Supporters of expanding school vouchers in Tennessee argued Monday before a three-judge panel that the program does not take away from families who want their children to remain in public schools, the Associated Press reports. The group is asking the court to dismiss a suit challenging the statute’s legality. Opponents, which include Nashville, Shelby County and a handful of families, have been fighting the program since it won legislative approval in 2019.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has joined Montana’s attorney general in heading up a coalition of 24 states in alerting three major credit card companies that a new “merchant category code” created to process firearms purchases from gun stores potentially violates consumer protection and antitrust laws. A letter from the coalition to American Express, Mastercard and Visa states that the monitoring and tracking of firearms purchases establishes a “list of gun buyers” and creates a risk that consumer information might be obtained and misused. “Giant financial companies must not use their combined market power to circumvent our representative democracy,” Skrmetti said in a release. Read more from the AG’s office.  

University of Tennessee College of Law graduates Winston Williams Jr. and Sharon Lee were among 24 alumni honored Friday by the university for their promise, achievement, service and distinction. Lee was presented the Distinguished Alumnus/Alumna Award — the single highest alumni award given — for her achievements in a career focused on seeking justice, first as a small-town lawyer and later on the Tennessee Supreme Court. Williams, a colonel in the U.S. Army, was awarded the Alumni Professional Achievement Award for his service to the country that culminated in his appointment as head of the Department of Law at the United States Military Academy.

Members of the TBA Book Club met virtually today to hear from Law Professor Derrick Beetso, director of Indian gaming and tribal self-governance programs at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University. Beetso, a citizen of the Navajo Nation, previously served as the general counsel for the National Congress of American Indians and as an attorney-advisor for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He shared his insights about David Grann’s book “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which chronicles a string of murders that plagued the Osage Indian nation of Oklahoma in the 1920s, shortly after oil was discovered on their land. The murders became one of the FBI’s first major homicide investigations.

TBA President Tasha Blakney participated in Constitution Day at the Howard H. Baker Jr. U.S. Courthouse in Knoxville. Judges, elected officials, state and federal officers, law school representatives, and many other community leaders took turns reading a portion of the U.S. Constitution in a public ceremony. Constitution Day is celebrated each year on Sept. 17.

The Trial Court Vacancy Commission is accepting applications for a circuit court judge in the 20th Judicial District following the death of Judge Phillip E. Smith on Sept. 4. The commission will hold a hearing with applicants on Oct. 18. Applicants must be licensed attorneys, at least 30 years old, a resident of the state for five years and a current residents of Davidson County. Those interested in the position should submit the Trial Court Vacancy Commission Application by noon CDT on Oct. 3. Complete application instructions are available at www.TNCourts.gov. The hearing will take place at 9 a.m. CDT in Senate Room I located in the Cordell Hull Building, 425 Rep. John Lewis Way N., Nashville 37243.

Jackson, Mississippi, residents — represented by Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, the Law Office of Larry D. Moffett, Kershaw Talley Barlow and Gibbs Travis — have filed the first federal class action lawsuit for neglect, mismanagement and maintenance failures that have left Jackson-area residents without access to safe running water. The suit, filed in the Southern District of Mississippi, seeks injunctive relief and monetary damages against various government and private engineering defendants. Nashville-based Lieff Cabraser partner Mark P. Chalos says the suit seeks to “bring justice — and safe, clean water — to the Jackson community.” Read more in a press release from the legal team or the court filing.

Lawyers are talking about the Netflix new show “Partner Track,” which is based on a novel by Helen Wan, a former associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. “Love it or loathe it — there seems to be little middle ground — the series is sparking debate about whether it captures what it’s like to be a woman of color in the legal profession,” one commentator writes. Meanwhile, Marvel has introduced a new superhero, and this time she's a lawyer. “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law,” steaming on Disney+, portrays assistant DA-turned superhero Jennifer Walter as she uses her super strength inside the courtroom and out. According to Reuters, both of these shows demonstrate law firms’ diversity problems. “Both feature a woman lawyer working at an elite law firm who is more competent, ethical and hard-working than her white male counterparts — only to be slighted, excluded or trotted out in a show of tokenism.” Bloomberg Law also weighs into the debate with its piece, “Is Partner Track too White Centric?”

The police officers who fatally shot a Tennessee man walking along Interstate 65 in Nashville will not face criminal charges, Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk announced last Friday. Funk said that Landon Eastep’s actions “were designed to cause officers to perceive an immediate threat” and thus “all shots fired were legally justified.” Eastep’s wife has filed suit against the police, alleging they used excessive force and should be liable for her husband’s death. The Tennessean has more on the suit. Eastep was shot 12 times in the front and the back, the Associated Press reports.

The Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility has released a proposed formal ethics opinion regarding attorneys working remotely as in-house counsel, and what constitutes a “systematic and continuous presence in Tennessee for the practice of law.” The board is seeking comments about the proposal. The deadline to submit written comments is Oct. 16. Comments may be emailed to lchastain@tbpr.org or mailed to The Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee, 10 Cadillac Dr., Ste. 220, Brentwood, TN 37027. Submissions should reference Opinion Number 2022-F-168. Read more on the board’s website.