websites posing as legitimate classic car and heavy equipment dealerships. These scams often involve sophisticated websites advertising vehicles or heavy machinery at extremely low prices. Fraudsters may go to great lengths to appear legitimate — answering phone calls, sending videos and even providing fake business licenses. But consumers who send money will ultimately lose it because the vehicles or equipment do not exist. In a news release, AG Jonathan Skrmetti says consumers should be cautious when shopping online and recommends inspecting items in person and taking precautions to verify the seller’s legitimacy before purchasing anything.

A divided Rutherford County Library System Board voted to move 132 books to adult sections in an effort members said is meant to protect children from gender confusion and violence. The move comes after a review of nearly 3,000 titles. The board defended its decision saying parents still can allow their children to have access to the books. Prior to the meeting, the national Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) in Philadelphia wrote to members opposing any book bans. "Neither state nor federal law requires such removal, and removing books based on disagreement with their message would violate the First Amendment," the letter from FIRE said. The Tennessean has more on the story.

President Donald Trump will be in Memphis on Monday to "highlight the incredible achievements of the Memphis Safe Task Force," according to a White House spokesperson. The Commercial Appeal reports that the visit comes about six months after the task force began working in Memphis. Last November, U.S. Attorney Pam Bondi, U.S. Marshals Service Director Gadyaces Serralta, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner, Gov. Bill Lee and U.S. Sens. Bill Hagerty and Marsha Blackburn were in the city to tout the work of the task force, which is made up of Tennessee National Guard and a dozen federal agencies.

The Judicial Ethics Committee released an ethics opinion on March 6 in response to a request for guidance on whether a part-time judge or a pro tempore part-time judge may function as a legal analyst providing “gavel to gavel” coverage of pending cases for a local television news station. The committee found that such a role would not be allowed under the Rules of Judicial Conduct. In the opinion, the committee cites Rule 2.10, which allows a judge to make public statements in the course of official duties, such as explaining court procedures, but prohibits “any public statement that might reasonably be expected to affect the outcome or impair the fairness of a matter pending or impending in any court … .” The committee concludes that allowing a judge to comment on how a case should proceed, is handled or was resolved “allows both the public and the judiciary to question our judicial system and could reasonably affect the outcome or impair the fairness of a pending or impending matter.” Read the full opinion.