Chattanooga City Council Chair Chip Henderson has proposed an ordinance that would eliminate Division II of the Chattanooga City Court, the Chattanoogan reports. Henderson said shutting the court down would save roughly $500,000 per year, noting that current Division II Judge Russell Bean is set to retire at the end of his term. The city would be required to continue funding the court until to end of Bean’s term on Aug. 31, 2022. The move would leave only one division of City Court, presided over by Judge Sherry Paty, who intends to run for another eight-year term. City Attorney Emily O'Donnell said the action would give notice to potential candidates for Division II. Two attorneys have already named political treasurers for a Division II race.

Davidson County Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal yesterday denied a motion from the Baptiste Group that sought to reopen a Chattanooga facility for unaccompanied migrant children, the Times Free Press reports. The motion would have allowed the facility to reopen while the state’s case to revoke the group’s childcare license makes its way through the court system. Moskal denied the motion because the group could not show it was entitled to continue operating, adding the statute would require a "good and sufficient" bond amount be set in the event that continued operation results in the injury of others. The facility was shut down in July after reports of child abuse at the facility and a report of a child running away. Baptiste Group’s attorney Mark Baugh of Baker Donelson argued that the organization met the licensing and safety standards of the state during its eight months of operation and that the state has not stated specifically what statute or regulations are out of compliance.

Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk said today that he will not prosecute teachers who violate Gov. Bill Lee’s executive order requiring school districts to allow students to opt out of wearing a mask, the Tennessean reports, and school officials in Memphis and Nashville say masks will still be required in their schools. That's promoted Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, to warn that if the school districts don't quickly comply, the legislature will intervene. "The Governor and the General Assembly cannot and will not allow lawful orders to be defied," McNally said. "If these systems persist in resisting the order, we will have no choice but to exercise other remedial options." A Metro Nashville Board of Education member had emailed Funk after Lee issued Executive Order 84 yesterday, asking the DA if he planned on “initiating any criminal or other proceedings against teachers, staff, or board members" for defying the order. Funk responded by saying he "will not prosecute school officials or teachers for keeping children safe." 

A new analysis from Law360 Pulse shows that, during the last seven years, U.S. law firms have made minimal gains in achieving diversity, Bob Ambrogi’s LawSites blog reports. According to the Diversity Snapshot 2021, since 2014, the percentage of minority attorneys in law firms rose just four points, from 14.1% to 18.1%, with the numbers of partners and equity partners rising even less. The study also suggests that a disproportionately higher number of minority lawyers leave law firms. Of those who left in 2020, 24% were lawyers of color. “The progress is trending in the right direction toward more diversity,” Law360’s Director of Series, Surveys and Data Kerry Benn says, “but it’s just so slow.” The ABA's "Profile of the Legal Profession" found similar results last month, reporting that lawyers of color made up 11.2% of all attorneys in 2011, and now comprise 14.6%. However, those gains were not seen in all minority groups. 

A law that went into effect this summer could provide some counties with a one-time grant of up to $5,000 to create new waiting areas for crime victims and/or their families as they wait during court proceedings, the Murfreesboro Post reports. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Ferrell Haile, R-Gallatin, and Rep. Michael Curcio, R-Dickson, establishes a “grant program within the District Attorneys General Conference (DAGC) to award grants to county governments to provide a safe and accessible space for victims to meet with attorneys, law enforcement, counselors and others.” 

Lebanon attorney Frank Lannom has been elected to serve as president of the Tennessee Association for Criminal Defense Lawyers (TACDL), the Wilson Post reports.  Lannom is a partner at Lannom & Williams, where he represents clients in a broad range of complex criminal charges. In a press release, Lannom credited TACDL’s “teaching and mentorship of young lawyers,” for getting him where he is today. “I will continue to uphold the values of TACDL and to defend the citizens of Tennessee accused of crimes, wherever justice demands,” he said.

Gov. Bill Lee this afternoon rejected calls from members of his own party to hold a special legislative session, instead announcing he is issuing an executive order requiring schools to allow parents to exempt their children from local school boards’ mask mandates, the Tennessean reports. In issuing Executive Order 84, Lee said, "Districts will make the decision they believe are best for their schools, but parents will have the ultimate decision-making for their individual child’s health and well-being." Soon after Lee's announcement, House Majority Leader Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, said the need for a special session had been averted "in the interim," but that he still wants to see action taken to limit the power of health departments in places like Nashville and Memphis.

The Federal Public Defender for the Middle District of Tennessee is accepting applications for a full-time assistant federal public defender in its trial unit. The position provides legal representation to clients charged with federal criminal offenses before federal magistrate and district courts in the Middle District of Tennessee, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit and U.S. Supreme Court. The office is seeking candidates from a range of backgrounds, including those who have experience working with marginalized communities. Applicants must be law school graduates and admitted to practice (or be eligible to be admitted) before the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has upheld a decision of the Board of Professional Responsibility (BPR) to deny Knoxville attorney Loring Edwin Justice’s petition seeking relief from costs associated with his disciplinary proceedings. The BPR had assessed costs and expenses of $25,403.65 following Justice’s disbarment. Justice filed a petition for relief from costs arguing that the disciplinary proceedings were unconstitutional, the wrong standard of proof was used and his Fifth Amendment privilege was violated. The BPR denied his petition, which he then appealed to the Supreme Court. The court affirmed the BPR’s decision saying the assessment was supported by substantial and material evidence. Read the opinion.

A federal judge in Texas has ordered the Biden administration to revive a Trump-era border policy that required migrants to stay in Mexico until their U.S. immigration court date, WSMV reports. Shortly after President Joe Biden took office, he ended the policy known as "remain in Mexico." In April, the states of Texas and Missouri sued over the policy, arguing its reversal led to a surge of migrants at the border that inflicted costs on the states. According to Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, the reversal violated the Administrative Procedure Act, which dictates what procedures agencies must go through to implement certain policies.