The U.S. Department of Justice and Kilmar Abrego Garcia's lawyers agreed to keep Abrego Garcia in U.S. custody in Tennessee for 30 days if the court denies the government's motion to revoke his bond, again delaying his transfer to immigration authorities. Fox 17 News reports that Abrego Garcia's lawyers requested the delay to assess legal options amid potential deportation. The government did not oppose, noting it would not impact trial preparations or the current January 2026 trial date.

The Trump administration on Monday released over 240,000 pages of FBI surveillance records on Martin Luther King Jr., despite opposition from his family and civil rights groups who called for empathy and historical context in reviewing them. King’s two living children, Martin III and Bernice, reiterated in a statement their belief that James Earl Ray was not solely responsible for their father's assassination and emphasized the FBI’s efforts under J. Edgar Hoover to discredit King and the Civil Rights Movement. While the release was framed by officials as a step toward transparency, critics — including civil rights leaders — view it as a political distraction. The files, which were intended to be sealed until 2027 and were unsealed early by court order, are expected to offer researchers new material, though it remains unclear whether they will shed significant new light on King’s life, work or death. The Associated Press has the story.

State lawmakers Rep. Mark White, R-Memphis, and Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Eads, plan to renew efforts to give an appointed board oversight powers over Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS), arguing the district is too large to manage effectively. They say a $6 million state-funded forensic audit of MSCS, expected soon, could justify a compromise on their stalled takeover legislation, which advanced through several committees last session. The Daily Memphian reports that while some Memphis residents support the proposals — especially amid frustration with leadership changes and low test scores — others view them as overreach that undermines local control and unconstitutionally targets a single district. Both lawmakers, who represent suburban areas, also have floated the idea of breaking up MSCS into smaller districts, citing poor academic outcomes compared to wealthier neighboring systems.

Join the TBA Young Lawyers Division on Sept 24 at noon CDT for the next installment of its Rookie Series: Making the Most of Mediation. The webcast will feature Tennessee attorney and Rule 31 Civil Mediator Susan McDonald as she addresses the preparation needed by lawyer-advocates for mediation sessions. Learn more and register on the TBA website.

The TBA Criminal Justice Section will host a free Tennessee criminal law legislative update on Sept. 24. Deputy Executive Director of the Tennessee District Public Defenders Conference Chelsea Curtis will detail new laws and recent changes every practitioner should know. The webinar will include information on DUIs, expungements, the new persistent domestic violence registry, definitions for abortion exceptions and much more. One hour of general CLE credit is available for a $50 processing fee. Learn more and register here.

Last week, committees in both chambers of Congress voted on appropriations legislation that includes varying levels of funding for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC). The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee included $566 million in LSC funding as part of its Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies FY 2026 Appropriation, according to a press release from LSC. This represents a $6 million increase from FY 2025's $560 million appropriation. Earlier in the week, an appropriations subcommittee in the House of Representatives included $300 million in funding in its version of the legislation. That funding represents a 46% cut from LSC’s FY 2025 level. The full Appropriations Committee is scheduled to consider the bill on Thursday. Neither bill follows the White House’s May 30 proposal, which included $21 million for an "orderly closeout" of LSC. Read more from Bloomberg Law.

Maxine Strickler, who worked for the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) for 25 years, died June 21 at age 97. Former Tennessee Bar Journal Editor Suzanne Craig Robertson remembers that when she started working at TBA in 1987, "Maxine was in the membership department. Nothing was computerized then and each member record was on a card in a big metal file called the Cardex." Services were held June 27 in Goodlettsville.

The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) on Monday asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to review a federal judge’s order that struck down a presidential executive order targeting the law firm of Jenner & Block. The firm sued over the order in March. Judge John D. Bates of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found the order violated the firm’s First Amendment rights by retaliating against Jenner for its work in court and ties to certain lawyers. Bloomberg Law has more on the development.

The 78th Judicial Conference of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will be held in Memphis Sept. 3-5 at The Peabody Hotel. The conference will open with a welcome reception on Tuesday evening, followed by two days of programming that include plenary and breakout sessions, luncheons and special evening events, including the Life Member Reception at Old Dominick Distillery and a formal banquet at The Peabody. Conference details, including hotel and registration information, can be found on the court's website. Register by Aug. 15. Call 513-564-7270 or email CA06-Conf@ca6.uscourts.gov with questions.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee recently announced that Alec Richardson will depart the governor’s office at the end of the month after serving for nearly seven years in multiple roles, including his most recent position of senior advisor and director of external affairs. Richardson will transition to the role of state director for U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty. As one of the longest-serving members of Lee’s team, Richardson played an instrumental role in achieving the governor’s agenda to champion rural advancement through the creation of the Governor’s Rural Opportunity Summit. "Alec’s passion for rural Tennessee has contributed greatly to our administration’s work to expand opportunity across economically distressed and at-risk counties, and I am grateful that Tennesseans will continue to benefit from his leadership in a new role," Lee said. Casey Sellers has been appointed to serve as senior advisor to the governor, in addition to her current role as director of communications and a member of Lee’s cabinet. Read more in a press release from the governor's office.