The Church Street Park in Nashville will celebrate Women’s History Month with two events over the next few weeks highlighting Nashville’s role in the suffrage movement. On March 22, the park will host a historical retelling of the history with Nashville historian David Ewing. On March 29, it will host live music with the Song Suffragettes. Both events begin at 2 p.m. CDT and take place just steps from where Tennessee lawmakers cast the deciding vote to ratify the 19th Amendment in 1920.

Morristown attorney Aaron Chapman has announced his candidacy for the newly-vacant 3rd Judicial District Circuit Court seat resulting from Gov. Bill Lee’s appointment of William Phillips II to the Tennessee Court of Appeals. Election Day is Aug. 6. (Due to timing of the vacancy, there will be no Republican primary this year.) Chapman says his focus will be continuing to ensure that the circuit court is future-ready, stating, “We must think ahead, think about each other and take our task seriously. Our court system plays a vital role in protecting our future. The work we do now will be seen well into the next century and beyond.” A graduate of the University of Tennessee (now Winston) College of Law, Chapman is a member of the TBA's Board of Governors and a longtime delegate to TBA's House of Delegates. He is the founder of Lakeway Family Law in Morristown. Read more in a press release.

Senior Judge Mark Ward ruled earlier this week that death row inmate Tony Carruthers is competent to be executed. According to the Nashville Banner, Ward found that Carruthers’s testimony showed him to be someone who understood his conviction and sentence but simply believed it was wrong. Defense attorneys had argued that Carruthers is not competent because he is consumed by psychotic delusions that he is the victim of a vast conspiracy and will be released once that conspiracy is exposed. They said they plan to appeal Ward’s decision. Carruthers is scheduled to be executed on May 21 for the murders and the kidnapping of Marcellos Anderson, his mother Delois, and Anderson’s friend Frederick Tucker.

University of Tennessee (UT) Chancellor Donde Plowman fired Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology Tamar Shirinian in February over a Facebook post celebrating Charlie Kirk's assassination. The action, just being reported now, cites reputational harm to the university and potential safety risks as justification for the termination. Shirinian had been suspended in October 2025 while the university pursued termination. She subsequently filed a lawsuit arguing the action amounted to viewpoint discrimination and political retaliation. In February, Shirinian expanded the suit to include top UT officials and board members in the complaint. She has requested an administrative appeal and is awaiting trial, which is scheduled for early 2027. Knox News has more on the story.

After more than two weeks in detention in Alabama and Louisiana, Nashville Noticias journalist Estefany Rodríguez was freed on bond late Thursday afternoon. “Today we celebrate that Estefany has been released from the ICE detention center in Louisiana and is on her way home to be with her family,” Mike Holley, an attorney with the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, said in a statement. The group is representing Rodríguez in her habeas case against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). An immigration judge approved Rodríguez's release on a $10,000 bond but federal officials initially reserved the right to appeal. They ultimately did not. The Nashville Banner has more on the developments

Williamson County leaders broke ground last week on a new juvenile justice center. WKRN reports that the new center will include six courtrooms, space to meet staff and filing demands, a secure juvenile detention center and an alternative learning center that will provide resources and programs for all county schools. According to Williamson County Juvenile Court, in 2019, juvenile services had an annual caseload of around 5,100 cases. They are projected to see 28,000 cases by 2044. The county anticipates opening the new center in 2028.

New Orleans-based law firm McGlinchey Stafford has filed for bankruptcy after announcing in January that it would close its Nashville office. According to the Nashville Post, the firm's statement of financial affairs reported $83.4 million in gross revenue in 2025, up slightly from $82.3 million in 2024. Relatedly, the firm had $15.5 million in assets and $13 million in total liabilities, which includes multiple individual wage claims. The 52-year-old firm also is involved in several ongoing legal cases nationwide, including two in which it is a named defendant.

Join members of the TBA Attorney Well Being Committee next week for a live interactive roundtable on how best to manage work-life balance as a legal professional. This 45 minute Zoom event on March 25 at 12:30 p.m. CDT will feature attorneys discussing their day-to-day practice and will provide effective tools for personal well-being. While geared toward law students and young lawyers, this free event is open to all TBA members, but registration is required. Questions and feedback are encouraged. Submit questions in advance to jword@tnbar.org.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD) and its Mock Trial Committee will hold the 2026 Tennessee State High School Mock Trial Competition this weekend in Nashville. Today and Saturday, 16 teams will meet in a bid to be this year's state champion. Participating schools are: Agathos Classical School in Columbia, Central Magnet School in Murfreesboro, Clarksville High School, Cookeville High School, Chattanooga Southeast Home Education Association, Farragut High School in Knoxville, Girls Preparatory School in Chattanooga, Harpeth Hall School in Nashville, Jefferson County High School in Dandridge, Maryville High School, Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, two teams from St. Mary’s Episcopal School in Memphis, Signal Mountain High School, Unicoi County High School in Erwin and University School of Nashville. Students will present their best arguments in State of Tennessee v. Alex Callahan, a criminal case brought following the murder of a known mafia associate. This year's competition also will feature the second Artist in the Courtroom Contest. Tennessee's team winner and first place artist then will have the opportunity to represent the state at the National High School Mock Trial Competition in Des Moines, Iowa, on May 7-9. The Mock Trial Committee is led by Chair John Jolley, Vice Chair Bridget Pyman and Long Range Planning Coordinator Ashley Tipton. The state competition caps off the district competition process.

Immigration-related proposals continue to advance in both the state House and Senate according to multiple news sources. On Monday, the House passed three bills. The first would require school districts to track and report students by documentation status. That was a change from the original legislation, which would have allowed school districts to deny education to undocumented children. Now the bill must be reconciled with the Senate version, which allows districts to require tuition of undocumented children. The Nashville Banner and WPLN report on HB793/SB836.

The House also passed HB1704 making it a criminal offense to stay in Tennessee for more than 90 days after a final deportation order, and HB1705 giving attorneys general the power to investigate and withhold funding from state and local governments that fail to verify the citizenship of employees. In the Senate this week, members heard a second reading of SJR624 on Monday and then passed the resolution yesterday. It would amend Tennessee’s Constitution to codify that only U.S. citizens may vote in state elections. The Daily Memphian reports on these three measures.

Finally, the House passed HB2185 yesterday. It would authorize the state coordinator of elections to create an electronic portal to access U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data to verify immigration or citizenship status. This bill is scheduled to be considered by the Senate State and Local Government Committee on March 24.