TBA President Jim Barry announced during his installation at the June convention that the next installment of the TBA’s book club would be “Beale Street Dynasty: Sex, Song, and the Struggle for the Soul of Memphis.” Those who have not started reading the book should do so over the holidays! More information will be coming soon about a discussion session in January. Written by Preston Lauterbach, “Beale Street Dynasty” is set between Reconstruction and Prohibition and focuses on the rise and fall of Beale Street. It is told through the life of the south’s first Black millionaire, an ex-slave who built an underworld dynasty in the booming river town and created a space for Black culture to flourish. Get started reading or check out this book review that Knoxville lawyer Nick McCall wrote for the Tennessee Bar Journal in October 2016.

More than 450 guests came to support the work of the Tennessee Innocence Project (TIP) at its recent 5 Years of Fighting for Freedom event in Nashville. The event raised more than $300,000 and concluded with the Schooner Foundation renewing its commitment of $1 million over the next five years. TIP also honored their five exonerees — Wayne Burgess, Joyce Watkins, Charlie Dunn, Claude Garrett and Paul Shane Garrett — and presented it’s Rule of Law Award to Stephanie Ditenhafer, Julia Pettengill, Vin Ryan and the Schooner Foundation. The award recognizes those who courageously work to uphold the Rule of Law in its most fundamental sense, the organization said in a news release. See photos from the event.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee recently unveiled portraits of Noah Parden and Styles Hutchins during a ceremony at the federal building in Chattanooga. The pair had represented Ed Johnson before the U.S. Supreme Court and obtained a stay of execution for him before he was killed by a lynch mob. Senior Judge Curtis Collier spoke at the unveiling, saying their “courageous defense of Johnson – at great personal cost – merits the public’s honor.” Read more from the Hamilton County Herald.

Three Middle Tennessee food truck owners are suing Mount Juliet over fees they say are unfair and unconstitutional. In a news release from the Beacon Center of Tennessee, which filed the suit on behalf of the food truck owners, the plaintiffs say that out-of-city food truck face a $100 a day permit cost, while Mount Juliet-based food truck pay just $100 a year for the same permit. “This double standard needs to end and if we are victorious, every food truck operator in the state will be treated equally under the law" Beacon Director of Legal Affairs Wen Fa said. See the full lawsuit.

First responders will soon receive some assistance when helping find missing people after the launch of the Knoxville Police Department's Take Me Home Program. The new program allows individuals to enroll family members with cognitive and developmental disabilities in a registry that first responders can use when people go missing or are found wandering alone. The registry will include each person's emergency contact information, physical description and a photo. All information is confidential and can only be accessed by first responders and public safety personnel, Knox News reports.

The Southeast Tennessee Lawyers’ Association for Women (SETLAW) has recognized Hamilton County Chancellor Pamela Fleenor as its 2023 “Lioness of the Bar.” Fleenor was honored for her adherence to the rules, well-researched opinions and impressive record at the Court of Appeals, according to the Hamilton County Herald. Fleenor earned her law degree at the University of Cincinnati College of Law. She began practicing in 1986 as a litigator, working most recently at Duncan, Hatcher, Hixson & Fleenor. She was elected to serve as chancellor in 2014.

The Nashville Airport Authority has selected Adams and Reese LLP to represent it on upcoming issues, the Nashville Business Journal reports. On a split vote, the board chose Adams and Reese over Neal & Harwell, then voted unanimously to pay a maximum $25,000 retainer to the firm for an initial three-month contract. The board remains in some division over the seating of board members Jimmy Granbery and Bobby Joslin. Both were on the board in the past, but were appointed to seats on a new board by state officials after the passage of a law last year that took some appointment power away from Metro officials. When a three-judge panel ruled that law to be unconstitutional, members of the former board moved back into active service. Whether Granbery and Joslin vacated their positions to take appointments on the now-dismissed board remains in question.

Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Roger A. Page has notified Gov. Bill Lee that he will retire at the end of August. Page was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2016, and served as chief justice from 2021 to 2023. During that time, he helped secure substantial funding to implement enterprise e-filing for the court system, improving efficiency and data collection and analysis. Page also promoted access to justice and pro bono service, and encouraged greater transparency and efficiency in the judiciary with live streaming of appellate arguments. “Justice Page has made a huge contribution to Tennessee's justice system, first as a trial judge handling both civil and criminal cases, then on the Court of Criminal Appeals and now on the Supreme Court," Chief Justice Holly Kirby said. “He is thoughtful and deliberate, and he brings wisdom and common sense to the serious issues we must decide.” Read more about Page’s career from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

TennCare is asking for increases of $185.49 million in recurring funds and $64.58 million in non-recurring funds, in addition to $485.26 million coming from the federal government, according to the Nashville Post. This represents an overall budget increase of $735 million. TennCare’s full budget for fiscal year 2023-2024 was $15.4 billion. In August, nearly 50,000 people lost coverage out of a possible 150,000 due for renewal.

Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Carol Chumney ruled Thursday that Tennessee’s “stand your ground” law, formally known as the self-defense immunity statute, applies to a civil lawsuit involving Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant. The Daily Memphian reports that the case will proceed to an immunity hearing where Morant will have to prove that he acted in self-defense during a July 2022 fight with Joshua Holloway, from which the lawsuit stems, and therefore is immune from civil suit. Holloway's attorney has argued that the law does not apply in this case because it is a criminal statute and the case at issue is a civil matter, which Judge Chumney ruled irrelevant.