Store owners who were falsely arrested during “Operation Candy Crush” in Rutherford County have reached a $1.3 million settlement with local officials, the Daily News Journal reports. A class-action lawsuit against Rutherford County Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh, Smyrna Police Chief Kevin Arnold, District Attorney General Jennings Jones and Assistant District Attorney John Zimmerman was brought after plaintiffs were arrested in 2018 on charges of selling candy made with CBD, a product not proven to be an illegal derivative of marijuana. All charges were later dropped. The Tennessee Attorney General's Office provided staff legal counsel for Jones and hired Nashville law firm Neal & Harwell to represent Zimmerman. Plaintiffs were represented by attorney Chris Smith of Nashville civil rights firm David Randolph Smith & Associates, which also recently settled a police misconduct lawsuit against the City of Chattanooga.

Longtime state Senator Thelma Harper has died, the Nashville Post reports. Harper was the longest-serving woman in state Senate history, as well as the first African American female state senator. She served the state’s 19th District for three decades. "Whether she was fighting landfills for her neighbors, serving a community organization or leading a hearing in the legislature, Thelma Harper was a strong voice for her community, for justice and our most vulnerable children," the Senate Democratic Caucus said in a statement. "While this is a sad day for Tennessee, our state is a better place for her legacy of leadership. Thelma Harper loved the Tennessee Senate and the Tennessee Senate loved her right back." Harper decided not to run for re-election in 2018 and was replaced by then-Rep. Brenda Gilmore.

The TBA’s Business Law Section will host a two-day forum May 20 - 21 from 9 a.m. until 12:15 p.m. both days. Join this virtual program for an examination of the critical aspects of valuation rules and guidelines in the context of M&A deals. Forum faculty includes certified valuation experts, business law professors, M&A attorneys, investment bankers and venture capital firms focusing on early-stage investments. Register now for the forum worth one dual and five general CLE credits.

TBA Member Carla Lovell has been added to the management committee of Nashville law firm Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison, the Nashville Post reports. Lovell has been with the firm since 1995 and was elevated to member in 2005. Her practice includes tax and estate planning, charitable planning and business succession. Firm member and former TBA President Bill Harbison calls Lovell a “critical member” of Sherrard Roe and says they “look forward to her leadership in this role.” Lovell is also a member of the TBA’s Estate Planning & Probate Section and the Tax Law Section.

Six attorneys have applied to fill a circuit court vacancy in the 19th Judicial District. That district includes Montgomery and Robertson counties. The applicants include: Carl Daniel Brollier Jr.; Nathaniel Ray Flinchbaugh; Adrienne Gilliam Fry; Gregory D. Smith; M. Joel Wallace; Joseph P. Weyant. The Trial Court Vacancy Commission will hold a public hearing June 2 at 9 a.m. CDT at the Montgomery County Historic Courthouse, located at One Millennium Plaza, Clarksville, TN 37040. The Commission will vote after the hearing and forward three names to Gov. Bill Lee for consideration. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more on each applicant.

The TBA’s Legislative Updates podcast is brand new today featuring a detailed status report and explanation of SB868/HB1130, the legislation that would create a statewide chancery court made up of one chancellor from each grand division. The new court would hear any civil cause of action that challenges the constitutionality of a statute, regulation or executive order. Tune in to hear more from the TBA's Director of Public Policy and Government Affairs Berkley Schwarz and TBA lobbyist Brad Lampley of Adams and Reese. Legislative Updates is part of the TBA Podcast Network and can be found on the TBA’s Facebook page, website or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

Former Roane County attorney Kent Booher, 61, was found guilty of several sex crimes against children by a federal jury on Monday, WBIR reports. Booher was disbarred by the Tennessee Supreme Court in 2014 after pleading guilty in a Loudon County statutory rape case. The new conviction involves two counts of enticement, felony sexual offense against a minor while on a sex offender registry, sex trafficking of a child, and attempted production of child pornography. He is facing 25 years to life in prison, and will be sentenced in August.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation yesterday arrested a Cookeville man in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, WKRN reports. Michael Timbrook, 56, appeared before a U.S. Magistrate Judge later in the day. He has since been released with conditions. Timbrook is one of at least 10 arrested in the state in connection with the event. Others are: Eric Munchel, his mother and Blake Austin Reed of Nashville; Matthew Bledsoe from the Memphis area; Joseph Lino Padilla of East Tennessee; and Eric Chase Torrens and Jack Jesse Griffith of Gallatin.

Gov. Bill Lee today added two lawmakers, House Finance Chair Patsy Hazlewood, R-Signal Mountain, and Senate Speaker Pro Tempore Ferrell Haile, R-Gallatin, to his Financial Stimulus Accountability Group. The move could be interpreted as an effort to discourage the General Assembly from holding a special session later this year to take a direct role in appropriating billions of dollars in federal COVID-19 relief funds, the Tennessee Journal reports. Read the announcement from the governor.

The National Conference of Bar Presidents (NCBP) will be awarding 10 scholarships to bar leaders from diverse backgrounds for the 2021-2022 year. Those selected will receive complimentary registration to the NCBP 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting and 2022 Midyear Meeting, an invitation to join a committee and a complimentary NCBP membership. Applicants should be officers of state or local bar associations that represent women lawyers, LGBTQ lawyers or lawyers of color; minority or affinity bar associations; or small local bars with less than 1,000 members. Diverse officers from local, metro or state bar organizations also are encouraged to apply. Apply here by June 4. For questions, contact Beth Cheng, 312-988-5369.