Gov. Bill Lee has signed a bill that will change how bail decisions are made in Tennessee. HB854/SB856 allows judges to consider “reliable hearsay” when determining whether a defendant should be granted bail. This could include documents such as police database printouts, rap sheets and probation violation reports, even if no witness is present to testify about them, Fox Chattanooga reports. Supporters say the bill gives judges more context to assess whether a defendant poses a risk to the community and could help prevent repeat offenders from being released too easily. Critics argue the measure could lead to unfair detentions, particularly for defendants without legal representation.

Five Vanderbilt Law School faculty members, including both full-time and adjunct professors, have been honored with Hall-Hartman Awards for Outstanding Teaching from the Vanderbilt Bar Association. The annual awards recognize exceptional instruction in both first-year and upper-level courses. One professor is selected from each of the law school’s three first-year sections, along with two professors who teach upper-level classes. This year’s recipients include Vice Dean Lisa Bressman; Terry Maroney, professor of medicine, health and society; Farhang Heydari, assistant professor of law, for his upper-level criminal procedure class; and Matthew Shaw, assistant professor of law, who was recognized for his education law course. Mark Schein also was honored for his outstanding contributions as an adjunct professor.

The FBI is warning Tennesseans to be on high alert for a wave of fraudulent text messages posing as toll collection agencies like E-ZPass, despite Tennessee having no toll roads. These "smishing" scams, which combine phishing tactics with SMS texting, are convincing enough that even savvy residents — including journalists — have admitted to second-guessing their legitimacy, News Channel 5 reports. Many of the scam messages originate from international numbers and threaten penalties for unpaid tolls. With Tennessee’s Department of Transportation preparing to roll out its first optional toll lanes on I-24, officials emphasize that they do not request payments via text. In 2024, tech scams cost Tennesseans more than $190 million, with seniors accounting for one-third of those losses, according to the FBI. A similar warning was issued by the Tennessee Attorney General's Office on May 5.

An inmate at the Hardeman County Correctional Facility was stabbed 60 times in an open dayroom while guards failed to respond, despite the fatal attack being captured on multiple security cameras, a federal lawsuit filed against CoreCivic claims. The suit alleges the December 2024 attack was carried out by rival gang members for more than 30 minutes before guards intervened. The inmate was dead by the time staff arrived, The Tennessean reports. In a statement, CoreCivic said the "safety, health and well-being of the individuals entrusted to our care and our dedicated staff is our top priority." The private prison operator faces multiple wrongful death lawsuits and millions of dollars in state fines. The U.S. Department of Justice last year launched a civil rights investigation into the Trousdale Turner Correctional Center, CoreCivic’s largest facility in Tennessee.

Some immigrants who previously were required to check in at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in Knoxville must now travel to Nashville, Knox News reports. The appointments are part of the process for immigrants who were released into the U.S. or are awaiting the result of their asylum claim. Some individuals who had scheduled appointments with the office on April 23 were told to report to the Nashville office, while others checked in as normal and were given their next appointment time. One man was detained on a removal order. The previous week, 13 were detained. The Knoxville ICE office oversees immigrants living in 23 counties. The office has been closed for routine check-ins since last month. The paper reports that multiple calls and emails to the office have gone unanswered.

The American Bar Association (ABA) sued the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) last week claiming the department illegally terminated federal grants in retaliation for the organization’s public criticism of the administration. It is seeking a temporary restraining order to block the government from terminating the funds. According to Reuters, on April 10, DOJ terminated $3.2 million in grants used to train lawyers to represent victims of domestic and sexual violence. The ABA says it has received grant funding for that purpose since 1995. The suit also notes that the group has lost a total of $69 million in federal grants since the new administration took office, which has led it to lay off 300 employees. In separate reporting, Reuters says DOJ is terminating another $811 million in grant programs, including those for victim services and police training.

Several national events and activities are being planned for this year's Law Day, which has been observed in the United States since 1958. This year’s Law Day theme, “The Constitution’s Promise: Out of Many, One,” celebrates what unites Americans as a country and a people. Tomorrow, the American Bar Association (ABA) will release results from the seventh annual Survey of Civic Literacy, which measures the public’s civics knowledge. On Thursday, the group will hold a virtual Law Day event with retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and multiple panelists. Register here to receive the link. Finally, a special edition of the Civics 101 podcast, recorded live this month, is now available to stream. The program was sponsored by Civics 101, Discovering Justice, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts and the ABA Division for Public Education. Learn more about each of these programs, get resources for planning a Law Day event, or watch the Law Day launch program, which is now available to stream.

The TBA will host its 29th Annual Labor and Employment Law Forum this Friday at the Tennessee Bankers Association's Bradley L. Barrett Training Center in Nashville from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CDT. The forum will provide insights into current labor and employment law issues. Topics include a case law update, arbitrating employment disputes, workplace privacy, values-based professionalism and an update on DEI initiatives. More information about speakers and an agenda for the day is available on the TBA website.

Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Paula Skahan has announced that she will retire in June, the Daily Memphian reports. Skahan has served on the bench since 2004 when she was appointed by former Gov. Phil Bredesen. In a letter notifying Gov. Bill Lee of her retirement, Skahan said, “…it has been an honor and pleasure to serve our citizens for the past 20 years. I am truly grateful for the experience and memories it has given me during this time.” Before being appointed as judge, Skahan worked as a criminal-defense attorney, a prosecutor and a public defender in Shelby County. She graduated from the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis.

The Tennessee Supreme Court issued two rulings today. In the first case, the court ruled that a lawsuit against Life Care Center in Tullahoma may proceed, despite the plaintiff's death. The case involves an elderly woman, Annie Jones, who was on camera while being bathed by a nursing home employee who also was conversing on a personal video call. Jones’s daughter filed a lawsuit alleging the nursing home committed the tort of intrusion upon seclusion, a privacy violation. Life Care argued that the suit should end due to Jones’s death. The court disagreed, stating that most tort lawsuits, including privacy claims, can continue even after the plaintiff's death. In the second ruling, the court held that the state’s collateral estoppel doctrine prevents a plaintiff from relitigating the issue of class certification in a refiled case. In this case, plaintiffs sought to certify a class action over TennCare’s $50 cap on non-emergency services. The court ruled that because the issue of class certification had already been denied in an earlier case, it could not be revisited.