Lawyers for Pervis Payne appeared in court today after filing a petition saying he is intellectually disabled, WMCA News reports. The legal team also claims investigators mishandled evidence and that Payne’s race was a factor in his conviction. The right to petition the court for a ruling that a death row inmate is intellectually disabled and therefore not eligible for the death penalty was authorized by legislation approved by the state legislature this past session. Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich says nothing they have presented proves his innocence.

A day after a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the D.C. Circuit rejected their effort to resume evictions, a group of landlords has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on the matter, News 5 reports. The group is asking the court to vacate a stay imposed by U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich on her ruling that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention overstepped its authority in imposing the nationwide moratorium. Though Friedrich found the action unconstitutional, she agreed to delay her ruling from taking effect to allow time for the Biden administration to appeal. The group submitted an emergency application to Chief Justice John Roberts stating that the current order would "prolong the severe financial burdens borne by landlords under the moratorium for the past nine months." The moratorium is set to expire on June 30.

Registration for the in-person TBA Convention in Memphis will close Monday at midnight CDT. After that point, registration will be limited to the virtual experience. Don’t miss this opportunity to join colleagues from across the state for the annual Bench Bar Luncheon, Lawyers Luncheon, and eight hours of CLE credit, including the Bench Bar program, Better Right Now session and Legislative Update. In-person attendees also will enjoy a joint social event with state judges, a group breakfast and the delights of Beale Street and beyond. Get details here.

After a public hearing yesterday, the Trial Court Vacancy Commission has forwarded the names of three candidates to Gov. Bill Lee to be considered for the 19th Judicial District Circuit Court vacancy. Carl Daniel Brollier Jr., Adrienne Gilliam Fry and M. Joel Wallace were chosen by the commission out of six candidates. The 19th Judicial District covers Montgomery and Robertson counties. The vacancy was created by the retirement of Judge Ross H. Hicks. Read more on each applicant on the Administrative Office of the Court's website. 

The League of Women Voters of Tennessee will host a free webinar on redistricting featuring University of Memphis School of Law Professor Steven Mulroy. The Great Unskewing: The Law and Politics of Redistricting will feature Mulroy discussing the federal and state law requirements regarding redistricting as well as arguments for nonpartisan redistricting commissions as discussed in his book, “Rethinking U.S. Election Law: Unskewing the System.” The program will take place on June 9 from 11 a.m. until noon CDT.

The full U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday heard arguments over whether Tennessee’s 48-hour waiting period  is a substantial burden to women seeking abortions, the Associated Press reports. U.S. District Judge Bernard Freidman struck down the requirement in October, ruling that the delays caused by the waiting period pushed some women past the cutoff date for medication abortions, forcing them to opt for a riskier surgical abortion. The state Attorney General’s office argued that because women can still obtain abortions and because the number of abortions in the state only slightly declined, the law isn’t a substantial burden. A three-judge panel in February denied the state’s request to reinstate the law while it appealed Freidman’s decision, but that ruling was overruled in April by the full court.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today heard arguments in the fight over Gov. Bill Lee’s controversial school voucher program, the Tennessean reports. A Nashville judge ruled in 2020 that the program violated “home rule” provisions of the state's constitution because it only applied to Davidson and Shelby counties. The court deemed it unconstitutional and the Tennessee Court of Appeals later affirmed that decision. Arguing before the state’s high court today, Metro Director of Law Bob Cooper called the law an “unfunded mandate” from the state. Solicitor General Andrée Blumstein argued that limiting the program to two counties was the state’s attempt at creating a pilot program that, if successful, could expand to more counties. The legislation originally applied to five counties, but as lawmakers debated the program, that number was slowly “whittled down” to two. The measure passed by one vote from a Knoxville representative, who only agreed to switch his vote once Knox County was removed from the program. The FBI is reportedly investigating whether bribery was used to pass the measure. The justices did not indicate when they might rule on the matter.

The Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday determined that the statute that limits noneconomic damages in personal injury cases to $750,000 applies to all claims asserted in the action. Yesterday’s ruling stems from a case in which a trial court applied the statutory cap separately to two plaintiffs in the same healthcare liability action. That decision was later affirmed by the Court of Appeals. Justices Sharon G. Lee and Cornelia A. Clark dissented, stating that the cap on noneconomic damages, however it is applied, is unconstitutional. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more on the case.  

Vice president of the TBA’s Young Lawyers Division and Chattanooga attorney Brittany Faith is being recognized by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) with the 2021 Joseph Minsky Young Lawyer Award. Faith was chosen for the award based on her outstanding contributions to the immigration and nationality law practice areas. Faith leads the Immigration Practice Group at Chattanooga law firm Grant Konvalinka & Harrison PC, where she helps clients from across the world with their immigration needs. Faith will assume the role of president-elect for the TBA YLD this month, before leading the division as president in 2022-2023. Read more about Faith’s accomplishments in immigration law on AILA’s website.

If you missed the TBA Labor & Employment Law Section’s annual forum, it is now available in just 1-Click. This bundle of sessions from the forum includes a case law update, a discussion on what the first 100 days under the Biden administration looked like for the practice area, a discussion on controversial topics ranging from court-packing to kneeling and much more. This package is worth two dual and three general CLE credits and can be purchased on the TBA CLE website.