The U.S Supreme Court today agreed to hear a number of new cases in its next term, Bloomberg Law reports. These include a request from two Republican campaign committees to strike down federal caps on the money that can be spent on advertisements in coordination with congressional candidates; an appeal to shield an internet provider from a $1 billion lawsuit over customers’ unauthorized downloads of copyrighted works; the power of judges to sentence fugitives; and how much flexibility pension actuaries have when calculating money owed by companies withdrawing from a multiemployer plan. It also asked the government to comment on whether it should hear an appeal of the verdict rendered in the Roundup litigation.

The Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) will soon transition from physical mail to scanned, digitized personal mail for inmates at three facilities beginning Aug. 1. According to a press release, mail will be received at an off-site, centralized facility, where it will be processed, scanned and delivered in a digital format to inmates on their TDOC-issued tablets. The new process aims to reduce contraband and increase security while providing faster, more reliable mail delivery. Privileged mail — including correspondence from attorneys, court clerks, legal aid clinics and government officials or agencies — will not be affected and should continue to be sent directly to the facility where the inmate is incarcerated. Privileged mail sent to the scanning facility will be forwarded to the facility, and outgoing inmate mail will not be affected.

The Child Advocacy Center of Rutherford and Cannon Counties has secured a $1 million commitment to help fund a building project. The Rutherford County Commission on June 12 unanimously approved the capital funding for the center, which provides free services for children who have been victims and supports prosecution of child rape and abuse cases, The Tennessean reports. The decision followed a unanimous recommendation from the seven-member Rutherford County Budget, Finance and Investment Committee. The center contributes to prosecutions by providing trained experts to interview children, who tell their stories on video recordings.

U.S. District Judge Mark Norris has removed himself from the pending civil rights lawsuit over Tyré Nichols’ death. U.S. District Judge Sheryl Lipman has been assigned to the yearslong case, the Daily Memphian reports. Norris’ recusal follows his earlier withdrawal from the federal criminal case against the five former Memphis Police Department officers charged in connection with Nichols’ 2023 death, which led to the cancellation of their federal sentencing hearings. His order to recuse himself was filed Thursday, but the reason for his decision remains unclear.

Puerto Rico has enacted new lawyer ethics rules that allow nonlawyers to have an ownership interest in law firms, the American Bar Association (ABA) Journal reports. Although Puerto Rico’s new ethics rules are modeled on the ABA Model Rules, the provision allowing nonlawyer ownership is a key change. Nonlawyers may not own more than 49% of the shares in law offices, which must be operated by lawyers licensed in Puerto Rico. The rules also state that nonlawyers cannot interfere with lawyers’ independent professional judgment or provide services to the law offices. The Puerto Rico Supreme Court plans to assess the rule’s effectiveness after three years. Other jurisdictions that allow nonlawyer ownership of law firms include Arizona and the District of Columbia, while Utah permits it under the restrictions of its regulatory sandbox program. The ABA released Formal Opinion 499 in 2021, which ruled that a lawyer generally may invest passively in a law firm that includes nonlawyer owners in jurisdictions that permit such alternative business structures.

Chattanoogan.com will begin offering legal notice publication services on July 1 under an amended Tennessee law that now requires public notices to appear in both print and qualifying online news outlets. According to the Chattanoogan, publisher John Wilson said the online news site, which has maintained a legal notice section in anticipation of such legislation, meets all requirements under the new law. While foreclosure and election notices are exempt, other legal notices must now run in established online sources if available in the county. Legal notices placed with Chattanoogan.com will cost $1.50 per word, capped at $75, and include up to four weeks of publication.

Metro Nashville Council members are reviving the legislative body's Black Caucus, which has been inactive since 2011. According to Axios Nashville, the Black Caucus traces its roots to 1951, when the city's first Black council members, Z. Alexander Looby and Robert Lillard, were elected. Metro Council member Jennifer Gamble will now chair the caucus, which includes 11 members. According to a news release, the Black Caucus “recognizes that there are issues unique to Black Nashvillians that require a more targeted focus.”

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled along ideological lines Friday to curtail judges’ ability to issue nationwide injunctions, The Hill reports. The ruling allows the Trump administration to partially enforce the president’s executive order limiting the U.S. Constitution’s “birthright citizenship” provision to children with at least one parent with permanent legal status. “These injunctions — known as ‘universal injunctions’ — likely exceed the equitable authority that Congress has granted to federal courts,” Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote for the majority. The decision narrows the lower court rulings blocking enforcement of the order to the 22 states, expectant mothers and immigration organizations that challenged the order. It does not resolve the underlying issue of whether restrictions on birthright citizenship are constitutional. Three justices — Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson — dissented, arguing that “No right is safe in the new legal regime the Court creates.” According to The Hill, the administration may resume developing guidance to implement the order, though it must wait 30 days before attempting to deny citizenship to anyone.

Sessions from the TBA's recent Immigration Law Forum are now available for purchase as on-demand courses, both individually and as a convenient 1-Click Package. Sessions include "Hot Topics & Policies in Immigration Law," "Past, Current & Future Immigration Bills in the Tennessee General Assembly" and "Promoting Economic Inclusion and Immigrant Integration." In addition, the section has held three webcasts so far this year, and all of those are available on demand. Check those out here.

Attorneys for Byron Black, a man on Tennessee’s death row, are asking the Tennessee Supreme Court to order a lower court to consider whether he is mentally competent to be executed. Black was sentenced to death in Nashville in 1989 for the murders of his girlfriend and her daughters. He is scheduled to be executed on Aug. 5. In court filings, Black’s attorneys have said he has an intellectual disability, progressive dementia and brain damage, which leave him incapable of grasping why he is being put to death. They argue that the trial court and Court of Criminal Appeals erred when they declined to consider competency. Nashville Public Radio has more on the story. In 2022, Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk agreed that Black should be removed from death row.