The U.S. Attorney’s Office – Eastern District of Tennessee has earned an award for its work in bringing to justice those who committed health care fraud on unsuspecting victims, reports the Claiborne Progress. Members of the Knoxville-based office staff along with participating federal partners received a national commendation for their work in “Operation Health Wrong” — a long-term, multi-defendant program that prosecuted those suspected of healthcare fraud. The National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association chose Operation Health Wrong for the award during its annual training conference. 

The Shelby County District Attorney's Justice Review Unit (JRU), tasked with identifying and addressing wrongful convictions and sentences, is now accepting cases for review, Shelby County DA Steve Mulroy says. The independent unit within the DA's office will be led by Chief Lorna McClusky and Assistant Chief Robert Gowen. Each has at least 24 years of high-level criminal defense experience in Shelby County. “I’m glad we were able to quickly get our new unit up and running,” Mulroy said. “We all know our criminal justice system is imperfect. When we correct injustices, we restore public confidence in the fairness of our system. That can get the community cooperating more with law enforcement to address crime.” Learn more about the mission and how to file an application.

Main Street Clarksville reports that a federal jury in late November convicted a Clarksville man of filing false tax returns that omitted income he earned from his business. The announcement came from U.S. Attorney Mark H. Wildasin for the Middle District of Tennessee and Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, David Haley, 65, of Clarksville failed to report income from Haley & Associates Mechanical Contractors, a heating and plumbing business, which was hired as the subcontractor on commercial projects in Middle Tennessee and was paid more than $1,000,000 for each year from 2014 to 2017.

Belmont Law, Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee, The Tennessee Supreme Court Access to Justice Initiative, the Montgomery County Bar and other community partners hosted an expungement clinic in Clarksville on Nov. 19. The clinic was dedicated to Belmont Law 1L Laurel Flaherty, who died earlier this semester. Fifteen law students and 20 attorneys assisted clients with expungement paperwork and fee waivers. The Montgomery County and Davidson County clerk’s offices along with four judges were present to process the expungement paperwork. See photos from the event.

The November episode of the TBA's BarBuzz podcast is now streaming. Attorney Shellie Handelsman of Handelsman Law in Nashville joins the latest episode to give listeners a rundown of legal news from across the state, upcoming events and bar association happenings. BarBuzz is part of the TBA Podcast Network and can be found on the TBA's website or anywhere you listen to podcasts. 

The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee is accepting comments on the reappointment of Magistrate Judge Barbara D. Holmes, whose current term will expire on July 31, 2023. A panel of citizens will be appointed by the court to consider reappointment of Holmes to a new eight-year term. All comments will be kept confidential and be examined only by members of the Merit Selection Panel and the district court judges. Comments should be e-mailed to MJComments@tnmd.uscourts.gov by Jan. 31, 2023. Read the full announcement from the court.

Retiring Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee will be remembered as a bold dissenter, former Knoxville News Sentinel associate editor Georgia Vines writes in a recent column. Lee wrote so many dissenting opinions in 2017 that the Knoxville Bar Association wrote a story about it, Vines says. Some of those involved majority opinions that Lee believed provided inadequate constitutional protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, deprived parents facing termination of their rights the effective assistance of counsel, and erected barriers for inmates’ access to the courts. Vines also looks at a paper written in 2020 by a Nashville School of Law student who examined the overarching themes of Lee’s dissents. Lee, the longest-serving judge on the Tennessee Supreme Court, will retire on Aug. 31, 2023.

The Tennessee District Attorney’s General Conference (TNDAGC) has named 21st Judicial District Assistant District Attorney Dale Evans as its DUI Prosecutor of Year. Evans was recognized for his work ensuring that vehicular homicide/assault cases move forward in a timely manner and that victims and their families are provided with case updates. Presidential Awards were presented to three others in the 21st Judicial District Attorneys office. Assistant District Attorney Carlin Hess and Assistant Victim/Witness Coordinators Shannon Welch and Anne Margaret Weishaar were recognized for their efforts bringing the killer of a Brentwood police officer to justice and supporting the officer's family. Williamson Herald has more on the story.

In addition to sleeping in office buildings, children in the custody of the Department of Children’s Services (DCS) are spending upwards of eight months in hospital beds across the state, Tennessee Lookout reports. Some of the children have medical and behavioral health needs that require inpatient hospital care but others do. Michele Johnson, executive director of the Tennessee Justice Center, says hospitalizing kids when they do not require hospital care is a violation of the Americans with Disability Act. A group of Democratic state lawmakers recently asked the governor to provide emergency funding to resolve the situation. Lee told WKRN that he will not dip into the state’s rainy day fund to address the issue but instead will work through the regular budget process.

A three-judge panel has upheld Tennessee’s Education Savings Account Program, which allows public tax dollars to be given to families to pay for private schooling, the Associated Press reports. The panel, made up of Chancellor Anne Martin, Judge Tammy Harrington and Judge Valerie Smith, said the counties and families who sued couldn’t prove how students would be immediately harmed by the program. The plaintiffs, including Davidson and Shelby counties, maintained that schools and students would be hurt by the voucher program because school districts lose money for every student that participates in the voucher program. But the panel ruled the opponents’ claims “lack ripeness” because the voucher law includes a provision that replaces the diverted funds for at least three years through “a school improvement fund.” Money for the improvement fund is subject to legislative appropriation.