Crime in Memphis continued to fall through the first eight months of 2025, according to new data from the Memphis Police Department. The Daily Memphian reported this week that there were 28,660 overall incidents from January through August, a 23% decrease from 2024 and a 37% decrease from 2023. MPD’s data represent the number of reported incidents, which may involve more than one victim. The department reported declines across all major categories, with the largest drops in property crimes. Larceny, burglary and robbery are all at 25-year lows. In July, MPD reported overall crime was down 20% compared to the same point in 2024. The news comes amid reports from The Daily Memphian that the White House, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s office and Memphis Mayor Paul Young’s administration have discussed a possible deployment of National Guard troops to Memphis.

Hamilton County General Sessions Court Judge Tori Smith has announced her candidacy for the August 2026 special election to permanently fill the seat, Chattanoogan.com reports. Smith was appointed to the bench in 2024 to fill a vacancy created by Judge Alex McVeagh’s election to the 11th Judicial District Circuit Court. Her campaign said she has presided “with a commitment to ensuring that all who enter her courtroom are treated with dignity.” Before her appointment, Smith worked as an attorney in the 11th Judicial District Public Defender’s Office. The special election is set for Aug. 6, 2026.

The TBA is now accepting applications for its award-winning Public Service Academy, a nonpartisan, statewide effort to encourage attorneys to run for office and take on public service leadership roles in their communities. Those selected for the academy will take part in the program on Nov. 14-15 in Nashville. The program will feature top political and campaign experts who will provide attorneys with the tools they need to run for local public offices such as school board, city council and county commission. Applications are due by Oct. 6. Access the application form here.

Disk encryption keeps client data safe even on lost or stolen devices. Find a comparison chart that shows features and benefits of top providers, in addition to other resources, in the Building a Firm section of TBA’s Law Firm in a Box.

A new report from from nonprofit Prison Policy Initiative recommends that Shelby County address management of the current jail before spending $1 billion to build a new facility. According to The Daily Memphian, the report argues that issues with processing and staffing are at the heart of problems inside the jail, and that while the jail might need replacing, a lack of capacity is not the issue. According to the findings, many of the jail’s issues — including long booking delays, preventable in-custody deaths and high staff vacancy rates — stem from poor management and staff culture rather than overcrowding or deteriorating infrastructure. The report recommends the county focus on improving hiring practices, oversight and diversion strategies to reduce the jail population before considering construction of a new facility.

Skyler Philippi, 24, of Columbia, pleaded guilty today to attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to destroy an energy facility, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Tennessee. “For months, Philippi planned what he had hoped would be a devastating attack on Nashville’s energy infrastructure. He acquired what he believed to be explosives, surveilled his target and equipped a drone to attack an electrical substation. Motivated by a violent ideology, Philippi wanted ‘to do something big.’ Instead, the FBI disrupted his plans, and Philippi now awaits sentencing,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. Philippi is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 8, 2026. The Tennessean also reports on the developments.

David Stein has been appointed assistant professor of law at Vanderbilt University Law School, where he will teach courses related to law and technology. He comes to Vanderbilt from Northeastern University, where he was an assistant professor of law and assistant professor of computer sciences. Stein studies the interplay between legal institutions and technical infrastructures. His research spans multiple disciplines. In addition to his law review articles, he has published peer-reviewed work in robotics, rocket science and computational linguistics and is the named inventor on seven patented digital identity and database management technologies. Read more in a press release from the law school.

The U.S. Supreme Court in a 6-3 decision on Monday lifted a lower court order that had restricted federal immigration agents from conducting broad roving patrols in Los Angeles. According to the Associated Press, the ruling allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to continue operations that have been criticized as racial profiling. The decision has drawn strong dissent from the court's liberal justices and from many California officials. While a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the raids will continue in federal court, the decision allows the administration to proceed with planned enforcement efforts, which already have resulted in more than 5,000 arrests since June.

Not long after taking the bench in Gibson County, General Sessions Court Judge Bradley Owens observed that many of the defendants before him did not understand the legal consequences of their choices. “I see all of these adults, even with violation of probation, even after they would get arrested and get an opportunity, they would violate their probation over and over,” he said. He created a class called Choices & Consequences open to students in grades 8 through 12 with the goal of educating them about the legal consequence of making poor choices. During the class, students observe a live General Sessions Court session. Once court concludes, Owens meets with the students to discuss the cases. He explores the choices made by the defendants and the real-world consequences. Read more in this profile from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Residents of Scott County, Tennessee, and McCreary County, Kentucky, are mounting a grassroots fight against a proposed 700-acre landfill and rail transfer station, citing environmental risks, government inaction and lack of transparency. Two citizen groups — Cumberland Clear and the Transparent Bridge Initiative — have organized petitions, livestreamed government meetings, retained legal counsel and lobbied state officials, but have mostly been advised to talk to local government officials. State Sen. Ken Yager, R-Kingston, in August sent a letter to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) voicing his "strong opposition to this pending permit and expanding the landfill operation on that adjacent property." Recently, TDEC acknowledged that Scott County may have been opted into the Jackson Law, a Tennessee legal provision that allows counties to restrict landfill development. WUOT has the story.