The U.S. Supreme Court last week decided it would not consider Tennessee’s lawsuit against the federal government over refugee resettlement funds, the Tennessean reports. The SCOTUS decision ends a years long legal battle over the matter, which was originally dismissed by a federal judge in March 2018 and again by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in July 2019. Attorneys for the state have argued that the federal government was forcing states to pay for refugee resettlement, violating the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit made Tennessee the first in the nation to sue the federal government over refugee resettlement under the 10th Amendment, which guides the split of powers between states and the federal government

The Tennessee Faith & Justice Alliance will kick off its fourth annual Pro Bono & Faith Days this month with virtual training programs for each of the state’s grand divisions. The programs will feature a panel discussion around the intersection of faith, pro bono and racial justice, legal resource trainings from Tennessee Access to Justice Partners and free virtual legal clinic information. These free programs are designed for faith and community leaders, but all are welcome. Registration is required for each event. The schedule is as follows: West Tennessee on Oct. 26, Middle Tennessee on Oct. 28 and East Tennessee on Oct. 30.

The TBA’s Young Lawyers Division will continue its virtual law school visits this week, with calls scheduled with students at the Nashville School of Law tomorrow and Vanderbilt University Law School on Wednesday. This year's program will focus on the “Road to Success” for 3L and 4L students. YLD members will share their experiences on topics including how they chose their practice area, bar exam study tips and habits, how to network as a law student and young professional, mental health wellness and more. For more information, contact YLD Coordinator Stephanie Vonhamme.

The Justice Department on Tuesday filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google, alleging the company abused its dominance in online search and advertising to stifle competition and harm consumers, the Associated Press reports. The suit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., alleges that Google uses billions of dollars collected from advertisers to pay phone manufacturers to ensure Google is the default search engine on browsers. Attorneys general from 11 states joined the government in the federal suit, but several states were reluctant, including Tennessee. Attorney General Herbert Slatery and attorneys general from seven other states released a statement on the lawsuit today, saying they had not yet concluded their own investigation into Google. “We plan to conclude parts of our investigation of Google in the coming weeks,” the statement reads. “If we decide to file a complaint, we would file a motion to consolidate our case with the DOJ’s.” Google responded to the complaint immediately via tweet today, calling the lawsuit “deeply flawed.”

Knoxville lawyer George Turner Howard III was issued a public censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court on Friday. Howard shared fees with outside counsel without first obtaining the informed consent of his clients in writing. He also provided financial assistance to clients, held out certain non-lawyer staff as persons holding corporate officer positions in his firm, and made deceptive statements through his advertising. Howard has corrected these issues and has agreed to discontinue such conduct. A public censure is a rebuke and warning to the attorney, but it has no effect on their ability to practice law.

Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk Heidi Kuhn said it was “human error” when a clerk in her office’s property and evidence room mistakenly grabbed evidence from another murder case and gave it to attorneys working on the death row case of Pervis Payne, the Daily Memphian reports. Kuhn had called for a forensic audit of her office and says new procedures are now in place to prevent another such  situation. Payne’s attorneys had announced there was new evidence found that had never been tested for DNA. But it was later revealed by Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich that the evidence was from a different murder case that occurred a decade after Payne was convicted.

The Tennessee Historical Commission won’t consider removing the bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest from the state capitol until early next year, but some Tennesseans weighed in with public comments at the commission’s meeting Friday, WPLN reports. The commission also identified the stakeholders who need official notice of the request to move the bust. The commission plans to consider moving the bust to the Tennessee State Museum in February.

Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk has joined with more than 60 prosecutors across the country pledging not to enforce laws criminalizing abortion, Tennessee Lookout reports. The group released a statement last week committing to “not prosecute women who obtain abortions and health care professionals who provide treatment.” Funk is the only Tennesseean to sign the statement, which was organized by Fair and Just Prosecution and includes district attorneys and state attorneys general. The move reaffirms a similar statement Funk made in a recent federal court filing about a state abortion law.

The Arts and Business Council of Greater Nashville has announced that LaTonnsya Burney is the new part-time manager for its Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts program. A Nashville native, Burney earned her law degree from the University of Memphis School of Law. Since graduating, she has served as plaintiff and defense counsel, outside counsel for an insurance company and in-house counsel for a number of corporate entities and government agencies. A current member of the TBA’s Leadership Law class, Burney is passionate about mentoring and opportunities for diverse lawyers.

The federal government will execute the first woman on death row in nearly seven decades on Dec. 8, the U.S. Justice Department announced Friday. Lisa Montgomery was convicted for the 2004 murder of a pregnant woman in Missouri. She will be executed by lethal injection at the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana. The last woman to be executed by the federal government was Bonnie Heady, who was put to death in a gas chamber in 1953. Also on Friday, the Justice Department scheduled a Dec. 10. execution for Brandon Bernard, who with his accomplices murdered two youth ministers in 1999. The executions will be the eighth and ninth carried out in 2020 after the administration ended an informal 17-year-hiatus in federal executions in July, Reuters reports.