Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron has agreed to publicly release grand jury deliberations in the Breonna Taylor case and also acknowledged he never recommended homicide charges against any of the officers conducting the drug raid that led to Taylor’s death, the Associated Press reports. The jury last week decided to file no charges against any of the officers involved in Taylor’s fatal shooting, opting to instead charge one officer with wanton endangerment for shooting into an adjacent apartment. Cameron said a record of the proceedings would be released Wednesday, and that the public “will see that over the course of two-and-a-half days, our team presented a thorough and complete case to the grand jury.” Cameron also said he will not object if members of the panel wish to speak publicly about their experience, stating he was not concerned about them talking because he was “confident” in the case his team presented.

Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery, alongside the Federal Trade Commission and more than 50 federal and state law enforcement partners, today announced a nationwide law enforcement and outreach initiative to protect consumers from phantom debt collection and abusive and threatening debt collection practices.” Operation Corrupt Collector” includes enforcement actions brought by the FTC, three federal partners, and partners from 16 different states against debt collectors engaged in these illegal practices. The AG’s website has the full release on the initiative.

The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office and the Division of Consumer Affairs are warning consumers of an alleged driveway paving scam after receiving several complaints from state residents. Robert Stevens with Blacktop Pros, who was also named in a January complaint from the Arkansas Attorney General, is named in the Tennessee complaint for deceptive trade practice violations. In one instance, neighbors said they were approached by a man offering a deal on leftover materials. They paid him $1,500, but the work crew did not finish, claiming they ran out of asphalt and demanding a much higher price to finish the job. The operators may have also used the following business names in the past: Robert Stevens Construction, R S Asphalt, and Pro-Pave Asphalt. 

The TBA Entertainment & Sports Law Section will present the second installment of its webcast series on Oct. 14 from noon until 1 p.m. CDT. The program, titled Recent Cases in Copyright and Entertainment Law, will focus on cases decided this year dealing with the Copyright Act and in the field of entertainment. Issues to be discussed include an analysis of applicable statutes of limitations, who owns the law, whether tattoos on basketball players depicted in video games are protected by copyright, whether a state can be liable for copyright infringement and whether cartoon characters are protected by copyright. The program is certified for one general CLE credit.  

Tri-Cities lawyer Thomas H. Torbett died Saturday at Holston Valley Community Hospital in Kingsport at the age of 82. Torbett earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law and joined his father in 1964 to establish Torbett & Torbett Attorneys at Law. He continued practicing law for 55 years, retiring in 2019. Torbett also worked with law students, serving as a judge for moot court competitions and passing on his many years of legal experience. He was active in his church, where he volunteered on the board of trustees and coached the girls basketball team, and enjoyed a variety of outdoor activities. According to his wishes, his body was donated to East Tennessee State University Quillen College of Medicine. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to First Broad Street United Methodist Church, 100 East Church Circle, Kingsport, TN 37660; or Petworks, 2141 Idle Hour Rd., Kingsport, TN 37660.

Parsons lawyer and TBA House of Delegates member Edwin C. Townsend died Saturday. He was 66. Originally from Jackson, Townsend earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law. Following graduation, he joined his father’s law practice, where they worked together for more than 20 years. Townsend was active in the Tennessee Bar Association, first serving in the Young Lawyers Division and later in the House of Delegates, where he was the current 24th District Delegate. He also was a charter member of the Young Lawyers Division Fellows and later served as its president. Townsend was also active in the University of Tennessee’s National Alumni Association, serving as its president in 1989-1990. A graveside service will be held Saturday at 1 p.m. CDT at the Parsons Cemetery. A celebration of life will be scheduled when gatherings are possible. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the University of Tennessee Pride of the Southland Marching Band Scholarship Fund or the College of Law Scholarship Fund (search for “Law College Scholarship Fund” under fund selection).

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Friday rejected a request from Carroll County lawyer Benjamin Dempsey to “supplement, complete and correct the record” in the matter of his suspension from the practice of law. The court suspended Dempsey for five years on Aug. 21, with three years to be served on active suspension and the remainder on conditional probation, after he agreed to a conditional guilty plea. The court made the suspension retroactive to Aug. 16, 2018, the date of his temporary suspension. On Sept. 4, Dempsey filed the motion to correct the record, which the Board of Professional Conduct opposed. The court said it reviewed all materials before rejecting Dempsey’s motion.

The Tennessee Supreme Court is seeking comments on a petition from the Nashville Bar Association that the court amend Rule 21 section 3.01(a) to require that two hours of the continuing education required annually be dedicated to diversity topics. The NBA filed the petition with the court on Aug. 28. Comments should be submitted by Dec. 30. The court reports that it has already received comments in support of the petition from the Tennessee Employment Lawyers Association and the Center for Excellence in Decision-Making.

The Shelby County Criminal Court plans to start holding jury trials again beginning Oct. 1, the Commercial Appeal reports. The court had suspended jury trials in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is now preparing to allow a limited number of trials using social distancing and masks. "We're prioritizing those who have been in custody the longest and the most severe offenses," said Criminal Court Judge John W. Campbell, who signed the order allowing cases to restart. According to the order, individual judges have the discretion to choose which cases to move forward based on case characteristics and public health guidelines. Meanwhile, the U.S. Court for the Western District of Tennessee restarted trials at its Jackson location last week and plans to restart trials at its Memphis location in October. That court is also using face shields and plexiglass barriers for additional protection, the court clerk reports.

The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear four cases on Wednesday and will livestream oral arguments to its YouTube channel. The cases are In re Neveah M, an expedited appeal that examines the grounds for termination of parental rights; Snake Steel Inc. v. Holladay Construction Group LLC, which involves retainage fees and statutory penalties under Tennessee’s Prompt Pay Act; State of Tennessee v. Shalonda Weems, in which the state is appealing a Court of Criminal Appeal’s decision to set aside a jury conviction for aggravated child neglect; and State of Tennessee v. Samantha Grissom Scott, in which the defendant is seeking to invalidate a search warrant and evidence obtained during the search, arguing that her consent to search the home was involuntary.