Symptoms of depression and anxiety in Tennessee spiked following surges in COVID-19 hospitalizations, according to a new report from The Sycamore Institute. The report, which highlights the pandemic's widespread impact on mental health in Tennessee, found that the state saw overdose deaths increase by 44% in 2020. And though adults in the state fared better than the national average on many mental health factors, the state was higher than average when it came to deaths tied to mental health problems. The institute's policy director tells Axios that those contradictory findings might suggest a need to identify mental health issues before they become deadly.

The Tennessee Innocence Project has received a $300,000 grant from the Department of Justice to help it work with the Davidson County District Attorney’s Conviction Review Unit. Tennessee ranks 18th in the United States for prison population by state, and has completed only 25 exonerations, a fraction compared to other states with well-established innocence representation and conviction review units. Tennessee Tribune has the story.

Effective Jan. 4, 2022, all business coming before the Knox County General Sessions Court Division V or Civil Court will be conducted on the third floor of the Old Courthouse, 300 Main Ave., Knoxville, TN 37902. Attorneys and litigants should enter the Old Courthouse through the main security portal and proceed upstairs to the third floor courtroom.

Wilson County lawyer Christopher Daniel Lins was reinstated to the practice of law yesterday. Lins was placed on inactive status in 2014. He sought reinstatement and the Tennessee Supreme Court found the petition satisfactory. He will be reinstated as of Nov. 1.

A recent episode of the “Today Explained” podcast explores the recent reporting by ProPublica and Nashville Public Radio into Rutherford County's juvenile justice system. The report found that the county has “a staggering history of jailing children” and employs an illegal filtering system for determining which children go to jail. Host Sean Rameswaram talks to NPR’s Meribah Knight, who discusses why the judge at the center of the investigation is still in charge of the juvenile court. Listen to “Ruthless County, Tennessee” on Spotify or on your favorite podcast app.

A federal jury yesterday found that pharmacy chain operators CVS, Walgreens and Walmart recklessly distributed massive amounts of pain pills in two Ohio counties, which helped fuel the opioid epidemic. It was the first such verdict against the companies, the Associated Press reports. The counties argued that the pharmacies created a public nuisance in the way they dispensed the pain medication. The companies maintained they had policies in place to stem the flow of pills and argued it was doctors who really controlled how many pills were prescribed. The amount of damages the pharmacies will pay will be decided in the spring by a federal judge.

Vanderbilt University Law School professor Ingrid Wuerth has been named a co-editor-in-chief of the American Journal of International Law. She will share editorial duties for four years beginning in April 2022 with University of Michigan law professor Monica Hakimi. Wuerth focuses her work on foreign affairs, public international law and transnational litigation. She joined Vanderbilt in 2007, served as director of the International Legal Studies Program from 2009 to 2018, and then was appointed director of the Branstetter Litigation and Dispute Resolution Program. She was named the Helen Strong Curry Chair in International Law in 2015 and was appointed associate dean for research in 2020.

Tennessee has issued new guidance on how it plans to discipline schools that teach banned concepts around race and gender, WPLN reports. Each violation of the law now will carry a fine equal to 2% of the school district’s annual state funds. The state also extended the window for reporting an alleged violation from 30 to 45 days. Supporters of the bill argued it was necessary to limit classroom discussions of white privilege, unconscious bias and critical race theory. Opponents worry it will discourage teachers from addressing the country’s racial history as well as current events. The new guidance will remain in place until May 2022 when state officials will reevaluate before finalizing how filing and investigating of complaints, appealing decisions and imposing penalties will work.

Gov. Bill Lee has declined to sign a resolution condemning federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates, setting forth the General Assembly’s right to nullify unconstitutional mandates, and urging the state attorney general to seek relief from mandates for residents of the state. The resolution will go into effect without his signature, Tennessee Journal reports. Sponsors of the resolution said the measure was needed to counter federal mandates requiring vaccinations for employees of federal contractors and subcontractors, private business with more than 100 workers, and healthcare and nursing facilities.

The LMU Duncan School of Law Mock Trial team hosted its third annual Kimsey Cup Trial Advocacy Competition last week with four teams competing for individual and team awards. The school reports that second-year students Jordan Meddings and Geran Minor won the 2021 Kimsey Cup, while Meddings was also named best advocate. Jason Repath, a first-year law student, was recognized as the best witness. The internal competition is named for 2015 graduate Aaron Kimsey, who provides the trophy each year.