In a “first-of-its-kind” ruling, the Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that public housing landlords cannot bar tenants from possessing guns in their residences. The decision came in a case in which the Columbia Housing and Redevelopment Corporation in Maury County evicted tenant Kinsley Braden after discovering he had a gun inside his apartment. The circuit court had sided with the housing corporation, stating that Braden had voluntarily signed away his rights when he agreed to the lease. The appellate court rejected that approach, saying constitutional rights cannot be waived as a condition of housing. Tennessee Lookout has the story.

Some Middle Tennessee families will soon receive assistance to battle addiction and keep children out of foster care, Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. Earlier this week, the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse announced a five-year, $3 million program that will provide intensive, in-home crisis intervention, and life skills education to help parents fight addiction and create better home lives for their children. Funding for the program came via a regional partnership grant through the Federal Administration for Children and Families. The program will operate in nine counties: Bedford, Coffee, Franklin, Giles, Hickman, Lawrence, Lincoln, Marshall and Maury counties.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares met face to face for the first time in their current roles on the state border, WJHL reports. The men visited with local businesses on State Street in Bristol, learning more about the current state of the economy and how businesses are overcoming COVID-19 challenges. Both Republicans, Skrmetti and Miyares have been outspoken about transgender issues, specifically as they relate to laws involving minors. Skrmetti said he looks forward to working with his Virginia counterpart. “We have a lot of common interests and a lot of the work that the AG’s do both on the constitutional cases and on the consumer protection cases,” Skrmetti said.

Early applicant data from the Law School Admission Council suggests law school may not be an especially hot ticket in 2023, Reuters reports. As of this week, the number of law school applicants was down 12% compared with this time last year, and nowhere near the 2021 cycle when the number of applicants ultimately spiked 13% — an unprecedented increase.

EMF Broadcasting, home to K-LOVE/Air1/WTA, is seeking two in-house counsels. The first opening is for a transactional and regulatory counsel, who would be responsible for providing legal advice on software and technology licensing, intellectual property development, mergers and acquisitions, distribution transactions, privacy, data security and e-commerce. This position requires at least five years of experience. The second opening is for an employment and compliance counsel, who would be responsible for providing advice on employment law issues including hiring, discipline, terminations, pay and benefits, and human resources policies and procedures. This position requires at least seven years of experience.

The TBA Administrative Law Section will host its Annual Forum on Dec. 15 from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. CDT at the Nashville office of Burr & Forman. A virtual option is also available. Sessions will provide updates on relevant legislation, case law, ethics and administrative rules. Speakers include Janet Irene Kleinfelter with the Tennessee Attorney General's office and Phillip Hilliard with the state Administrative Procedures Division. Administrative Law Section members will receive a special discounted price on the program. Not a member of the section? Join today.

In what could be its final public hearing, the U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol unanimously voted to subpoena former President Donald Trump, The Hill reports. Trump is expected to challenge the subpoena in the court, a process that would likely outlast the life of the special committee which is set to end later this year. If Trump declined to comply with the compulsory order to testify, the committee and then the House could vote on whether to send a contempt of Congress referral to the Justice Department. It’s not clear when the subpoena will be formally served or what response date deadline would be given to Trump.

The U.S. government has agreed to pay workers at a Bean Station slaughterhouse more than $1 million in a federal case alleging multiple civil rights violations, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports. According to the proposed settlement agreement filed yesterday, the U.S. government will pay $475,000 to be split between six individual plaintiffs. An additional $550,000 will be paid into a class settlement fund for approximately 100 Hispanic workers also detained that day. The attorneys for the plaintiffs will be paid $150,000. The settlement stems from the 2018 raid by the IRS and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on the slaughterhouse in which all Hispanic workers were detained and allegedly cursed, shoved and punched by federal agents. The settlement still will need to go before a federal judge for a final approval hearing within the next six months. That hearing has not yet been scheduled.

The U.S. Supreme Court today denied former President Donald Trump’s request to intervene in his legal battle over classified documents seized at Mar-a-Lago, The Hill reports. The Supreme Court’s denial of the request means fewer than five justices voted in Trump’s favor, though a vote breakdown was not publicly disclosed. Trump’s legal team had wanted the high court to lift a stay granted by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit that allowed the Justice Department to review more than 100 classified records taken from Mar-a-Lago during its August search.

The Nashville Bar Association today released results from its member poll on applicants being considered for the 20th Judicial District Circuit Court. Four hundred thirty five bar members responded to the poll that included applicants Tusca R.S. Alexis, Audrey Lee Anderson, Stanley A. Kewller and Stephanie J. Williams. Nearly 35% of members said they would “highly recommend” Williams for the position, followed by Kweller (20.5%), Anderson (3.5%) and Alexis (1%). Read full results from the NBA.