The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee and the U.S. General Services Administration have rescheduled the dedication ceremony for the new Fred D. Thompson U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building in downtown Nashville for Oct. 21. The ceremony will begin at 3 p.m. CDT followed by a reception. The courthouse, which is named for former U.S. Sen. Fred D. Thompson of Lawrenceburg, has been in the works for more than 25 years. View the invitation. Please RSVP by Oct. 19 to ceremony@tnmd.uscourts.gov or 615-736-7551.

A portrait unveiling and reception honoring Davidson Circuit Court Judge Hamilton Gayden will take place Oct. 20 at the historic county courthouse in downtown Nashville. The event will be held on the fifth floor from 3-5 p.m. CDT. Gayden decided last year not to seek reelection in 2022. He was appointed in 1974 by then-Gov. Winfield Dunn and served 47 years on the bench. "It's been an honor and a privilege to serve the citizens of Davidson County,” Gayden said in a statement. “I will miss being on the bench but at 82 years old, it is time to hand the gavel over to a younger judge." View an invitation for the event.

Kevin G. Ritz was sworn in today as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee. In a brief ceremony at the federal courthouse in Memphis, Chief U.S. District Court Judge S. Thomas Anderson administered the oath of office, in front of Ritz’s family and colleagues. Ritz, a native Memphian, was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Sept. 22. He previously was an assistant U.S. attorney in the narcotics unit. He later served as appellate chief and special counsel. From 2008 to 2016, Ritz was an adjunct professor at the University of Memphis School of Law. From 2020 to 2021, he was chair of the TBA’s Appellate Practice Section. Read more about Ritz in a release from the Department of Justice.

Bulso PLC, a litigation boutique firm in Brentwood, is seeking an associate attorney with one to four years of experience in business litigation. Exceptional research and writing skills are required. Salary is competitive and is based upon applicant's experience and abilities. Read the full job description and instructions for applying on the TBA’s JobLink platform.

The TBA’s Tax Law Section will hold its annual forum in person this Friday in Nashville. The program will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. CDT and include sessions on the SECURE Act; required minimum distributions; state business, excise, sales and use taxes; ethics; and more. Speakers include Shelton Chambers with Chambliss Bahner & Stophel, Hannah Smith with Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison and Steven Christopher with the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility. Get more details here.

A resolution to enforce curfew laws for minors was today passed by the Memphis City Council public safety committee and will now head to the full council, the Daily Memphian reports. The measure, part of a broad strategy to fight a growing crime problem, would call on the Memphis Police Department to strongly enforce the curfews set by the Child Curfew Act of 1995. The act requires those 17 or 18 years old to not be out in public past 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday or midnight Friday through Sunday. Those 16 or younger are not to be out in public past 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday or 11 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Councilman JB Smiley expressed concerns that the resolution could increase the number of minorities sent to juvenile court, but MPD assured him that summons to the county’s Youth Resource Center can keep children accused of committing certain crimes from entering the juvenile justice system. The resolution will be considered at the Oct. 11 meeting.

The state’s textbook commission could need additional staff and an attorney to help deal with the aftermath of a new law that requires schools to catalog and publicize a list of all available library and classroom materials, the Tennessean reports. Tennessee Textbook and Instructional Materials Quality Commission Chair Linda Cash appeared before a legislative subcommittee today, suggesting the commission hire an independent attorney to answer commission questions. They are currently seeking legal answers from the Attorney General’s Office. The commission has until Dec. 1 to issue statewide guidance on the library materials law, including what is age-appropriate, which is not settled in state law, in addition to establishing an appeals process for local decisions on contested materials. The General Assembly passed the bill this year in response to allegations that students were being exposed to “inappropriate” school materials.

The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear one case tomorrow using Zoom. Per court order, the case will not be livestreamed, but will be shown publicly in the courtroom of the Nashville Supreme Court building at 9 a.m. CDT. The case, In re Markus E., is an appeal to consider whether parental rights were properly terminated.  

The Shelby County Commission has approved 10 executive reappointments by Mayor Lee Harris as he begins his second four-year term, the Daily Memphian reports. Shelby County Chief Public Defender Phyllis Aluko, Divorce Referee Cary Woods and County Attorney Marlinee Iverson were among the reappointments. Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. cast the only vote against Iverson’s reappointment, saying the county attorney’s office has been “political” during Iverson’s tenure. Harris praised Iverson for managing “dozens of lawyers and hundreds of lawsuits.”

A yearslong NCAA infractions investigation into the University of Memphis basketball program came to an end today after an Independent Accountability Resolution Process (IARP) ruling found the university committed four Level II and five Level III violations. The men’s basketball program faces three years of probation, $5,000 in fines and must vacate two wins in which former star player James Wiseman participated. The investigation stemmed from inducements Wiseman’s family received before he enrolled at Memphis and for NCAA allegations that he played in three games while ineligible. The ordeal prompted Wiseman to file for a temporary restraining order against the NCAA in 2019. He later dropped the suit and withdrew from Memphis to prepare for the NBA draft. He currently plays for the Golden State Warriors. The Commercial Appeal has more on the story.