Judge Dabney L. Friedrich of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia today vacated a freeze on evictions that was designed to help cash-strapped renters remain in their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a 20-page ruling, Friedrich said the agency exceeded its authority with the temporary nationwide ban. A number of other federal judges have ruled on the eviction ban, with landlords holding a slight advantage in their win-loss record against the federal government, The Hill reports. But while some judges have limited the scope of their rulings to just the parties involved in the suits before them or the jurisdictions they oversee, Friedrich applied the ruling nationwide. The Department of Justice had urged the judge to limit the scope to the plaintiffs in the suit. Within hours of the ruling, the department confirmed it had filed a notice of appeal and asked for a stay of the decision pending appeal. The moratorium was set to expire June 30.

Nashville Mayor John Cooper yesterday appointed 11 members to the new Community Safety Partnership Advisory Board, which will provide recommendations for how to spend nearly $1.5 million in grants to prevent and reduce violence in the city. The board will work with Ron Johnson, who Cooper named Nashville’s first community safety coordinator in March. Members include Davidson County Juvenile Court Judge Sheila Calloway, Andrés Martínez with Conexión Américas, and representatives from educational, social services and medical entities. Read more from the Tennessean.

For those still needing to meet their 2020 CLE requirements, TBA CLE has you covered with over 240 live virtual or on-demand courses by practice area and/or topic at cle.tba.org. In addition to our convenient catalog, we have curated two CLE packages for the 2021 Spring Blast — a 15-Hour Ethics Package and an 8-Hour Ethics Package. These packages are available now through June 30. And don’t forget, all in-person CLE requirements have been waived for 2021 so all CLE can be taken online.

Two open positions will be filled by the Tennessee Bar Association Board of Governors at its meeting on June 18 in accordance with Article 47 of the TBA Bylaws. The West Grand Division Governor Position 2 and Third District Governor seats are open. The West Grand Division seat represents Benton, Carroll, Chester, Crockett, Decatur, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Lake, Lauderdale, Madison, McNairy, Obion, Shelby, Tipton and Weakley counties. The Third District seat represents Bledsoe, Bradley, Hamilton, Marion, McMinn, Meigs, Monroe, Polk and Rhea counties. If you would like to be considered for one of these positions, please contact TBA Executive Director Joycelyn Stevenson at barED@tnbar.org by June 1. Please include a resume and details about your interest in filling the vacancy.

The 2021 TBA Annual Convention, presented this year as both an in-person and virtual event, offers eight hours of CLE credit. One of the key offerings is the annual Better Right Now Program, which will focus this year on biases, how lawyers have been impacted in the past and what legal groups are doing to improve the situation. The first session will feature a panel of therapists and experts talking about how to identify and address implicit and explicit biases. In the second session, a panel of diverse lawyers will discuss their own experiences and how the past actions of others have affected them. Finally, the program will wrap up with a panel of local and affinity bar association leaders discussing initiatives and actions their organizations have taken to address diversity. Don’t miss this important program. Register for the 2021 Convention today!

Day three of Well-Being Week in Law focuses on career and intellectual well-being with the goals of finding personal satisfaction, professional growth and financial stability. Lawyers are encouraged to engage in creative or intellectually challenging activities that foster ongoing development. First, the institute recommends reading “Nine Steps to Achieving Flow in Your Work.” Flow is a psychological state of complete absorption in engaging activities that are optimally challenging. Research shows it is key to well-being and growth and can buffer us against the negative psychological effects of the pandemic. Second, watch the “Fostering Flow is a Key to Growth & Happiness” video with psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi. Finally, download the Flow Activity Guide to find creative activities that align with who you are, are absorbing and challenging, and enable you to disconnect from stressful thoughts, as well as the Job Crafting Activity Guide to find a better fit between strengths, values, preferences and work. Access these and other resources here.

On April 24, the TBA Board of Governors accepted recommendations from its Operations Committee to amend the TBA Bylaws. These amendments would provide an expansion of the TBA’s non-discrimination policy and clarify or revise a number of other sections dealing with election eligibility and procedures. A redline version is available to show the proposed changes. These draft revisions will be posted for 21 days, after which the Board of Governors will vote on the amendments at a specially set board meeting. Send any comments to barEd@tnbar.org.

The Senate Finance Committee today took up SB868, legislation creating a statewide chancery court, and passed the bill without incorporating the House Finance Committee amendment that would instead create the Court of Special Appeals. With the House and Senate versions of SB868/HB1130 conflicting, the two chambers will have to try to work out their differences in a conference committee. TBA lobbyists have been deeply engaged throughout this process, talking to legislators about the different proposed changes to the court system and expressing our grave concerns about the ramifications of these changes. We anticipate that another House amendment to HB1130 will be offered tonight on the House floor. Additionally, SB843/HB513, making it a felony for protesters to obstruct a highway and granting immunity to drivers who unintentionally injure or kill someone blocking a road, was tabled for the year during a special meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee today.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today issued a special order clarifying that Rule 8, RPC 1.8(e) does not exclude the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services (TALS) and its four partners from giving financial aid to clients. The rule maintains that lawyers cannot provide financial assistance to clients in connection with pending or completed litigation. TALS, Legal Aid of East Tennessee, Legal Aid of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, Memphis Area Legal Aid Services and West Tennessee Legal Services last week wrote to the high court, asking it to consider an exception that would allow the organizations to administer aid through a grant funded by the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds. The grant money will be used to expand TALS’ 2Gen legal assistance program that focuses on helping families avoid homelessness by paying their rent, housing debts, resettlement costs and more. The Supreme Court granted the request today, writing that TALS and its partners will not be in violation of the rule when using donations to provide humanitarian aid to those in need. TALS anticipates having up to $13.8 million dollars available to assist up to 1,160 families.

The state House of Representatives last night passed legislation that changes police use-of-force policies, the Nashville Post reports. The bill, SB1380/HB1406, bans chokeholds unless an officer believes deadly force is authorized, requires officers to intervene if witnessing excessive force by other officers, requires de-escalation policies be developed and prohibits the issuance of no-knock warrants. The Senate unanimously approved the bill last week.