The Raphah Institute has withdrawn from splitting a $1.5 million grant with Gideon’s Army to work on violence interruption in North Nashville, WPLN reports. Nashville Mayor Jon Cooper’s Community Safety Partnership Fund Board last month recommended the two groups split the funding despite having different approaches. Gideon’s Army relies on people on the street who work to stop violence, while the Raphah Institute runs a diversion program with the juvenile court. A letter from Raphah founder Travis Claybrooks cited the institute’s expansion of its restorative justice work into adult court and helping Memphis launch a similar program as two reasons it could not take on the pilot.

The TBA’s annual Tennessee Court of Appeals Boot Camp took place yesterday in Nashville. The boot camp allowed attendees to observe oral arguments in real cases being presented to the court, followed by analysis and discussion on preparation, tips and considerations for deciding to seek review in the Court of Appeals. Court of Appeals Judges Andy Bennett, Frank Clement Jr., Neal McBrayer and Jeffrey Usman participated in the panel and engaged with attendees.

The TBA yesterday made a trip to Clarksville during its 2022 Court Square Series. Event attendees participated in a networking session with TBA President-elect Jim Barry, heard a Legislative Update from the TBA’s Berkley Schwarz and listened to Clarksville attorney Ray Runyon discuss surviving spousal rights. The event wrapped up with a judicial panel featuring Chancellor Ben Dean and Judges Kathryn Wall Olita, Reid Poland and Joel Wallace. The next stop in the Court Square Series will be in Savannah on Nov. 16.

Longtime Hamilton County Attorney Rheubin Taylor has filed suit against new County Mayor Weston Wamp, Chattanoogan.com reports. The suit claims Wamp is trying to fire him despite him having a four-year contract given by the prior County Commission in 2021. Chancellor Jeff Atherton has filed a temporary restraining order, keeping Taylor as the county attorney. In related action, commissioners today overruled four Wamp vetoes of commission resolutions related to his attempts to fire Taylor.

Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has published an opinion stating that the disposal of fertilized human embryos that haven’t been transferred to a woman’s uterus does not violate the state’s Human Life Protection Act and isn’t punishable as a “criminal abortion,” the Tennessee Lookout reports. The opinion goes on to clarify that the state’s new abortion law only applies when a woman is physically pregnant, which could indicate a shift for some in the legislature who believe life begins at conception. The article also notes that some state senators are considering filing legislation in the new year to change the Human Life Protection Act to potentially separate medical emergencies dealing with pregnancies from “elective” abortions. Such a move could enable doctors to treat women without facing the dilemma of being presumed guilty for performing an abortion or violating their oath to meet a standard of care for patients.

The American Bar Association Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility released a formal opinion today that provides practical guidance to lawyers operating in an email world, cautioning them to generally refrain from including their clients when sending emails to opposing lawyers. Formal Opinion 503 explores communications and the scope of ABA Model Rule 4.2, which is commonly called the “no-contact” or “anticontact” rule and has been part of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct since its inception in 1983. The new formal opinion would not tag opposing lawyers with a violation of Rule 4.2 if they respond to a group email or text sent by the opposing counsel with a “reply all” even if that communication includes the opposing counsel’s client.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti today announced the national Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force is enforcing investigations into two voice service providers over alleged involvement in illegal robocalls. The targets of the investigation are Michael Lansky LLC — doing business as Avid Telecom — and One Eye LLC. The national task force is enforcing civil investigative demands (CIDs) against each entity. Fifty-one attorneys general participate in the national task force, which Indiana co-leads with North Carolina and Ohio. Read the full press release here.

At the request of the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, the Tennessee Judicial Conference Foundation has established a scholarship fund in honor of the late Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge John Everett Williams. More than $6,000 has already been raised. Those interested in contributing should visit GiveButter.com and select the “John Everett Williams Scholarship” on the second screen. Checks may be mailed to The Tennessee Judicial Conference Foundation, Attn: Suzanne G. Keith, 629 Woodland St., Nashville, TN 37206-4211. The scholarship will be needs-based and will be awarded to Tennessee law students attending Cumberland School of Law. Both Williams and his father, the late John L. Williams, received their law degrees from the school. Judge Williams died Sept. 2 at the age of 68. He served on the court from 1998 until his death.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today permanently eliminated limitations on distance learning, allowing Tennessee-licensed attorneys to complete all continuing legal education requirements through remote learning. The order deletes Rule 21, section 4.09, and amends sections 3.01(c), 4.02(c) and (d), 4.03(a), 4.04, 4.08(f), 5.01(g), 5.01(h), and 10.01(c)(1) and (2). Appendix A of the order shows a red-line version of the changes, while Appendix B shows the new text with amendments incorporated. The court reports that it received numerous comments about the change from individual attorneys as well as from the Memphis Bar Association, Mid-South Commercial Law Institute, Nashville Bar Association and Tennessee Bar Association. Read more from the court.

Online classes earned high marks from law students in a new survey, suggesting that remote learning has improved over the past two years and can be as effective as in-person instruction when done right, Reuters reports. Among survey respondents who took online classes, 76% rated the courses as good or excellent. That is a shift from early in the pandemic, when research found that law students were largely dissatisfied with online classes. The Law School Survey of Student Engagement also asked about the frequency of online classes: 70% of respondents said their classes were mostly in person this past year, 10% said they were mostly online and 20% said they were a mix of both. Finally, the survey identified two areas where online classes fell short: online students were less likely to feel supported by career services and fewer reported having positive relationships with their classmates.