Nashville Reps. John Ray Clemmons and Vincent Dixie have announced they’ll be running for the position of House Democratic Caucus chair, the Nashville Post reports. Nashville Rep. Bo Mitchell is also considering a run for the position. The previous chair was Rep. Mike Stewart, who was re-elected to the House, but chose to step down as caucus chair. Dixie is currently caucus treasurer and was just elected to his second term in the House. Clemmons was elected to the House in 2014 and is an attorney and former Tennessee Democratic Party staff member. No challengers have emerged to face Minority Leader Karen Camper of Memphis and Democratic Floor Leader Harold Love of Nashville.

Federal District Court Judge Aleta A. Trauger last week ruled that Disability Rights Tennessee (DRT) can move forward with its lawsuit against the Tennessee Department of Correction over its failure to accommodate deaf inmates. The lawsuit, filed in March, alleges TDOC failed to provide deaf inmates with effective communication, including sign language interpreters and videophones, to ensure equal access to TDOC’s programs and services. Trauger rejected TDOC’s motion to dismiss the case and held that DRT, which is the state’s protection and advocacy organization, has standing to file a lawsuit to protect the civil rights of individuals with disabilities. Read more about the case from the Disability Rights Tennessee website.

Tennessee House Republicans will gather for their annual retreat this week, ahead of a second caucus gathering next week before Thanksgiving, the Tennessean reports. The House Republican Caucus will head to the lodge at Pickwick Landing State Park in Hardin County on Thursday, Friday and Saturday where members will hear from Gov. Bill Lee, the state’s health commissioner, secretary of state, comptroller and treasurer. Roughly half of the 73-member caucus have said they plan to attend, despite Tennessee’s rising number of COVID-19 cases. "It's going to be well-ventilated and social distancing," said House Republican Caucus chairman Jeremy Faison, R-Cosby. House Republicans will hold their leadership elections the Tuesday after the retreat. The only contested leadership role will be between Faison and Rep. Robin Smith of Hixson for House Republican Caucus chair.

The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee has approved $189.1 million for the construction of a new federal courthouse in Chattanooga, the Chattanoogan reports. The funding was included in the Senate’s Fiscal Year 2021 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations bill. In his statement on the funding, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander said a new courthouse is “badly needed” in the “largest and busiest judicial district in Tennessee.” Chattanooga’s current federal courthouse, the Joel W. Solomon Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, was built 87 years ago. The funding must now be considered and approved by both the Senate and the House of Representatives to become law.

The Memphis Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society will host the virtual event, Civil Liberties and COVID-19 Shelter in Place Orders, on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. CST. Julia Mahoney, John S. Battle Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law, will speak on the topic. Those interested in attending may register through the event website or by contacting Greg Grisham.

Nominations are being accepted for the TBA’s Public Service Awards. The annual awards recognize outstanding commitment to access to justice in three categories: work performed by an attorney employed by an organization primarily involved in providing legal representation to the indigent, pro bono work performed by a private attorney, and a strong commitment to pro bono service by a Tennessee law student or recent graduate. Nominations should be submitted via the TBA website no later than Dec. 11. Submissions should include a narrative of the individual’s accomplishments and supporting documents and videos are welcome. For more information, contact TBA Access to Justice Director Liz Todaro.

Transactional Practice 2020: Bankruptcy Basics will introduce basic concepts under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code and the differences between each chapter, and how filings and cases have been impacted by both COVID-19 and the CARES Act. Tune in for this webcast on Nov. 24 from noon until 1 p.m. CST for one hour of general credit CLE. And remember: all 2020 CLE hours can be taken online and TBA members get discounted pricing on all CLE programs.

The Division of Consumer Affairs has issued a warning for seniors in Tennessee to be on the lookout for scams designed to steal their personal information and money. Some of the scams tend to reemerge at the end of the year, including callers claiming to be “Medicare Advisors,” imposters urging you to buy gift cards due to fake emergencies and scammers posing as a distressed grandchild or law enforcement agent demanding money transfers. The Attorney General’s Office has more on how to protect against these scams and how to report suspicious activity.

The Federal Trade Commission last week authorized a suit in federal court to block a proposed $350 million acquisition of two Memphis-based Saint Francis hospitals by Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare. According to the Daily Memphian, the complaint says the acquisition would reduce competition for a range of medical treatments, ultimately leading to higher health care costs and less incentives to expand services and improve quality of care. Attorney General Herbert Slatery agreed with the FTC’s take on the transaction and today announced his office would join the commission in its challenge. “We recognize and respect Methodist’s significant contributions to the Memphis community, but we believe the proposed acquisition would simply give it too much power over the Memphis healthcare market and eliminate incentives to continue to improve quality, expand service, increase access, and recruit the best doctors,” Slatery said in the statement. Read the full release on the AG’s website.

The TBA’s Public Service Academy has earned a national award for public service and law-related education. The two-year old program, which is a nonpartisan training fellowship for attorneys interested in running for local offices such as school board, city council and county commission, was selected for a 2020 LexisNexis Community & Educational Outreach Award, presented by the National Association of Bar Executives. Participants in the program spend two weekends learning about topics such as strategy, campaign finance and work-life balance. Knoxville attorney Tasha Blakney of Eldridge & Blakney PC and Clarksville attorney Joel Wallace of Cunningham, Mitchell & Rocconi are co-chairs of the committee producing the program.