Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti recently spoke with Nashville’s WPLN about his new position, politics and a few hot button issues his office will handle. Skrmetti, who was appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court to succeed former Attorney General Herbert Slatery, tells the news outlet his “only job is to be a good lawyer,” not a politician. Skrmetti discussed Tennessee’s abortion law, saying he believes, based on reactions from doctors and the legal community, that “there’s room for some clarification” to the law. He also details a letter he signed urging President Joe Biden to classify fentanyl as a “weapon of mass destruction.” Skrmetti explains the designation is warranted because the drug could be used in a terrorist attack, but says he doesn’t intend to ramp up enforcement of everyday drug cases. WPLN has the full story.  

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee today announced two judicial appointments. Amanda B. Dunn, an attorney with Houston & Alexander in Chattanooga, was named to the 11th Judicial District Criminal Court. She earned her law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law. She fills a vacancy created by the appointment of Judge Tom Greenholtz to the Court of Criminal Appeals, Eastern Section. In addition, Hector Sanchez was named to the 6th Judicial District Criminal Court. A graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law, he currently serves as an assistant district attorney in the district, which covers Knox County. He replaces Judge Kyle A. Hixon, who also was confirmed to the Court of Criminal Appeals, Eastern Section.

Criminal defense attorney Ben McGowan has been elected president of the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (TACDL). McGowan, an attorney with Summers, Rufolo & Rodgers, is the group’s first Chattanooga-based president in more than 25 years. He took office at TACDL’s annual meeting and conference, held over two days at the historic Read House Hotel in Chattanooga. McGowan praised the work of the organization. “TACDL is the only organization in Tennessee solely dedicated to strengthening the skills, knowledge and abilities of lawyers willing to do the sometimes thankless and often heartbreaking work of defending criminal defendants,” he tells the Hamilton County Herald.

Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law recently announced the hiring of Adriannette Williams as the law school’s first assistant dean of diversity, equity and inclusion. Williams will work closely with the dean and other leaders to develop, promote and facilitate the school’s diversity, equity and inclusion strategic goals and teach one course per semester. Williams is a first-generation law student from Tampa, where she worked in private practice, managed Hillsborough County’s dependency cases and as CLE director for the Florida Bar. She holds bachelor and master degrees from the University of West Florida and a law degree from Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School.

The conservative group Pacific Legal Foundation has filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education with the intent of stopping President Joe Biden's student loan cancellation plan, Reuters reports. The lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the South District of Indiana, comes a day after the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said that Biden's plan to cancel some student loan debt will cost $400 billion. "Congress did not authorize the executive branch to unilaterally cancel student debt," said Caleb Kruckenberg, an attorney at the foundation. The Education Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility released a formal opinion today that seeks to clarify interpretation of the ABA model rule related to a lawyer’s communication with represented persons when the lawyer is self-representing or pursuing the case pro se. Formal Opinion 502 states that under ABA Model Rule 4.2, lawyers who represent themselves may not communicate directly, under most circumstances, with a represented person about the matter. The opinion makes it clear that the self-representing or pro se lawyer must communicate with the represented person through the other person’s lawyer unless the communication is authorized by law or court order or consented to by the person’s lawyer. The committee said the clarification was necessary as application of the rule to pro se lawyers was not clear.

The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee and the U.S. General Services Administration have rescheduled the dedication ceremony for the new Fred D. Thompson U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building in downtown Nashville for Oct. 21. The ceremony will begin at 3 p.m. CDT followed by a reception. The courthouse, which is named for former U.S. Sen. Fred D. Thompson of Lawrenceburg, has been in the works for more than 25 years. View the invitation. Please RSVP by Oct. 19 to ceremony@tnmd.uscourts.gov or 615-736-7551.

Kevin G. Ritz was sworn in today as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee. In a brief ceremony at the federal courthouse in Memphis, Chief U.S. District Court Judge S. Thomas Anderson administered the oath of office, in front of Ritz’s family and colleagues. Ritz, a native Memphian, was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Sept. 22. He previously was an assistant U.S. attorney in the narcotics unit. He later served as appellate chief and special counsel. From 2008 to 2016, Ritz was an adjunct professor at the University of Memphis School of Law. From 2020 to 2021, he was chair of the TBA’s Appellate Practice Section. Read more about Ritz in a release from the Department of Justice.

A resolution to enforce curfew laws for minors was today passed by the Memphis City Council public safety committee and will now head to the full council, the Daily Memphian reports. The measure, part of a broad strategy to fight a growing crime problem, would call on the Memphis Police Department to strongly enforce the curfews set by the Child Curfew Act of 1995. The act requires those 17 or 18 years old to not be out in public past 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday or midnight Friday through Sunday. Those 16 or younger are not to be out in public past 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday or 11 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Councilman JB Smiley expressed concerns that the resolution could increase the number of minorities sent to juvenile court, but MPD assured him that summons to the county’s Youth Resource Center can keep children accused of committing certain crimes from entering the juvenile justice system. The resolution will be considered at the Oct. 11 meeting.

The state’s textbook commission could need additional staff and an attorney to help deal with the aftermath of a new law that requires schools to catalog and publicize a list of all available library and classroom materials, the Tennessean reports. Tennessee Textbook and Instructional Materials Quality Commission Chair Linda Cash appeared before a legislative subcommittee today, suggesting the commission hire an independent attorney to answer commission questions. They are currently seeking legal answers from the Attorney General’s Office. The commission has until Dec. 1 to issue statewide guidance on the library materials law, including what is age-appropriate, which is not settled in state law, in addition to establishing an appeals process for local decisions on contested materials. The General Assembly passed the bill this year in response to allegations that students were being exposed to “inappropriate” school materials.