The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) said yesterday it will use a “carrots and sticks” approach to combat corporate crime: encouraging companies to report and prevent misconduct while enhancing penalties for repeat offenders. At an event at New York University, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said the DOJ will make it harder for companies to enter into multiple settlements that defer or waive prosecutions, and it will try to reward companies that claw back executive compensation after learning of misconduct. Reuters has more on the story.

A dedication ceremony of the Fred D. Thompson U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building in downtown Nashville has been postponed to a later date at the request of the General Services Administration. However, on the originally planned date of Sept. 23, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee will host an open house at 3 p.m. CDT for the public to visit the courthouse. Read the court's official announcement.

Members from across the state made their way to the Tennessee Bar Association today to tour the organization’s new office space and talk with staff and fellow members. The TBA moved to the new office, located at 3310 West End Ave., Ste. 590 in Nashville, earlier this summer after 20 years at its downtown location. 

A group of 15 Roane County middle and high school students entered school this fall after completing an eight-week court ordered juvenile justice program. The Child Attitude Motivation Program (CAMP) is designed to "motivate some of our local youth who grow up in bad circumstances or who were making their circumstances worse," program founder and Roane County General Sessions Court Judge Terry Stevens says. CAMP works with community partners to teach students valuable life skills and prevention education, dealing with such topics as drug and alcohol abuse, suicide prevention, the importance of teen mental health and character building. It operates as a partnership with Roane County Anti-Drug Coalition (RCADC) and Roane County Juvenile Courts and Probation. Read more from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Dickson County Chancery Court Clerk and Master Nancy Miller is set to retire this week after 50 years of service, the Tennessean reports. Miller was hired in 1972 and spent nearly five years as chief deputy to former Clerk and Master Jesse Miller. She was sworn in by Chancellor Alex Darnell in 1977 at the age of 26, becoming one of, if not the youngest clerk and master in the state. The 23rd Judicial Circuit Judges David Wolfe, Larry Wallace and Lockert-Mash have announced the appointment of Miller’s Chief Deputy Lynn Collins as the next clerk and master for Dickson County.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti is joining 17 attorneys general in urging President Joe Biden to classify fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction in response to the increase in overdose deaths nationwide. “Fentanyl has caused too many tragic deaths on an individual level and, as we have seen overseas, it can also be weaponized to cause mass casualties,” Skrmetti said. He called on “governments at every level” to take a “broad-spectrum approach” to protect Americans from the drug. According to the AG’s office, classifying fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction would require the Department of Homeland Security and the Drug Enforcement Administration to coordinate a response with other agencies, including the Department of Defense. Read the letter from the attorneys general.

Six attorneys have submitted an application for an open Hamilton County magistrate position. The applicants are: Robert T. Davis, James Micah Guster III, Charles D. Paty, Rachel Winfrey Ortwein, Elizabeth Schmidt and Andrew Trundle. The vacancy was created after Magistrate Andrew Basler announced he was leaving the post to join the District Attorney's Office. The County Commission will interview candidates on Monday at 1:30 p.m. EDT. Read more from The Chattanoogan.

Prosecutors in Baltimore yesterday asked a judge to vacate Adnan Syed’s conviction in the 1999 murder of Hae Min Lee, the Associated Press reports. The murder and Syed’s subsequent conviction were documented in the hit podcast “Serial.” In a circuit court filing, Baltimore’s state’s attorney said a lengthy investigation uncovered possible involvement of two alternative suspects other than Syed. Prosecutors did not argue Syed’s innocence, but said they lacked confidence “in the integrity of the conviction” and recommended he be released on his own recognizance or bail. If the court grants the motion, it would effectively put Syed in a new trial status. His convictions would be vacated, but the case would remain active.

Newly elected Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp has asked longtime County Attorney Rheubin Taylor to resign, Chattanoogan.com reports. Taylor, who is 73 and has been in the post for 28 years, declined to step down, saying he has two years remaining on his current contract and wants to stay. Wamp also had asked Taylor to hire former General Sessions Court Judge Gerald Webb, which Taylor also declined to do. Webb, who was the first African-American judge on the county General Sessions Court, lost his post in the August election to Larry Ables, a former public defender, prosecutor and chief magistrate. Wamp is said to prefer Webb for the county attorney role.

The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands has named Shelby Dodson as the new managing attorney of its Gallatin office. Dodson previously served as a staff attorney in the office since 2018. Before joining the Legal Aid Society, Dodson served as an elder justice AmeriCorps fellow for the Tennessee Justice Center. She graduated from Belmont University College of Law in 2016. Dodson replaces Zac Oswald, who has been promoted to senior deputy director of client services. He will continue to lead the Housing Practice Group while taking on additional leadership responsibilities across the firm. He graduated from University of Miami School of Law in 2013.