Circuit Court Judge Michael Dumitru on Tuesday ruled that Demetrus Coonrod, a Chattanooga City Council member representing District 9, lives within her district and can continue to represent it. Chattanoogan.com reports that a residency challenge was made after Coonrod purchased a house in Harrison, but she testified that she lives primarily in District 9. The judge directed the city to reimburse Coonrod's legal bills.

Nashville Chancellor I'Ashea Myles has ordered a conservative media organization to appear in court on June 17 over its publishing of information taken from allegedly leaked documents related to the 2023 shooting at The Covenant School. The outlet, Star News Digital Media — which also is suing for the records to be released to the public — is being asked to explain why its recent reporting does not violate court orders placing certain documents and information under seal. The Tennessee Star, a Star News publication, recently published information about the case, but said it did not violate any order as it did not publish any of the actual leaked images or documents, only some of the information contained within them. Tennessee Ledger has the story.

The chair of the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance, Hank Fincher, told the Tennessee Journal in a text message that the registry's referral of a collusion complaint to the state attorney general is "very serious." The complaint states the treasurer of the East Tennessee Conservatives PAC, which has published ads attacking incumbent Sen. Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, is also the treasurer for U.S. Rep. Diane Harshbarger, a Kingsport Republican. The chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Diana Harshbarger said such referrals "happen all the time," but Fincher maintained that referrals reflect "probable cause" that violations occurred.

Shelby County Chancellor Jim Kyle has temporarily stepped away from the bench due to an illness, the Daily Memphian reports. Kyle has been diagnosed with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), a nonfatal autoimmune disorder that involves nerve swelling and irritation that can lead to a loss of strength or sensation. Kyle said he’s managing the disorder and trying to continue doing things that he enjoys, according to the paper.

The 2024 TBA Annual Convention kicked off today in Memphis at the Peabody Hotel with meetings of the TBA House of Delegates and incoming section chairs, and a welcome reception for all attendees. If you have already registered for the event, you may pick your badge in Grand Ballroom Salon C on the Mezzanine level. Walk-up registrations are welcome. See the full schedule of convention events and CLE programming. See pictures from the Welcome Reception.

Working away from the office doesn’t mean clients have to reach you at a different phone number. Voice over IP (VoIP) services use the internet to carry phone calls. Be anywhere and look like you’re calling from the office. You don’t even have to change phone numbers. This chart lists core features by vendor. Find this and more in the Opening a Firm section of TBA’s Law Firm in a Box.

The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law will host the eighth annual Strategic Code Enforcement Management Academy (SCEMA) this Wednesday through Friday. The two-day SCEMA program focuses local teams of government managers, attorneys and community partners on the core principles and practices of strategic code enforcement tailored to the priorities and challenges confronting each team's community. This year, a record 11 cities will take part in the law school-hosted academy, with teams from Memphis; St. Louis, Missouri; Dallas, Texas; Rockford, Illinois; Syracuse, New York; Baltimore, Maryland; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Chandler, Arizona; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Washington, D.C.

Belmont’s College of Law classes 2024 and 2025 received back-to-back 100% pass rates for the fall and spring administration of the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination, known as the MPRE. Required by the American Bar Association and administered three times a year by the National Conference of Bar Examiners, the MPRE measures a candidate’s knowledge and understanding of established standards related to the professional conduct of lawyers. The exam covers a variety of topics including conflicts of interest, how to handle clients’ money, keeping a client’s confidence and other subjects meant to indicate an individual’s knowledge of rules that govern the profession. Read more in a release from the law school.

A Meigs County woman has filed a federal lawsuit against Judge Casey Stokes, Sheriff Jackie Melton, Probation Officer Carol Petitt and Deputy Ben Christian, reports Chattanoogan.com. The complaint alleges that Stokes saw the woman, Hannah Ashbrook, in the hallway of the Meigs County Courthouse and ordered a drug test without probable cause. Ashbrook's suit says she was taken into a bathroom and given 30 seconds to give a urine sample and the sample was then tossed. According to the complaint, Stokes then entered a judgment that she be held in the jail for 10 days for "contempt" and denied her the right to counsel.

The Tennessee Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (DIDD) on May 6 sent a letter to guardians and families of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who live in state-run homes. The letter informed them that the homes would be decommissioned for adults and repurposed to house children in custody of the Department of Children's Services (DCS). “They are using the plight of young people in DCS custody to encourage the conservators and families to get these people to move,” said Zoe Jamail, policy director for Disability Rights Tennessee, which has written its own letter to the families saying they are under no obligation to move their loved ones out of the homes. DIDD officials said in a statement last week that “no one is being evicted from their homes and we have stated that in conversations with family members.” The Tennessee Lookout has the story.