The April 28 fire that destroyed the Clayborn Temple was set intentionally, the Memphis Fire Department said this week. Officials are looking for a person of interest in the case, the Daily Memphian reports. The church had served as a base of operations for the 1968 strike of 1,300 city sanitation workers and then, once the protest grew, it became the starting point for daily marches to City Hall. Each year, supporters had gathered at the church on April 4 to mark the anniversary of the strike and the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., who had come to Memphis to lend his support to the cause. A nonprofit group, Historic Clayborn Temple, has committed to restoring the church. In a separate article, the paper reports that the Memphis home of the temple’s director caught fire about two weeks before church fire.

The Shelby County government is directing the City of Memphis to move 11 of its offices out of the county criminal justice center by Dec. 31, 2026, The Commercial Appeal reports. The county says increasing operational demands and the need for more space for law enforcement and judicial functions is driving the decision. Offices impacted include city court judges, court clerks, court coordinators, city prosecutors, bailiff holding and city police dispatch. One city office, the Memphis Police Department's property and evidence room, will remain at 201 Poplar.

The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee has changed its local rules to clarify that attorneys may speak on social media and to news media about their cases without fear, The Tennessean reports. In a filing signed by all four judges, the local rules were revised on May 15 to address concerns over a “gag order” that was placed on attorney Daniel Horwitz during litigation against private prison company CoreCivic. Now, the rule simply states that attorneys are bound by Tennessee’s rules of professional conduct. Institute for Justice attorney Jared McClain, who represented Horwitz in challenging the rule, said, “This is a huge win for the First Amendment in Middle Tennessee. Attorneys have a right to discuss their cases, and the public has a right to know what the government and its contractors are doing wrong.” Horwitz had challenged the order and while his appeal is still pending, the court's action resolves the matter according to the paper.

The Tennessee Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in two cases on May 28 before a group of rising high school seniors at the Tennessee American Legion Boys State in Cookeville. The event is part of the Court’s SCALES program, which educates students about the Tennessee legal system and the functions of the judicial branch. The court will hear arguments in State v. Ginny Parker and State v. Antonio Demetrius Adkisson. Then on May 29, beginning at 9 a.m. CDT, the court will hear three cases at the Tennessee Supreme Court building in Nashville. Those cases include Tinsley Properties LLC et al. v. Grundy County, Jo Carol Edwards v. Peoplease LLC et al., and Berkeley Research Group LLC v. Southern Advanced Materials LLC. A fourth case, Connie Reguli v. Board of Professional Responsibility, will be submitted to the court on the briefs. All oral arguments will be livestreamed to the court’s YouTube page.

This year’s Bench Bar program “Lawyers Making History” offers a unique opportunity to hear from Tennessee judges, practicing lawyers and those who were there when history was made! The first of three sessions will look at famous Tennessee trials as Chattanooga lawyer Russell Fowler explores landmark cases that shaped our state’s legal landscape. The second session will feature trailblazing women as they reflect on their experiences breaking judicial barriers. Speakers include retired U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Martha Craig "Cissy" Daughtrey, U.S. District Court Judge Aleta Trauger from the Middle District of Tennessee, and Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Camille McMullen. Nashville lawyer Margaret Behm will moderate the discussion. The final session will take a deep dive into one of Tennessee’s most controversial political and legal events: the Blanton pardon scandal. Don’t miss the opportunity to hear from Nashville lawyer Hal Hardin, author and columnist Keel Hunt, and former Tennessee Gov. and U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander. Make plans to join your colleagues for this program — taking place June 12 from 9-11:45 a.m. CDT at the Franklin Marriott Cool Springs — as well as other educational programs being planned. Still need to register for convention? Get started here.

President Donald Trump on Monday signed the "Take It Down Act," bipartisan legislation that enacts stricter penalties for the distribution of nonconsensual intimate imagery, including deepfakes created by artificial intelligence, according to the Associated Press. The measure, which takes effect immediately, makes it illegal to “knowingly publish” or threaten to publish intimate images without a person’s consent, and requires websites and social media platforms to remove such material within 48 hours of receiving notice from a victim. Free speech advocates and digital rights groups argue the bill is too broad and could result in the censorship of legitimate content, including legal pornography.

Tennessee is scheduled to execute Oscar Franklin Smith tomorrow morning as a lawsuit challenging the state’s new lethal injection protocol moves through the court system. According to WPLN, anti-death penalty advocates and Smith’s attorneys spent weeks asking Gov. Bill Lee to halt executions until the court rules on whether the protocol is constitutional. A decision on that could take until at least 2026 the news outlet reports. Smith’s attorneys announced Tuesday that Lee had denied a request for a reprieve. Smith, who was convicted of murdering his wife Judith Smith and her two sons in 1989, will be the first person in Tennessee to be executed using a single lethal dose of pentobarbital. Attorneys for nine death row inmates are challenging that method in Davidson County Chancery Court.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has rejected the Board of Professional Responsibility’s (BPR) proposed discipline for Shelby County lawyer Sheila L. Robinson-Beasley. The court issued an order on May 15 directing the BPR to reconsider its April 11th order recommending approval of a conditional guilty plea. The court said it had concerns that the proposed punishment of suspension, and particularly the period of active suspension, was too lenient.

Just City will celebrate its 10th anniversary with "Stand Up with Just City," a special fundraising event featuring comedian Roy Wood Jr. on June 8 at the Minglewood Hall in Memphis. Wood, who is the host of CNN’s “Have I Got News For You” and a former correspondent on The Daily Show, will headline the evening, which also will include an appearance by state Rep. Justin J. Pearson, D-Memphis. The event marks a decade of the nonprofit’s work aimed at creating a more just and equitable criminal justice system. For more information on the event and to register, visit the organization's website.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is closing its investigation into the Memphis Police Department (MPD), the Commercial Appeal reports. The DOJ opened the probe months after Tyre Nichols was beaten by police and later died. Its investigation found multiple patterns or practices of civil rights violations by the department. The city of Memphis declined to enter a consent decree ahead of the report’s release in December 2024, and no lawsuit was filed to force the issue. Though Memphis never entered into a consent decree, the DOJ said it was “retracting the Biden administration’s findings of constitutional violations.” Following news of the action, Memphis Mayor Paul Young said the DOJ decision will not impact the city's efforts to reform policing. Also according to the paper, the DOJ announced it would seek to dismiss civil rights lawsuits in Kentucky and Minnesota, which had resulted in consent decrees.