Services will be held tomorrow, Oct. 29, for former Nashville judge and attorney Stanley A. Kweller, who died last night. The funeral will take place at The Temple, 5015 Harding Pike, Nashville 37205 at 1 p.m. CDT. Interment will follow at The Temple cemetery. For those unable to attend in person, the service will be livestreamed on Zoom. Register here to receive the link. Shiva minyans will take place on Wednesday and Thursday evenings from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the home of Sandra & Steve Hecklin, 6052 Robin Hill Rd., Nashville 37205. Kweller presided over Davidson County’s 4th Circuit Court from January 2023 to August 2024 following the passage of Judge Phil Smith. He also was a prosecutor in upper East Tennessee and practiced family law in Nashville at Kweller Law. Arrangements were announced by Circuit Court Judge Stephanie J. Williams. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to Nashville Wine Auction, Park Center Nashville or The Temple.

A $1 million pledge to the University of Tennessee Winston College of Law recently was made on behalf of Chattanooga law firm Summers, Rufolo & Rodgers. The gift will support scholarships for students interested in pursuing legal careers in advocacy, as well as the Douglas A. Blaze Leadership and John K. Morgan scholarships. “Winston Law deeply appreciates the continued support of Summers, Rufolo & Rodgers,” said Dean Lonnie T. Brown Jr. “The firm’s significant investment in our students and programs helps ensure that our advocacy tradition remains strong and continues to prepare future litigators for successful and fulfilling careers with our signature commitment to serving the public good.” Read more in a release.

Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert plans to appeal a ruling that allows ouster proceedings against her to resume, the Commercial Appeal reports. The announcement came a day after the Tennessee Court of Appeals reinstated the case against her, reversing a Shelby County Circuit Court judge's ruling that the case be dismissed for a lack of standing. The issue centers on whether the outside counsel bringing the case on behalf of the Shelby County Attorney's Office has standing to sue. Halbert, who is term-limited and cannot run for reelection, has faced a range of complaints during her time in office, including a previous ouster attempt that ultimately was dismissed.

Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti this week announced a $1 million 33-state settlement with online clothing retailer TFG Holding Inc., which operates JustFab, ShoeDazzle and FabKids. The settlement resolves allegations that the company deceived consumers about its VIP Membership Program and made cancellations and refunds unreasonably difficult. Of the total amount to be paid, $110,781.35 will go automatically to affected Tennessee consumers. Others who wish to seek refunds may do so by submitting a written complaint to TFGHoldingResolutions@jfbrands.com by Jan. 30, 2026. Consumers may also file a complaint with the attorney general’s office.

The Legal Services Corporation (LSC), with Ascendium, Frontline Justice and Quarles & Brady, will unveil its new Rural Justice Task Force Report via a livestream tomorrow, Wednesday, from 2-6 p.m. CDT. The program, “Rural Reach: Access to Justice That Meets People Where They Are,” will explore innovative ways to close the rural justice gap. Join the livestream here. Learn more about the task force's work.

On Nov. 5, the Tennessee Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for its November docket in Jackson. The proceedings will take place at the Supreme Court building and be livestreamed on the court’s YouTube page. Beginning at 1:30 p.m. CST, the court will hear arguments in two cases: Jamesway Construction Inc. v. David W. Salyers P.E. and State v. James R. Holley. A third case, Fred C. Dance v. Board of Professional Responsibility, will be submitted to the court on briefs. Read more about the cases in a press release from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Tennesseans who took advantage of the extra time provided by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to file their 2024 tax returns are now running out of time, the Nashville Banner reports. The deadline to file is 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 3. On April 14, the IRS offered relief to any area designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which included all 95 Tennessee counties after storms on April 2 produced widespread tornadoes and flooding. The extension applies to individual tax returns normally due on April 15, quarterly estimated tax payments normally due in April, June and September, and more. Those who suffered uninsured or unreimbursed losses also have the option to claim the losses on their 2024 or 2025 tax returns.

An electrocardiogram monitoring Tennessee inmate Byron Black’s heart showed “sustained cardiac activity” for nearly two minutes after he was pronounced dead from a lethal injection, the Associated Press reports. The comments by his attorney, federal Public Defender Kelley Henry, came in a filing requesting that attorneys for Black and other death row inmates be allowed to depose key people who carry out executions as part of a lawsuit challenging the state’s lethal injection protocol. The state opposes making those individuals available for depositions, arguing it will risk the identities of the execution team. Instead, the state proposed that officials with the Tennessee Department of Correction testify.

President Donald Trump announced last week he is backing the reelection bid of U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles, Axios Nashville reports. Ogles, who won the newly drawn House seat in 2022, is expected to face challengers from the right and left. He also is dealing with a federal campaign finance investigation. Trump posted on social media that Ogles is a "conservative warrior" who is "fighting tirelessly to Grow our Economy, Cut Taxes and Regulations, Promote MADE IN THE U.S.A. and American Energy DOMINANCE, Safeguard our Elections, Keep our now very Secure Border, SECURE, Stop Migrant Crime, Strengthen our Military/Veterans, and Defend our always under siege Second Amendment."

Judge Kenny Armstrong, one of three Black judges among Tennessee’s 24 intermediate appellate judges, will retire from the Court of Appeals in February. The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments is accepting applications for his seat through Nov. 5. A Tipton County native and Duke Law graduate, Armstrong previously served in the Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps, as a federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C. and as clerk and master of the Shelby County Chancery Court before his 2014 appointment to the appellate bench, The Tennessee Journal reports. Armstrong dissented in a 2-1 decision in June that upheld a state law cutting the size of the Nashville Metro Council in half. He argued that the article in the Tennessee Constitution establishing that county commissions can have no more than 25 members specifically does not apply to merged city-county governments like the one in Nashville, which has 40 members.