The U.S. House today passed legislation that would classify lynching as a federal hate crime, The Hill reports. The Emmett Till Antilynching Act, introduced by Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Illinois, passed on a 410-4 vote. Today’s vote held historic significance as it came 120 years after a committee in the lower chamber defeated legislation that would have criminalized lynchings. The first bill to make lynchings a federal crime passed the House in 1900, but was ultimately filibustered in the Senate. Emmett Till was a 14-year-old African American boy who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955.

English pharmaceutical company Mallinckrodt has agreed to a tentative settlement with thousands of local governments across the country who are suing opioid manufacturers, the Tennessean reports. The company will declare bankruptcy and over the next eight years make payments totaling $1.6 billion, with most going into a trust to pay for addiction treatments. It is too soon yet to know how much of the settlement money will be spent in Tennessee. Mallinckrodt sent around 87 million pills to Tennessee from 2006 to 2014 and nationwide shipped 2.3 billion pills over the same timeframe.

The Supreme Court today held that the state’s cap on noneconomic damages in civil cases does not violate the Tennessee Constitution. Plaintiff Jodi McClay had filed a personal injury lawsuit against Airport Management Services LLC, and was awarded damages by the U.S. District Court of Middle Tennessee that included $930,000 for noneconomic damages for pain and suffering, permanent injury and loss of enjoyment of life. The defendant sought to apply the state’s statutory cap on noneconomic damages, which caps damages at $750,000 in most civil liability actions. McClay argued the cap was unconstitutional. In the majority opinion, the Supreme Court held the cap doesn’t violate a plaintiff’s right to a trial by jury, doesn’t interfere with the court’s authority to apply and interpret the law and doesn’t violate the equal protection provision of the Tennessee Constitution. Go online to read the majority opinion by Chief Justice Jeff Bivins and dissenting opinions by Justices Cornelia A. Clark and Sharon G. Lee.

The American Constitution Society (ACS) announced today that former U.S. Senator Russell Feingold will serve as the organization’s new president. Feingold served in the Wisconsin State Senate for 10 years before representing the state in the U.S. Senate from 1993 until 2011. During his time there, Feingold he served as chairman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution and cosponsored the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. After leaving the Senate, Feingold went on to teach constitutional law at Yale Law School, Marquette University Law School, Harvard Law School and Stanford Law School, where he still currently teaches. His new role with ACS begins March 9. Read more on the ACS website.  

Three attorneys — Jerri S. Bryant, Kristi M. Davis and Thomas J. Wright — were selected today as finalists to fill the Court of Appeals vacancy created by the upcoming retirement of the Hon. Charles D. Susano Jr. The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments met yesterday and today to consider 16 applicants for the Eastern Division vacancy. You can find information on all the applicants on the Administrative Office of the Court’s website.  

A record number of attorneys provided pro bono services in 2018, according to a new report from the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Access to Justice Commission. Its annual Pro Bono Report shows that 52.78% of Tennessee attorneys reported completing pro bono hours, an increase from 2017’s 51.50%. According to the report, 9,539 attorneys provided 640,958 hours of pro bono service, carrying a value over $137.8 million. “The numbers are just outstanding, but what really stands out to me is that the vast majority of time given is ‘boots on the ground’ – lawyers meeting with our state’s most vulnerable populations, including single parents, the elderly and veterans,” said Gail Ashworth, chair of the ATJ Commission.

Are you prioritizing your friendships? In her new book, Friendship: The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life's Fundamental Bond, science writer Lydia Denworth details the importance of friendship and how those connections play a crucial role in our health. “Very few people understand that your social relationships can actually change your health,” she said in an interview with NPR. “They can change your cardiovascular system, your immune system, how you sleep, your cognitive health.” Even with new science pointing to the impact friendship has on our health on a cellular level, Denworth believes close connections are still being taken for granted. She says she hopes instead of thinking of friendships as another chore, people will prioritize them and know that when they do, they're doing something good for their health. Read the full interview on NPR.

Take a deep dive into post adoption contract agreements during the TBA’s 2020 Adoption Law Forum on April 14. General counsel from the Tennessee Department of Children's Services will also be on hand to provide an update on legislation affecting the profession. Programming will begin at noon at the Tennessee Bar Center in Nashville and will be immediately followed by a networking reception. Head to the TBA’s website for more information and to register.

A new rule that allows the federal government to deny green cards to immigrants who use public benefits took effect yesterday, the Associated Press reports. Advocates say the new guideline is prompting droves of immigrants to drop government social services. The rule was to take effect in October but was delayed by legal challenges alleging it violates due process rights. The U.S. Supreme Court last month cleared the way for the Trump administration to move forward while the legality of the rule is litigated. The AP looks at how the change is affecting immigrant communities. U.S. News has the story.

The Chattanooga Bar Association is accepting nominations for its annual Liberty Bell Award for public service now through April 8, Chattanoogan.com reports. The award is given each year to honor an outstanding citizen in the Chattanooga area who has strengthened the America system of freedom under law. Judges and lawyers are not eligible. The 2020 award will be presented during the association’s Law Day Luncheon on May 6. Nominations should be sent to Lynda Minks Hood, Executive Director, Chattanooga Bar Association, The Pioneer Building, Ste 420, 801 Broad St., Chattanooga, TN 37402.