The interim superintendent of the Knox County Juvenile Detention Center resigned over the weekend, Knox News reports. Brian Bivens submitted his resignation Nov. 9, effective immediately. Leadership struggles at the facility began in May when longtime superintendent Richard Bean was forced out of the job. According to the paper, Bivens had been working to address several issues at the center, including empowering shift supervisors and updating policies and procedures.

A newly formed Nashville Homeland Security Task Force has announced several criminal cases, including a federal indictment exposing a drug-smuggling operation inside CoreCivic’s Trousdale Turner Correctional Center, the Nashville Banner reports. The task force — a coalition of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies — was announced earlier this month and will work on cases involving violence and drug trafficking with ties to transnational criminal organizations. It also will focus on complex cases that expose systemic corruption and criminal networks operating within the state’s correctional system. In the Trousdale case, officials allege that an incarcerated man, his girlfriend and three correctional officers conspired to bring fentanyl, heroin and cocaine into the facility using contraband cell phones and Cash App transfers.

A government contracting document outlines plans to open a national call center in the greater Nashville area to coordinate the tracking and deportation of unaccompanied immigrant children, according to the Nashville Scene. The request for information, issued by the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), describes a 24-hour operation expected to handle 6,000 to 7,000 calls per day. The call center is part of the Trump administration’s push to expand 287(g) agreements, which allow state and local agencies to cooperate with ICE and exercise limited immigration enforcement authority. Nashville ended its participation in the program more than a decade ago, but this year Tennessee lawmakers created incentives for communities to join, and a special session approved a centralized immigration enforcement division.

Turnout was low in the special primary for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, with about 67,000 votes cast across both parties compared with nearly 330,000 in the 2024 general election, Tennessee Lookout reports. Democratic primary turnout of roughly 31,000 nearly matched Republicans’ 36,000 votes. Former General Services Commissioner Matt Van Epps will face Rep. Aftyn Behn in the Dec. 2 general election to replace former U.S. Rep. Mark Green. Early voting begins Nov. 12.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an effort to overturn its landmark 2015 ruling guaranteeing same-sex marriage nationwide, The Hill reports. Former Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis asked the justices to overrule the decision after a jury awarded damages to a couple she refused to marry. In a brief order, the court declined to hear Davis’s appeal. No dissents were noted. Davis drew national attention for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples on religious grounds, and she was jailed for five days before the couple obtained their license. Kentucky later passed a law allowing clerks to omit their signatures from marriage certificates. The couple she refused to serve filed suit for emotional damages and attorneys fees. After a jury found for the couple, Davis challenged the award, arguing she had a private First Amendment religious defense. Her appeal to the Supreme Court also included an outright challenge to the Obergefell decision.

On Friday, Chancellor Russell T. Perkins partly granted and partly denied a petition filed by the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) against the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, according to the Nashville Banner newsletter. TIRRC is seeking access to public records, including video footage, from an operation in May that involved more than 600 cars and nearly 200 arrests. The lawsuit alleges that the state has delayed providing video footage and should not have redacted badge numbers, officers’ names and other information in dispatch reports. The state argued that the disclosure would reveal “operational vulnerabilities." Perkins found that the state did not meet its burden of proof to withhold or redact documents, but he also said that identifying information not already disclosed should not be publicly revealed. Per his order, another hearing will be necessary to address disputes around the scope of the redactions.

Shelby County Juvenile Court has appointed Qur’an Folsom as its new chief administrative officer (CAO), the court announced Nov. 5, according to the Commercial Appeal. Folsom previously served in the same role for the Shelby County Commission, and worked with the Tennessee Department of Human Services, former U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander and the Memphis City Schools Board of Commissioners. “I am profoundly grateful to Judge Sugarmon for the trust and confidence he has shown in appointing me as the next chief administrative officer,” Folsom said in a news release. She replaces Stephanie Hill, who joined the PURE Academy — a nonprofit residential school working with at-risk youth — in September.

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, Republican of Brentwood, and four other senators introduced the Violent Juvenile Offender Accountability Act on Friday. According to WSMV, the bill would make it easier to bring federal criminal charges against certain juvenile offenders who are age 16 or older. Blackburn said violence must be met with accountability and that offenders should not be excused because of their age. “The Violent Juvenile Offender Accountability Act would build upon my work to combat juvenile crime by empowering prosecutors to bring federal criminal charges against offenders aged 16 and older,” she said.

TBA's "Raising the Bar" program will be held next Wednesday at Baker Donelson in Nashville. Breakfast will begin at 9:15 a.m. CST with programming running from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The program will encourage participants to live their best life as a lawyer by re-focusing their energy. Adriana Linares — founder of LawTech Partners, nationally recognized legal tech consultant and host of the New Solo podcast — will lead a session on “Tech Tips to Optimize Efficiency and Reduce Stress for Lawyers.” Other speakers will include Meera Ballal, Heidi Barcus, Julie Bennett, Rebecca Blair, Dixie Cooper, Jackie Dixon, Sherie Edwards, Psonya Hackett, Rachel Lawson, Sarah Beth Myers and Laquita Stokes. A networking reception will follow from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Register now for this annual favorite from the TBA Women in the Profession Committee.

A new bill that would increase penalties for animal cruelty charges in Tennessee, SB1475, was introduced Tuesday. The bill would raise the penalty for aggravated cruelty to animals from a Class E felony to a Class D felony, WSMV reports. The proposal also adds that juveniles who commit aggravated animal cruelty could be classified as “serious youthful offenders.” The bill is sponsored by Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Memphis, while the House version, HB1444, is sponsored by Rep. John Gillespie, R-Memphis.