The TBA Immigration Law Section will host the “Immigration Law Basics: Overview” webcast on Sept. 16 from noon to 1 p.m. CDT. The program will offer a high-level overview of various areas of immigration law, including employment-based, humanitarian and family-based immigration. More details will be announced soon on the TBA website. Discounted registration is available for Immigration Law Section members. Not a member? Join today!

Following a report from Politico yesterday that the federal court filing system was the target of a cyberattack in early July, the U.S. Administrative Office of the Courts released a statement that it is "strengthening cyber security measures." The reporting states that it is not immediately clear how the hackers got in, but the incident affected the judiciary’s federal core case management system, which contains two overlapping components: Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF), which legal professionals use to upload and manage case documents; and PACER, a system that gives the public limited access to records. In addition to information about witnesses and defendants cooperating with law enforcement, the filing system includes other sensitive information such as sealed indictments, arrest records and search warrants. Reuters has more on the story.

Vanderbilt Law School's Stanton Foundation First Amendment Clinic has filed a federal complaint on behalf of First Amendment scholar Eugene Volokh. The complaint challenges the constitutionality of state's public records law, which restricts access to Tennesseans only. After being denied court records by the Williamson County Archives due to his California residency, Volokh sued, arguing that the restriction violates his rights. The clinic’s complaint agrees, stating that federal courts have consistently recognized a qualified First Amendment right of access to judicial records. The clinic's complaint also argues that any purported privacy interest in the records is undermined by the fact that Tennessee residents — including potentially the litigants’ neighbors — are permitted access. Read more in a press release from the law school.

Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law (LMU Law) recently announced that it has entered into a new agreement with Kentucky State University (KSU) to strengthen academic collaboration and expand opportunities for KSU students to pursue a legal education. Under the agreement, LMU Law will reserve up to five seats each year in its incoming class for qualified KSU students who meet the admissions criteria outlined in the agreement. The partnership is designed to promote a clear and supportive pathway to law school and to encourage increased interest in the legal profession among KSU students. “This agreement reflects a shared commitment to access to opportunity and into preparing the next generation of legal professionals who will go out and serve their communities with purpose and integrity,” said LMU President Dr. Jason McConnell. Read more in a press release from the school.

Nearest Green Distillery in Shelbyville, maker of the popular Uncle Nearest whiskey, is facing a $108 million lawsuit from lender Farm Credit Mid-America over alleged loan defaults. The lender claims the company failed to repay over $102 million in principal, misused funds to purchase a $2 million Martha’s Vineyard home and overstated whiskey inventory by $21 million. According to the Tennessean, Uncle Nearest attributes the financial issues to fraud by a now-terminated former chief financial officer and argues that appointing a receiver is an excessive response. Despite the lawsuit, the company, which has grown rapidly since launching in 2019 and is now valued at $1.1 billion, says it has continued making significant loan payments and is working to resolve the default. The Nashville Post also reports on the lawsuit.

Defense attorney Juni Ganguli on Tuesday argued before the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals that the judge in Cleotha Abston's 2024 rape trial erred by allowing jurors to see a photo of a gun allegedly used in the crime, despite the victim’s vague description of it. According to the Daily Memphian, Ganguli claimed the gun’s admission and a witness’s reference to Abston’s later murder of Eliza Fletcher unfairly prejudiced the jury. Ganguli also criticized police for not preserving text messages between Abston and the rape victim, though judges pushed back noting Abston also had access to them. The state argued the evidence against Abston was overwhelming. Abston was sentenced to 80 years in prison for three charges related to the 2021 rape of Alicia Franklin.

Autopsy reports have confirmed that two Shelby County Jail inmates, who died earlier this year, suffered from medical complications. Darin Crawford, 57, died of pneumonia after being found unresponsive in his cell on Feb. 9, while Courtney Berry, 36, died of heart complications, including aortic dissection, on March 30 after complaining of chest pain. Both men had been in custody for less than a month. Their deaths are among at least seven at the jail in 2024 and 64 since 2019. The ongoing deaths and overcrowding have renewed calls for a new $1.3 billion criminal justice complex at the former Firestone plant in North Memphis. The Daily Memphian has the story.

Brown University's School of Public Health identified 579 nursing homes nationwide that are at risk of closure due to Medicaid cuts in the recently passed federal budget legislation. The bill reduces federal Medicaid spending by $1 trillion over the next decade. The Commercial Appeal reports that 12 of the nursing homes are in Tennessee. These facilities meet key risk criteria, including having over 85% of residents on Medicaid, occupancy rates below 80%, and low federal quality ratings. Tennessee’s TennCare program serves about 1.5 million residents, covering roughly 20% of the population and half of all children and births. The findings echo a separate University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study, which listed nine Tennessee rural hospitals among more than 300 nationwide endangered by the budget reduction.

Judge Robert Wedemeyer recently was elected presiding judge of the Criminal Court of Appeals, officially assuming the role on Aug. 1 from Judge Camille McMullen. Wedemeyer will be responsible for presiding at all meetings of the court and at trials, ruling on the admission or exclusion of evidence, serving as the spokesperson for all matters pending before the court, and writing or designating another judge to write majority opinions. “We just have an outstanding group of judges on our court,” he said. “It is a huge honor to be elected. To serve on this court 25 years and that’s part of it because usually we lean toward the senior most judge, if that judge is willing to serve and can do a good job. So, apparently these other 11 think I can do it okay so I will do my best.” Read more in a profile from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Judge Robert Lynn Echols Sr. died Aug. 2 at age 84. A 1964 graduate of the University of Tennessee School of Law (now Winston Law), Echols joined the Tennessee Army National Guard in 1966, embarking on a military career that spanned nearly four decades and eventually rising to the rank of brigadier general. After a brief time in Washington, D.C., he settled in Nashville and was a founding member of the Dearborn & Ewing law firm. He was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee in 1991, and served as chief judge from 1998 to 2005. Echols continued to serve the court as a senior judge until 2010. He later practiced law with Bass, Berry & Sims and Neal & Harwell until his retirement in 2019. Services were held Wednesday. Memorial contributions may be made to Abe's Garden Community, 115 Woodmont Blvd., Nashville, TN 37205.