Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti recently announced that a $10 billion agreement has been reached with CVS and Walgreens for their role in the national opioid crisis. The agreement requires CVS to pay $5 billion and Walgreens to pay $5.7 billion. Both companies must also monitor, report, and share data about suspicious activity related to opioid prescriptions. Should all incentives be met, Tennessee is expected to receive a combined total of $265 million. Skrmetti said the funds will be sent “to the Opioids Abatement Trust Fund to assist in bringing the epidemic to a halt.” Read more from the AG's office. 

The Knoxville Bar Association (KBA) Barristers announced last month that Eighth Judicial District Criminal Court Judge Zachary Walden will take office as president of the group. Other officers named for the young lawyer group include Vice President Charles S.J. Sharett and Secretary/Treasurer Jimmy Snodgrass. New board members are Matt Knable and Isaac Westling. The Barristers also presented President’s Awards to Mariel Bough and Grant Williamson, co-chairs of the Diversity Committee.

Ronald Sandlin, 35, of Millington was sentenced to 63 months in prison and three years of supervised release for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach. He admitted advance planning to interfere with the peaceful transition of power and the assaulting of law enforcement officers. According to court documents, Sandlin and two co-conspirators began planning to disrupt the counting of 2020 presidential electoral votes in December 2020. Prosecutors revealed that he had posted on social media about organizing a caravan to travel to Washington, D.C., and calling on others “take the Capitol.” He also engaged in a private chat about shipping guns in advance of the event. Read more from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee.

Three University of Tennessee College of Law students have advanced through the regional rounds of the National Moot Court Competition and will represent the school at the national level. Second-year student Luke Norton and third-year students Miles Schiller and Julia Slagle won the Region 7 level for the third consecutive year. For the second consecutive year, Schiller was named the outstanding oral advocate in the championship round. The team is coached by emeriti professors Don Leatherman and John Sobieski. The finals will be held at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York Jan. 30 through Feb. 2, 2023. Read more about the competition and case and see a photo of the team.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is seeking $2 million in contracts with outside labs to process 1,000 rape kits it says need to be tested before the end of June, the Associated Press reports. The bureau issued the request for proposals for up to three contractors, as the state’s turnaround times for sexual assault kits continue to face scrutiny. The contractors also would testify about the tested kits in court cases. As of October, the agency said the average turnaround time for a rape kit was 43 weeks at the Knoxville lab, 42.4 weeks at the Jackson lab and 32.7 weeks at the Nashville lab. The bureau wants the contractors signed on by the end of January.

Tennessee is the latest state to take action against the social media app TikTok, WKRN reports. In a statement to the station, the governor’s office said steps have been made to ban the app on all devices that access government networks. Cybersecurity professionals warn that the app, owned by a Chinese-based company, could access users’ personal information. Some lawmakers, including Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennesssee, have said the app should be banned in the United States.

A new agreement between the Knoxville Police Department and Police Advisory and Review Committee (PARC) formalizes interactions between the two entities for the first time, Tennessee Lookout reports. The new agreement reportedly gives PARC staff greater access to the department’s disciplinary process and the ability to refer complaints to third-party mediation. It also codifies a number of informal procedures, according to officials. PARC was created in 1998 following the deaths of four men (three of whom were Black) in confrontations with police. Officers were cleared of wrongdoing, but the Black community lashed out at what they perceived to be a culture of brutality and indifference. The committee is comprised of seven volunteers, a full-time executive director and an investigative manager.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division Mock Trial Committee has released the case material for the 2023 Tennessee State High School Mock Trial competition. The case, Kat McNable v. Marty Bird, involves an accident between a scooter and open-air party wagon. The question centers on whether sand from the beach-themed, tractor-drawn wagon spilled onto the road and caused the scooter to spin out of control. McNable sustained serious injuries, including losing both front teeth. District mock trial competitions will take place in February 2023, with the state competition taking place March 17-18, 2023, in Nashville. The new problem, rules and other information can be found online. To volunteer click here.

The Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law (LMU Law) Mock Trial team recently hosted the fourth annual Kimsey Cup Mock Trial Competition. The internal competition provides students an opportunity to practice trial skills in a friendly competition with fellow students while receiving valuable feedback from local attorneys. The competition also serves as a try-out for upper-level students for membership in the Mock Trial Program. Ten teams competed with the team of third-year student Kha’Doe Crosby and second-year student Allie Jo Shankle winning the cup. First-year law student Michael Fields was awarded best witness and second-year student McKenzie Wilson was recognized as best advocate.

Dr. Michelle Fiscus is seeking a hearing to contest charges that led to her firing as medical director of Tennessee's Vaccine-Preventable Diseases and Immunization Program last year, the Times Free Press reports. Detractors had argued that during the COVID-19 pandemic she was allowing some children to get vaccinated without parental consent.