Tennessee is suing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) over millions of dollars in family planning funding the state lost after it violated federal requirements for clinics to counsel clients on all reproductive health options, including abortion, the Tennessean reports. In the complaint filed in federal court in Knoxville, Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti argues HHS rules about Title X requirements have flip-flopped in recent years and that the HHS requirement violates Tennesseans' "First Amendment rights not to engage in speech or conduct that facilitates abortions."

The deadline for applying for the Tennessee Bar Association’s Leadership Law 2024 class is Nov 3. Contact Paul Burch pburch@tnbar.org if you have questions about the program or the application process.

The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) will continue offering the existing Uniform Bar Exam through February 2028, while also offering the new Next Gen Bar Exam starting in July 2026, Reuters reports. The NCBE said in September that the test in its current form would retire after the July 2027 exam, but some state courts have said they need more time to adopt the new test. The decision of which bar exam each state uses lies with individual states.

Memphis attorney and former mayoral candidate Van Turner is asking for a formal investigation “into the practices and procedures” of the Shelby County Election Commission during the Oct. 5 Memphis municipal election, the Commercial Appeal reports. The request is based on a report that an election worker had her car broken into the night before the election, with items stolen including keys to ballot boxes and codes to the mayoral election. Turner also said that another set of keys had earlier gone missing from a downtown office of the election commission. The commission has said the election was not compromised in any way. Turner came in fourth in the race for Memphis mayor, losing to Paul Young.

The rate of violent crime continues to rise in Memphis, with the 83 murders committed in the past three months a 26% increase over the same period last year, the Commercial Appeal reports. Since January there have been 245 murders, a 36% increase from last year. The increase reflects the wider trend of increased violent and property crime reported by the Memphis Police Department. 

The state of Tennessee will apparently not challenge a three-judge panel ruling on a state law that was found to violate the Tennessee Constitution’s Home Rule Amendment, the Nashville Post reports. The law would have lowered the vote threshold necessary to allow for major renovations at the fairgrounds, which would have led to a return of NASCAR racing at the venue. Metro is also challenging a law that cut the size of the Metro Council in half and laws that would add state appointees to the Nashville airport and sports boards.

Corporate bankruptcies in Tennessee have nearly doubled last year’s total and are reaching pre-Covid levels, the Tennessean reports. SmileDirectClub, American Physician Partners and Yellow Corp. are just some of the major companies who have filed for bankruptcy this year.

Legislation passed last year in Tennessee is helping make event ticket pricing more transparent, although some online sellers are not following the spirit of the law, Tennessee Lookout reports. The ticketing transparency bill — sponsored by Sen. Heidi Campbell, D-Nashville, and Rep. Caleb Hemmer, D-Nashville — was passed in response to growing frustration over the increase in hidden ticket fees on concerts and sporting events. Tennessee Lookout’s review of online sites found Ticketmaster is following the law, while others are still marketing seats at lower prices that get more expensive as the buyer moves toward purchase.

A new report from Just City Court Watch has found a “pattern of low scores in sensitivity and neutrality, raising concerns about the fairness of case adjudications” in Memphis courtrooms. The report also highlights the length of time that cases remain unresolved and the frequency of charge dismissals. The October 2023 Court Watch Report is the culmination of a year of collaboration between Just City and the Public Data Accountability Project. Read more about the study in an email from the group.

The Davidson County District Attorney’s office has announced the hiring of Kevin Kennedy and Eli Cheely as new assistant district attorneys (ADAs). Kennedy, a 2021 graduate of Vanderbilt University Law School, will focus on domestic violence cases while Cheely, a graduate of the University of Mississippi School of Law, will handle cases in general sessions court. The two were sworn in this week by 20th Judicial District Judge Steve Dozier, according to the Nashville Post.