Maury County officials will move forward with plans to use American Rescue Act funds, rather than tax dollars, for a new justice center estimated to cost $30 million. The county budget committee looking at the project voted unanimously to use federal funding made available to localities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Daily Herald reports. Some of the funding also will come from litigation and court fees and county adequate facilities taxes. The new center will be built on the site of the former Daily Herald building and will provide additional courtrooms and more space to conduct judicial operations.

Tennessee-based CoreCivic and the family of a man who died at the Trousdale Turner Correctional Center have settled a federal lawsuit, Associated Press reports. The suit was brought on behalf of G. Marie Newby, who died in February 2021 after his cellmate assaulted him, court records show. The lawsuit blamed low staffing levels and a failure by correctional officers to make timely rounds, and sought $10 million. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Nashville attorney Daniel Horwitz, who represented the family, called CoreCivic a “death factory.” In July, Magistrate Judge Jeffery Frensley ordered him to stop commenting on the case. State officials previously fined CoreCivic $2 million for problems at Trousdale.

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) said Friday that the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the Nashville-based Christian denomination related to alleged sexual abuse. The organization said the investigation “will include multiple SBC entities” and that the SBC will “fully and completely cooperate,” Nashville Public Radio reports. A third-party report released in May alleged that denomination leaders downplayed and ignored sexual abuse within its churches for decades. The SBC also last week named a nine-person task force to reform how the church will respond to sex abuse in the future.

DarKenya W. Waller, executive director of the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, has been elected president of the African American Project Directors Association, which represents project directors and deputy directors of color who work in legal services. The mission of the group is to promote recruitment, support, development and retention of racial and ethnic minorities in leadership positions in the equal justice community. The group recently convened with African American chief public defenders from across the country to begin conversations on how to break down the silos between criminal and civil legal work. Read more in a LinkedIn post from Waller.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Memphis is seeking an assistant U.S. attorney in its criminal division. Candidates should have three to five years of experience litigating cases in federal or state court. Previous jury trial experience is strongly preferred. Interested attorneys should apply by Sept. 2. Learn more about this opportunity on the TBA’s Job Link platform.

“My Cousin Vinny” may be one of the best movies about lawyers ever made. That’s not an exaggeration, if you’re thinking about attorney ethics! The number of professional responsibility lessons one can learn from this cinematic masterpiece is incredible! Join the “CLE Performer” Stuart Teicher on Sept. 29 from noon to 1 p.m. as he runs through this classic and covers some important ethics topics, including competence (Rule 1.1), confidentiality (Rule 1.6), lies/deception (Rule 8.4) and more! This is the third installment in a day of ethics programming. Learn more about Teicher’s presentation on mastering the art of correspondence, which will air from 9-10 a.m., and Can Lawyers Really Do That?, which will follow from 10:30-11:30 a.m. All times central.

Gov. Bill Lee has named Erin Merrick as his chief legal counsel. She has served as deputy legal counsel and succeeds Jonathan Skrmetti, who last week was named the state's new attorney general. In announcing the move, Lee said that “Erin is a dedicated public servant who will lead with integrity and bring significant expertise as chief legal counsel, and I appreciate her continued service to Tennessee.” Merrick has been in the deputy role since 2019 after working as an assistant attorney general. She holds master’s and law degrees from Vanderbilt University. The Nashville Post has more from the governor's release.

Metro Nashville seeks a juvenile court administrator, which is a full-time civil service position in juvenile court. The administrator will perform managerial and administrative duties to assist the presiding judge, and oversee daily operation of the court as defined in Section 14.19 of the Metropolitan Charter. Duties include planning, directing and supervising activities of the court business office, and acting as liaison with judges, courts, government agencies, the bar and the public. Access the full job description and apply on the Metro Government's website.

WPLN reports that the city of Murfreesboro is suing Middle Point Landfill's owners in federal court over a range of environmental concerns, notably gas odors and contaminated liquids. The landfill's owners want to add 99 adjacent acres to the site, but the regional solid waste board has denied the expansion request. Murfreesboro Mayor Shane McFarland says, "The sources of the odor are simply not trash at the landfill. Landfill-related odors are connected to the way a site is operated, including how the gases and millions of gallons of leachate produced by the landfill are collected and managed." The county and city mayors, as well as residents of Murfreesboro, have been vocal in their opposition to the proposed expansion. 

At its 97th Annual Convention in Memphis, the National Bar Association (NBA) recognized five TBA members in its 2022 class of 40 Under 40 Nation’s Best Advocates: Miska L. Shaw, Lillian M. Blackshear, LaQuita R. Stokes, Quinton E. Thompson (TBA YLD president-elect) and Jennifer L. Sneed (TBA YLD West Tennessee governor). The convention was hosted by the Ben F. Jones Memphis Chapter of the NBA, which also received the NBA’s Outstanding Affiliate award. Additionally, Blackshear also received the 40 Under 40 Excellence in Leadership Award for outstanding leadership in her law firm and community, and Stokes received both the President's Award and the Outstanding Woman Lawyer in a Solo/Small Firm Award from the Women’s Law Division of the NBA. See photos from the event.