The Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (TACDL) has called on state and community leaders to help prepare for and address the “significant health risk” that the COVID-19 virus poses to law enforcement and inmates at state and local prisons, the Chattanoogan reports. In a statement yesterday, TACDL suggested reducing the prion and jail populations to help minimize the spread of the virus. The group proposed six steps to help reduce the number of pre-trial detainees, including liberally granting release to pre-trial detainees with non-violent offenses, releasing those most vulnerable to the virus, pausing the practice of holding arrestees without bond for violations of probation, and more. Additionally, TACDL urged judges to consider alternatives to incarceration when sentencing.

Gov. Bill Lee today said his administration will provide a series of relief opportunities for state residents, the Tennessean reports. Those opportunities include increased cash benefits for low-income families, relaxing requirements to collect unemployment checks and grants for local governments. Lee plans to pull funds from the reserves of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) fund, which currently contains $730 million. Lee’s administration faced criticisms in October for allowing the reserve to reach that number when its funds were meant to assist poor working families. The TANF program will begin issuing payments of up to $1,000 a month for a qualifying family of five that has lost employment as a result of the COVID-19 virus.

Due to property and other damage in the March 3 tornado and concerns over the spread of COVID-19, Davidson County has halted all evictions, the Tennessean reports. The Davidson County Sheriff’s Office confirmed it would also indefinitely suspend the service of other civil papers. Some proceedings, including orders of protection, child custody orders, emergency mental health orders and papers dealing with protection of elderly or vulnerable persons will still be delivered as normal. 

The TBA has postponed in-person continuing legal education through May 7. See the list of programs impacted. Other new updates today are from the Jefferson County Circuit Court, Knox County courts, Memphis Bar Association, Memphis Area Legal Services, Nashville Sheriff’s office, U.S. District Courts for the Middle and Western Districts of Tennessee, and the Virginia State Supreme Court. Get details here.

There are multiple legal clinics coming up to help those impacted by the March tornado. In Wilson County, virtual clinics will be held by phone on Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m. and on March 28 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Attorneys interested in volunteering should contact Sonya Wright or Tiffany Hagar. The North Nashville Legal Advice Clinic will go on as scheduled on Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Center, 1035 14th Ave. North. Attorneys interested in volunteering their legal services in person or by phone, should contact Andrae Crismon.

The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department says that those who attended a Chattanooga Bar Association event may have been exposed to COVID-19. The bar association confirmed that Rev. Brad Whitaker of St. Paul's Episcopal Church served as the "clerical officiant" at its Memorial Service on Feb. 28, exactly two weeks prior to him being the first individual in the county to be diagnosed with the virus. CBA Executive Director Lynda Hood told Channel 3 that she alerted all members immediately. The health department has asked that all who attended the service contact them at 423-209-8383.

Tennessee Democratic Party Chair Mary Mancini has informed party leaders that the congressional district conventions scheduled for March 21 will be held via online conferencing rather than in person. The conventions take place within each congressional district to name delegates to the national convention. The Democratic National Committee offered state parties the flexibility to deal with the situation and other states are also taking the national party up on the offer, the Nashville Post reports.

The U.S. Supreme Court announced today that is has postponed oral arguments scheduled for its March session. It was scheduled to hold arguments on March 23-25 and March 30-April 1. However, it will hold its regularly scheduled conference on March 20 and issue its regularly scheduled order list on March 23. The building continues to be open for official business and filing deadlines have not been extended, but the building remains closed to the public until further notice.

Twelfth Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Justin Angel was recently featured on one of the nation’s most popular podcasts to talk about his involvement in the case of Adam Braseel, a Grundy County man released from prison in 2019 after serving time for a murder he did not commit. Angel appeared in a recent episode of Criminal, a true crime podcast that is often featured on numerous “best of” podcast lists. The case dates back to 2006 when Braseel was arrested for the murder of Tracy City resident Malcolm Burrows. There was never any physical evidence linking Braseel to the murder but he matched a description of the assailant provided by Burrows’ family. He was convicted and served 12 years in prison before fingerprint evidence proved another individual was the actual perpetrator. Braseel ultimately was released from prison.

The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office has ordered Matt Colvin and Noah Colvin of Hixson to stop buying and selling medical goods while an investigation into reports of possible price gouging is underway. “We will not tolerate price gouging in this time of exceptional need, and we will take aggressive action to stop it,” Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III said in announcing the action. The brothers are believed to have bought the items at stores in both Kentucky and Tennessee. WPLN has more on the story.