The Women’s Political Collaborative released a statement today saying it will postpone its 50th Anniversary Celebration "out of respect for the lives lost in the tragic Covenant School shooting on Monday. Our hearts go out to everyone affected by the shocking and devastating tragedy." The group will keep event registrations on file and communicate more information when a new date is chosen. Contact Joyce at WPC with questions.

A federal whistleblower lawsuit filed against Erlanger Health System accuses hospital leaders of illegal billing practices by knowingly overlapping surgeries and allowing trainees to operate on patients without physician supervision, among other patient safety and compliance issues. The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports that the complaint, brought under the federal False Claims Act and Tennessee Medicaid False Claims Act and filed in April 2021 in federal district court, alleges that surgeons who practice at Erlanger violated state and federal law by regularly billing for two or three different surgeries in the same timeframe while leaving residents and interns alone to complete operations without proper oversight or patient consent. 

Tenth Judicial District Attorney General Stephen Crump will step down in July for a job as executive director of the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference in Nashville. "My last day in the DA's office will be July 15, and my first day as executive director will be July 16," Crump, said Monday in a phone interview. The 10th Judicial District consists of Bradley, Polk, McMinn and Monroe counties. Crump said he will fulfill the remaining term of the conference's retiring executive director Guy Jones, and then will serve at the pleasure of the group if it reappoints him in June 2024. Jones has held the post since 2020. Along with serving as a liaison between state district attorneys and the General Assembly and other state departments, the conference handles all bill paying, payroll, human resources, hiring policies and technological support for DAs across the state. The Chattanooga Times Free Press has the full story.

The Commercial Appeal reports that Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy will seek the death penalty in the case against Ezekiel Kelly, who is accused of driving around Memphis and shooting people at random on Sept. 7, 2022. Kelly, 19, has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder, along with 23 additional charges. The shooting spree left three additional people injured. Mulroy said four factors affected the decision to pursue the death penalty. He cited a previous aggravated assault conviction, along with alleging Kelly committed "mass murder" during the spree. Mulroy also said the murders were "committed in the course of an act of terrorism." His fourth factor was the randomness of the shooting.

Four of five former Memphis police officers charged in the killing of Tyre Nichols, a Black man who was handcuffed, brutally beaten and ignored by first responders for crucial minutes despite being barely conscious, can no longer work as law enforcement in Tennessee. The Associated Press reports that the Peace Officer Standards & Training Commission, or P.O.S.T., voted Friday to decertify Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin and Justin Smith. The state panel also approved the decision by Desmond Mills to surrender his certification. The former officers have 30 days to appeal.

Judge James G. Martin III retired from the bench after 16 years as circuit court judge in Williamson County's 21st Judicial District. He now is of counsel to Schell & Oglesby in Franklin. Martin practiced law in Middle Tennessee from 1974 to 2008; additionally, he served as city attorney of Franklin for over a decade. While serving as judge, he worked to revise the statutes and rules that govern the practice of marriage and family law. Martin also served as presiding judge for the 21st Judicial District Recovery Court from 2014-2022. He was named the 2019 Judge of the Year by the Tennessee Association of Recovery Court Professionals and recipient of the TBA's Justice Frank F. Drowota III Outstanding Judicial Service Award in 2022. Martin now will focus on general civil and family law as well as mediation services as a Licensed Rule 31 Mediator.

TBA leaders today discussed legal aid funding and other issues of importance to the legal profession in meetings with five members of the Tennessee congressional delegation and a number of legislative staffers. The TBA team met with Republican representatives David Kustoff of Memphis, Andy Ogles of Columbia, Scott DesJarlais of Winchester, Chuck Fleischmann of Chattanooga and John Rose of Cookeville. Staff members with Rep. Tim Burchett of Knoxville and Sen. Marsha Blackburn also met with TBA leaders. The sessions continue tomorrow with visits to the offices of Republican Sen. Bill Hagerty and Rep. Steve Cohn, D-Memphis. See photos from the meetings.

Leaders of the Tennessee State Conference of the NAACP issued a public demand for the release of five Black children taken from their parents after a misdemeanor traffic stop last month. The organization, joined by its local, youth and college chapters, also called for an investigation into all departments involved in removal of the children, Tennessee Lookout reports. Bianca Clayborne and Deonte Williams were traveling from Georgia to Chicago when they were pulled over in Coffee County for tinted windows and driving in the left-hand lane without passing. During a search of the car, police found five grams of marijuana. Williams was arrested while Clayborne was given a citation and told she could leave. Later, as Clayborne waited to post bond for Williams, DCS took the children from her saying they were “dependent and neglected.” It later amended its court petition to say the children were abused.

Four adults and three children are dead following a shooting at The Covenant School, a small private Christian elementary school affiliated with Covenant Presbyterian Church in the Green Hills area of Nashville. The suspect, a 28-year-old and former student at the school, had two "assault-type" weapons as well as a pistol, according to police. Police identified the suspect by his name at birth, Audrey Hale, and did not provide another name. They later reported he was a transgender man who used male pronouns. The suspect died at the scene after being shot by police. The Tennessean has the latest on developments. In a statement, President Joe Biden expressed condolences for victims' families and renewed his call for Congress to ban assault weapons.

About a dozen Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) personnel were seen going in and out of Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk's offices in downtown Nashville last week as part of an ongoing criminal investigation, News Channel 5 reports. Technicians were seen using a device that, according to the manufacturer, is "designed to detect illicit eavesdropping signals." A TBI spokesperson confirmed the agents were at the office "working in an official capacity" but declined to speak about the "nature or scope of efforts." Funk released a statement saying his office "extended an invitation to the TBI and the Attorney General’s Office several weeks ago to come inspect our office security system. We are pleased they are finally here and we expect their investigation will find nothing inappropriate, much less illegal."