Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III has joined a bipartisan coalition of 24 state attorneys general in asking the Federal Trade Commission to strengthen its rules prohibiting websites, mobile applications and other digital marketing companies from collecting personal information from children under 13, and using that information to track children. The group is asking the agency to expand the definition of personal information to include faceprints used to unlock cellphones, health data from smart watches and genetic information, and pursue companies that embed code in children’s mobile applications that can track behavioral habits.

State Rep. Bob Freeman has joined his father’s real estate company, Freeman Webb Co., as executive vice president, the Nashville Post reports. The younger Freeman represents Tennessee’s 56th House district, which includes parts of Davidson County. He previously was vice president of real estate investment and development at Forestar Group, an Austin-based real estate and natural resources firm. He also once served as the co-founder and president of Freeman Applegate Partners, a Nashville-based construction and development consultancy firm.

Metro Nashville and Shelby County public schools are still considering legal action against the state should Gov. Bill Lee’s voucher proposal continue moving forward, the Nashville Post reports. Leaders at the schools say they are still considering a lawsuit but would prefer the legislature repeal the law. The law would give qualifying families more than $7,000 in taxpayer funds to pay for private school tuition and other related costs.

The Tennessee Supreme Court’s podcast “Court Talk” recently featured several of the state’s leading experts on the intersection between human trafficking and domestic violence. Topics included recognizing patterns of coercion and abuse and how victims present in domestic violence cases. Guests included Judge Ana Esobar, who oversees the Nashville Human Trafficking Intervention Court; Judge Robert Philyaw, who presides over juvenile court in Chattanooga; and Davidson County Assistant District Attorney Sarah Wolfson, who specializes in human trafficking cases.

Metro Nashville Public Schools has dropped a plan to integrate three of its most racially isolated schools because a federal grant that would have paid for the program has been cancelled. According to Nashville Public Radio, the grant funding would have been used to encourage middle-class parents to consider Buena Vista Elementary School, Jere Baxter Middle School and Pearl-Cohn Magnet High School. The federal program, Opening Doors Expanding Opportunities, was created by the Obama Administration but cancelled shortly after President Trump took office.

The Nashville Arts & Business Council recently released its annual report for fiscal year 2019, which shows that its Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts initiative served 257 individuals and 29 nonprofit arts organizations at its programs and events, as well as 64 clients at three in-person clinics. In addition, VLPA provided 442 hours of pro bono legal assistance, worth more than $147,000 in 2019. Read the report here.

Gov. Bill Lee last week appointed Kyle Hixson as criminal court judge for the 6th Judicial District, a vacancy created by Judge Bob McGee’s retirement. The 6th Judicial District covers Knox County. Prior to this appointment, Hixson served two stints in the Office of the Knox County District Attorney General. He is also an adjunct professor of law in trial practice at the University of Tennessee College of Law.

The University of Memphis and Austin Peay State University announced today the creation of a program that will allow students to earn a bachelor’s and law degree in six years, the Nashville Post reports. Austin Peay students would need to apply to the Memphis law school by the end of their junior year and, if accepted, would receive their bachelor’s degree upon completing their first year of law school. The University of Tennessee College of Law and the University of Tennessee at Martin announced a similar program earlier this year.

The Knox County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that it doesn’t have a centralized and easily searchable system to track documents related to its participation in ICE’s 287 (g) program, which gives deputies federal authority to detain immigrants who enter the country illegally. During an open records lawsuit today, Knox County Chancellor John Weaver peppered the sheriff’s office with questions about the system and why it’s set up in a way that requires costly and extensive searching to find documents. The lawsuit was filed by University of Tennessee professor Meghan Conley after the sheriff’s office tried charging her for records she requested on the 287 (g) program. The suit was filed under the state’s Sunshine Law and cites roughly a dozen instances in which the sheriff’s office refused to answer Conley’s request for documents. Read more from the Knoxville News Sentinel.

The Tennessee Bar Association's office will be closed tomorrow for an offsite staff retreat. The office will re-open Thursday.