The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a federal law that bans people under domestic violence restraining orders from owning firearms, rejecting a defendant’s challenge to the ban. The Hill reports that the 8-1 decision, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing for the majority, noted a tradition of disarming individuals found to pose a credible threat to the physical safety of another. Justice Clarence Thomas was the lone dissenter, writing that “not a single historical regulation justifies that statute at issue.”

HB2472/SB2682, sponsored by Rep. Kevin Raper, R-Cleveland, and Sen. Dawn White, R-Murfreesboro — both former teachers — was signed into law recently by Gov. Bill Lee. The new law requires a one-year suspension for students who assault teachers at school. According to data from the Tennessee Department of Education, there were 1,918 assaults of teachers and staff reported by schools across Tennessee during the 2022-2023 school year ― the highest number in the last five years and up nearly 700 from the 2021-2022 school year. “We have a teacher shortage,” Raper said. “And we are losing a number of these teachers because they just said 'I'm not going back to this situation, and I'll go work somewhere else.'” The Tennessean reports on the story.

TBA's annual Adoption Law Forum will be held Sept. 9 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. CDT at the Tennessee Bankers Association's Barrett Training Center in Nashville. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available!

The Biden administration will allow certain undocumented immigrants who are married to U.S. citizens to stay in the country and work legally, expanding a program that’s currently used for immediate family of military service members. The Hill reports that the new effort, announced Tuesday, expands the “parole in place” program to new individuals and pairs it with measures designed to make the work visa application easier for those — particularly DACA beneficiaries — who have graduated from U.S. colleges and have been in the United States for 10 years. Approved applicants will receive a three-year work permit, deferral from deportation and three years to apply for permanent residency.

Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel will hold an open house on June 27 to showcase its newly renovated 17th floor. The new space is designed to foster a professional, collaborative environment that enhances the firm’s ability to provide exceptional client service, according to the firm. The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. EDT with remarks at 6 p.m. for dedication of the Songwood Library in honor of longtime partner Max Bahner and his wife Sara. The firm is located in the Liberty Tower at 605 Chestnut St., Ste. 1700, Chattanooga 37450. Hors d'oeuvres and beverages will be served. Bahner served as TBA president from 1980-1981.

A growing number of law schools are adding courses and degree programs in artificial intelligence (AI) as a way to meet employer demand and capitalize on the booming AI industry. According to a recent American Bar Association (ABA) survey, more than half of schools now offer classes on AI, while at least two law schools — Arizona State University and University of California Berkeley — are launching special degree programs focused on AI. Reuters reports on the developments. The TBA launched an AI Task Force this past spring to explore the intersection of AI and the legal profession with the goal of ensuring that Tennessee attorneys are well-equipped to navigate this evolving technology.

The Metro Nashville Council approved a new budget Tuesday night, including $400,000 to launch an Indigent Defense and Excellence in Advocacy program. Developed by former Davidson County Public Defender Dawn Deaner and veteran defense attorney Jodie Bell, the program mirrors a federal model program to improve representation for poor criminal defendants and more thoroughly vet attorneys appointed to take their cases. The council also approved use of the funds to hire additional staff for the public defender’s office. Nashville’s public defenders, like those around the country, regularly carry a far heavier caseload than state guidelines recommend, Nashville Banner reports.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has permanently disbarred Davidson County lawyer Robert Allen Doll III after he was convicted on three criminal charges. The decision upholds the recommendation of a Board of Professional Responsibility (BPR) hearing panel and the Davidson County Chancery Court, both of which Doll had challenged. The court found that Doll, while representing a client in post-divorce proceedings, signed the client’s name to a petition and instructed the client to tell the court she had signed the document. The client testified that Doll never informed her she could be charged for lying under oath, and in fact, she was indicted on two counts of aggravated perjury. A jury convicted Doll on two counts of subornation of aggravated perjury for having his client lie under oath and one count of criminal simulation for forging the client’s signature. Read the opinion or more about the case in a release from the court or access the BPR press release.

A bipartisan group seeking to draw more moderate Tennessee Republican and Democrats into voting in state primary contests plans to roll out its first ad next week during the presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, Tennessee Journal reports. Organizers of the group — known as The Best of Tennessee — say that only about 22% of voters have participated in party primaries in recent years. According to Tennessee Lookout, the group was founded by Nashville lawyer Chloe Akers.

President Joe Biden has approved Gov. Bill Lee’s request for federal disaster relief following severe storms in Tennessee in May, including deadly tornadoes and flooding. WPLN reports that the aid is approved for recovery efforts by local governments and qualified nonprofits in 12 counties: Cannon, Cheatham, Giles, Hamilton, Jackson, Macon, Maury, Montgomery, Polk, Smith, Sumner and Warren. Lee’s request for individual assistance for residents in the counties hit the hardest is still pending. The storms on May 8 and 9 included 10 tornadoes, damaging hail and record-setting rainfall in some areas.