The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services this week released a new plan to restructure Medicaid funding for states that expanded coverage under Obamacare, the Nashville Post reports. The plan will not apply to Tennessee since it never expanded coverage, but state officials say they are hopeful their block grant plan will meet with favor as some of the provisions in the federal plan mirror those in the Tennessee plan.

President Donald Trump today announced a new White House position dedicated to combating human trafficking following a White House summit. The executive order also expands education programs, promotes housing opportunities for survivors and prioritizes the removal of child sexual abuse material from the internet. Finally, under the measure, the U.S. State Department will be tasked with creating an online clearinghouse for resources and information on efforts to combat human trafficking. WJHL has more from the Associated Press.

The Trump administration today announced it will ban immigration from four countries — Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar and Nigeria — and bar two other countries, Sudan and Tanzania, from participating in the diversity visa lottery, the Wall Street Journal reports. Officials said the move is necessary given national security concerns that the six countries do not meet U.S. requirements for information-sharing and passport security. The policy is set to take effect on Feb. 21.

The Duncan School of Law at Lincoln Memorial University and Tennesseans for Historical Justice (THJ) will present “Dealing with the Ethical Implications of Past Crimes involving Racism with an Examination of the Elbert Williams Case” on Feb. 21. The event will run from 8:30 a.m. to noon at the law school, 601 W. Summit Hill Dr. Knoxville 37902. The forum is free to attend or $10 if attendees would like to eat breakfast. Speakers include John Ashworth, a member of THJ, who has done extensive civil rights work in West Tennessee; Cynthia Deitle, a retired FBI special agent who spent 22 years dealing with hate crimes, police brutality and public corruption; and Jim Emison, who has worked to honor NAACP officer Elbert Williams, who was murdered in Brownsville. He will speak about the state’s new Civil Rights Cold Case Act. Learn more or contact April Hurley, 865-545-5339 for more information.

Recovery courts are proving to be powerful tools to combat substance abuse, reduce costs and put lives back on track, and they have seen a remarkable growth in Tennessee in recent years, Chattanoogan.com reports. Based on statistics released by the Administrative Office of the Courts, there has been a 67% increase in the number of recovery courts in the state since 2013 with 82 drug-related courts providing services to 86 out of Tennessee’s 95 counties. Recovery courts include drug courts, safe baby courts, mental health courts, veterans' courts and more.

The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands will hold a free legal clinic from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Nashville Public Library, 615 Church St., Nashville 37219. The clinic will address issues such as conservatorships, wills and estates, homeownership, landlord problems, family problems, debt, employment issues and government benefits. For more information or to volunteer contact Kendra Cheek at 615-780-7131.

The 2020 Disability Law Forum will offer a full day of legal updates for disability law practitioners. Speakers include Social Security Administration Administrative Law Judge H. Scott Williams; Kimberly Joseph with Tennessee Disability Determination Services; vocational consultant Michelle McBroom Weiss; and several Tennessee lawyers practicing in the field. Attendees can earn up to 3.5 general hours and 1.5 dual hours. Register now to reserve your spot!

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands will continue its Veteran’s Project next week in Nashville. The project is a free weekly legal clinic for veterans across Middle Tennessee that provides the opportunity for veterans to speak with a lawyer and identify and address civil legal issues. The next clinic will be held at 11 a.m. on Feb. 5 at Operation Stand Down, 1125 12th Ave. S., Nashville. For more information, contact Kendra Cheek.  

The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled yesterday that a criminal trial court lacks authority to partially vacate its own order dismissing criminal prosecutions once the order becomes final. The court also acknowledged that the defendant at the center of the opinion had identified several ambiguities in the Tennessee Sexual Offender Registration, Verification, and Tracking Act concerning how persons who commit sexual offenses in other states should be classified as sexual offenders or violent sexual offenders in Tennessee. The Supreme Court urged the state legislature to clarify these ambiguities. Read the unanimous opinion authored by Justice Cornelia A. Clark.

The latest episode of the Legislative Updates podcast is now streaming. This week, the TBA’s director of public policy and government affairs, Berkley Schwarz, and Adams and Reese attorney and TBA lobbyist, Brad Lampley, discuss what state lawyers can do to help eliminate the professional privilege tax. The show livestreams on the TBA’s Facebook page and in podcast form every Thursday. Legislative Updates is part of the Tennessee Bar Association Podcast Network and can be found on the TBA's website or wherever you listen to podcasts, simply by searching "TBA Legislative Updates."