The Tennessee Faith & Justice Alliance, a project of the Tennessee Access to Justice Commission, will hold several virtual legal advice clinics in Knoxville on April 13-15. The event is being coordinated by the Knoxville Bar Association and its Access to Justice Committee; Legal Aid of East Tennessee; and the University of Tennessee College of Law. Volunteers are needed to take questions from the public. Sign up to volunteer here.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today extended a moratorium on evictions through the end of June due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Associated Press reports. The ban was set to expire Wednesday. Initially put in place last year, the ban provides protection for renters out of concern that having families move into shelters or share crowded conditions with relatives or friends during the pandemic would further spread the highly contagious virus. To be eligible, renters must meet an income test, show they have sought government help to pay the rent, declare they can’t pay because of COVID-19 hardships, and affirm they are likely to become homeless if evicted. Use of the moratorium in Tennessee may be in doubt, though, after a federal judge in Memphis struck down the ban as unconstitutional earlier this month. The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals today denied a stay in the ruling saying it was unlikely an appeal would be successful.

Join the Juvenile and Children’s Law Section on April 29 at 9 a.m. for the 2021 Forum. This year's event will include a discussion about the impact COVID-19 has had on education, training on equality and two panel discussions on human trafficking. Panelists from law enforcement agencies will review laws, policies and information aimed toward those who are targeted for involuntary servitude. Register now to attend this virtual program.

The latest episode of the TBA Member Spotlight Series is now streaming. Listen in as TBA President Michelle Greenway Sellers talks with Nashville lawyer Kinika Young about access to justice in Tennessee, the lessons she learned while attending Tulane Law School when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and how she transitioned from practicing at a large firm to her current role as senior director of health policy and advocacy for the Tennessee Justice Center. Find the latest installment or catch up on previous episodes of the Member Spotlight Series on the TBA’s website or YouTube page.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed the so-called transgender athlete bill into law on Friday, the Tennessean reports. The legislation requires transgender students in the state to compete in school sports according to their gender at birth. The move makes Tennessee the third state to enact such legislation this year, following similar actions in Mississippi and Arkansas. Lee, who previously said transgender athlete participation would "destroy women's sports," said today he signed the bill to preserve women's athletics and ensure fair competition. Opponents argue the legislation is discriminatory and may invite economic loss and legal challenges in the future. ACLU Tennessee previously had threatened to sue the state if the bill became law.

Legal organizations in Knoxville will hold a virtual Veterans Legal Advice Clinic on April 14 from noon to 2 p.m. EDT. The clinic is a general advice and referral clinic that serves between 20 and 30 veterans each month with a wide variety of legal issues. To volunteer, sign up online. For questions, contact Access to Justice Committee Co-Chairs Spencer Fair or Luke Ihnen.

Former TBA President Cynthia Richardson Wyrick was recently recognized as an “Accomplished Alumna” by the University of Tennessee College of Law. The profile of Wyrick highlights her time as a law student, as a young attorney working as city attorney for Pigeon Forge, and then as an attorney for nearly 25 years at the Sevierville law firm of Ogle, Wyrick and Associates. Wyrick now serves as a U.S. magistrate judge in the Eastern District of Tennessee. As both a law student and practicing attorney Wyrick has been a strong advocate for the UT library system, serving on the Library Friends Advisory Board. A common theme throughout all these experiences has been a commitment to serving others. As Wyrick says in an interview with the law school, “You will never be sorry for the hours you spend giving back.”

Just in time for the final rounds of March Madness, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a high-stakes battle between the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and a legal class of student-athletes from the top revenue-producing sports of football and men’s and women’s basketball. At the heart of the case is whether the NCAA will be allowed to preserve the amateur nature of college sports and distinguish it from pro sports, the ABA Journal reports. The NCAA argues that lower courts have erroneously redefined amateurism to find antitrust violations with restrictions on education-related compensation of student athletes. The student athletes argue the NCAA is seeking “nothing less than an outright exemption” from federal antitrust law. The case is set for argument on March 31.

The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled today that a sentence imposed in accordance with a statute that later was declared unconstitutional is voidable, but not illegal, within the meaning of Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 36.1. The rule allows defendants or the state to file a motion at any time to correct an illegal sentence, which is defined as a sentence that is not authorized by law or directly conflicts with the law. By contrast, the court said voidable sentences must be challenged through the post-conviction process, which has set time limits. The court said it based its reasoning on the fact that the law in question (a criminal gang enhancement statute) was presumptively constitutional and did not directly conflict with any other law at the time the sentence was imposed, though it was later found to be unconstitutional. The unanimous opinion was authored by Justice Cornelia A. Clark.

The U.S. Department of Justice has charged 474 people over the past year with trying to steal more than $569 million through criminal fraud schemes connected to the coronavirus pandemic, the Washington Post reports. The department said it has seen fraud attempts connected to several government aid programs including the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loans program. Schemes include inflating payroll expenses to get larger loans than what otherwise would have been approved and reviving defunct corporations or purchasing shell companies to apply for large loans. Most of those charged, the department said, spent the government aid on houses, cars, jewelry and other luxury items.