Sullivan Country issued $80 million in bond debt 15 months ago to fund expansion of the long overcrowded county jail. But that amount will not be enough to cover expenses based on three bids the county recently received for the work, the Times News reports. The bids, ranging in price from $95.9 million to $98.9 million, note that an increase in building material costs have caused the price jump from the previous estimate. The county commission will consider the bids at a meeting next week. The current jail has been under scrutiny by the Tennessee Corrections Institute since 2014, when the jail nearly lost its certification due to overcrowding and other deficiencies found during an inspection. The jail has retained its certification under “plan of action” status, which means county officials are able to show progress toward solving the problem.

A federal judge in New York has rejected OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma's bankruptcy settlement over a provision that would protect members of the Sackler family from litigation, NPR reports. Judge Colleen McMahon ruled that bankruptcy law does not give judges the authority to grant that kind of protection for people who are not declaring bankruptcy themselves. The company sought bankruptcy protection in 2019 in the face of thousands of lawsuits claiming the it pushed doctors to prescribe OxyContin, helping spark an opioid crisis that has been linked to more than 500,000 deaths over the last two decades. In exchange for the liability shield, the Sackler family agreed to give up ownership of the company.

The U.S. Justice Department has broken off negotiations to pay monetary damages to families who were separated at the border during the Trump administration, National Public Radio reports. The negotiations, which began in the early months of the Biden administration, were aimed at settling more than 100 claims brought by migrant families in cases where minor children were separated from their parents. Department officials did not explain why they were ending the talks, only saying the parties were unable to reach a settlement. The Biden administration, however, does continue to work to reunite families that were separated under the previous policy.

The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands will hold a phone clinic next Tuesday beginning at 2 p.m. CST to provide general advice. The first 15 callers will be accepted. To volunteer contact Kendra Cheek, 615-780-7131. See all December clinics.

Earn one hour of dual credit before the end of the year with a webcast replay featuring Board of Professional Responsibility's Eileen Burkhalter Smith reviewing the most recent ethics updates. “Ethics Update: Current Developments from the Board of Professional Responsibility” will air next Wednesday from noon to 1 p.m. CST. Sign up now!

Administrative Office of the Courts Director Deborah Taylor Tate was recently honored by the Tennessee Association of Recovery Court Professionals (TARCP) for her work with the organization and with those in recovery courts. TARCP is a nonprofit that supports recovery courts and their partners. “The drive and the passion are unparalleled as to what Debi Tate brings, what she’s brought to this drug court conference since she’s been here,” 4th Judicial District Circuit Court Judge O. Duane Slone said. Obion County General Sessions Judge Jimmy C. Smith also praised Tate for her work at the AOC, calling her a “tremendous asset to judges across the state and the judicial system in general.” Tate announced earlier this month that she will leave the AOC in early 2022. The AOC has more on the story.

Carroll County attorney J. Brent Bradberry was sworn in as circuit court judge for the 24th Judicial District on Oct. 17, filling the vacancy of retired Judge C. Creed McGinley. Bradberry told the Administrative Office of the Courts that the docket on his first day on the bench consisted of 220 defendants. “It was not perfect by any means," Bradberry said, "but it went as well as it could have.” Bradberry was in furniture manufacturing for 20 years before going back to school for his MBA and later a law degree from the Nashville School of Law. “I wasn’t the typical law student. I didn’t start law school until I was 40,” he said. Bradberry maintains that “it’s never too late to go to law school.” Prior to taking the bench, Bradberry was the assistant public defender for the 27th Judicial District. The AOC has more on his journey to becoming judge.

Davidson County Division 7 Circuit Court Judge Randy Kennedy has announced he will retire at the end of his term. Kennedy was appointed to replace Judge Frank Clement in 2003 and was re-elected to the bench three times during his judicial career. Prior to his time as judge, Kennedy was in private practice at Kennedy & Brown and served two terms on the Metro Nashville Council. In a letter announcing his retirement, Kennedy describes Davidson County's probate court as the “busiest single court” in the state. He says he’ll “continue advocating for the allocation of adequate judicial resources of probate administration in Nashville with the same passion we have brought in creating the successful Office of Conservatorship Management.”

Services will be held tomorrow for Nashville lawyer Ed Reynolds Davies, who died Nov. 22 at 90. A third-generation lawyer, Davies served in Korea for the U.S. Marines before earning his law degree from Vanderbilt in 1958. His legal career was spent as a trial lawyer, first at Waller, Lansden, Dortch & Davis and later Boult, Cummings, Conners & Berry. He opened his own firm in 1973 — what would later be known as Davies, Humphreys & Reese — where he practiced with two of his sons until his retirement in 2019. In 1974 he was appointed to fill the unexpired term of Chancellor Frank F. Drowota in Part II of Davidson County Chancery Court. A celebration of Davies’ life will be held tomorrow at West End United Methodist Church in Nashville. Visitation will be held from 2 until 3 p.m. CST, followed by a memorial service at 3 p.m. CST. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Webb School or to the West End UMC.

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin yesterday pleaded guilty to violating the civil rights of George Floyd – the Black man he was found guilty of murdering in 2020, NPR reports. The federal case was scheduled for trial next month, but Chauvin changed his plea to guilty yesterday. In addition to the federal charges against Chauvin relating to Floyd, he was also accused of unreasonable seizure and unreasonable force by a police officer. Those accusations stemmed from a 2017 incident in which Chauvin held a 14-year-old “by the throat” and struck him “multiple times in the head with a flashlight.” Federal prosecutors are recommending a sentence of up to 25 years for the civil rights violations. Chauvin is currently serving a 22.5-year sentence for Floyd’s murder.