The Tennessee Supreme Court has declined to intervene in the legal battle over Gov. Bill Lee’s education savings account program and upheld an injunction that has put the program on hold, the Daily Memphian reports. Earlier last month, Davidson County Chancellor Anne Martin ruled that the program was unconstitutional and issued the injunction. The Appeals Court upheld that injunction and scheduled arguments to debate its constitutionality for Aug. 5. Attorney General Herbert Slatery asked the Supreme Court to step in and take the case since an Aug. 5 decision would come too late to meet the program’s rollout deadline. Lee’s proposed budget plan for 2021 reduced the voucher program by $22 million, but kept it intact. The program still contains $16 million to provide $7,300 in payments to around 2,000 students.

An item in Tuesday’s TBA Today regarding virtual legal clinics held by the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands linked to the wrong clinic schedule. The Free Legal Phone Clinic June schedule can be found here. Please contact Andrae Crismon or Kendra Cheek, 615-780-7131, for more information or to volunteer.

The TBA’s 2020 Summer FastTrack program will be held as a virtual program with sessions specifically designed for practitioners in the Memphis, Nashville and Knoxville areas. The Knoxville program will take place on Aug. 21. Don’t miss the opportunity to join area judges and attorneys for four one-hour presentations and an optional lunchtime Zoom mixer. Attendees will hear from Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee, Frank Johnstone of Wilson Worley PC in Kingsport and Samantha Parris with the Law Office of Samantha Parris in Knoxville. Registrants also will receive eight hours of prepaid credit to use on any of the TBA’s online or virtual CLE offerings and three hours of exclusive online videos designed specifically for general practitioners on topics such as working from home, law practice management and tips for growing your practice. Sign up now and get 15 hours of CLE credit through this one program!

Local bar associations and their leaders across Tennessee have issued statements concerning the tragic death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the struggles our country, our state and our cities are experiencing as we process how our nation can heal in the wake of so much tragedy affecting so many people. The statements have also addressed the special role lawyers play in our society, as change agents, problem solvers and voices for justice. Here are statements issued by the Memphis Bar Association, Nashville Bar Association, Knoxville Bar Association and Chattanooga Bar Association. Tennessee Bar Association President Sarah Sheppeard and TBA YLD President Terica Smith also earlier issued statements concerning the events.

Retired teacher John Edward “Eddie” Anderson has reached a $1.75 million settlement in a recent lawsuit against the Oak Ridge Schools, its superintendent and former assistant superintendent, the Oak Ridger reports. Anderson, a longtime chemistry teacher and track coach, had sued on charges of deprivation of due process and breach of contract, as well as for defamation and a “false light” invasion of his privacy. He retired in 2015 amid allegations related to sleeping arrangements during a high school track team trip to South Carolina. Anderson was represented by Nashville lawyer Doug Janney, who reported that a 2019 jury verdict — originally challenged by the school district but recently used as the basis of the settlement — was among the highest in a single plaintiff employment case in Tennessee and, unlike many high verdicts in employment cases, was not reduced due to damages caps.

Calls for law enforcement reforms in the wake of George Floyd’s death are sparking divisions in the U.S. Congress, raising questions about what, if anything, could make it into law, The Hill reports. Lawmakers are grappling with how to respond to the killing and mass public outrage, which has revived the national conversation about racial inequality and police use of force. Proposals being discussed include a ban on chokeholds and military-grade weapons, mandating all law enforcement wear body cameras, outlawing private prisons and jails, rooting out racial profiling, creating a national registry of police misconduct, additional training and modifying “qualified immunity” protections for police. The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee has tentatively scheduled a hearing on the use of force by police officers for June 16.

Gov. Bill Lee and other state leaders yesterday unveiled a $200 million fund to help various small business owners hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Nashville Post reports. Lee teamed with Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, House Speaker Cameron Sexton and others to announce the Tennessee Business Relief Program, which will channel federal CARES Act money through the Department of Revenue to small companies such as restaurants and bars, hair salons, fitness centers and various entertainment venues. An estimated 28,000 businesses are expected to qualify for the aid. More information will be available on the Department of Revenue’s website in the coming days. A second round of relief for other businesses also is under discussion.

Warner Bros. is offering free rentals of its 2019 film “Just Mercy” as a resource for those “interested in learning more about the systemic racism that plagues our society” in the wake of George Floyd's death in Minneapolis. The film follows the career of attorney Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, and chronicles his courtroom struggles against racial injustice and mass incarceration. The film, based on Stevenson's 2014 memoir “Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption," is available online and through streaming platforms such as Prime Video, Apple TV, FandangoNow, YouTube and Google Play, WBIR News 10 reports.

While most lawyers across the country are still sheltering in place and working from home because of the pandemic, some law firm offices are cautiously reopening in parts of the country that have lower infection rates, Law.com reports. In a new podcast, Law.com's Business of Law Senior Editor David Bario describes what will be a very different workplace for many law firms going forward. Listen on the Law.com website or on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify or Libsyn.

The COVID-19 pandemic has postponed graduations, closed businesses and canceled events. But it has not meant a halt to child abuse and neglect, according to Madison County Juvenile Court Judge Christy Little. In an interview with the Jackson Sun, Little notes that reports of abuse may have waned but that is primarily because schools have been closed, court-supervised visits have been halted and doctor visits have been postponed, leaving teachers, social workers and doctors unable to observe students who may have been abused. Little fears that the effects of unreported abuse could be seen for months or years after the pandemic. She also called on the public to help “be the eyes and ears of the court” and report suspected abuse.