Former Shelby County Judge Melissa Boyd returned to jail for two days for allegedly violating her plea deal, Local Memphis reports. According to the Shelby County Jail, Boyd was booked May 1 on a misdemeanor harassment charge for continuing to contact a woman with whom she was ordered to have no contact. Between January and March of 2023, the woman said Boyd sent her unwanted messages, some including sexually explicit content.

The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands (LAS) recently held its annual fundraising event in Nashville. The “Breakfast of Champions” featured remarks by Mayor Freddie O'Connell and raised $180,000. The funding will go toward Campaign for Equal Justice, which supports the organization's free legal services for low-income individuals in Middle Tennessee. See photos from the event in the Nashville Post.

Eight prominent U.S. newspapers are suing OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement, Axios reports. They include: the New York Daily News, Chicago Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida Sun Sentinel, San Jose Mercury News, Denver Post, Orange County Register and St. Paul Pioneer Press. The complaint centers on copyright infringement claims around the use of articles to train AI models and accusations of reputational damage when the AI platform makes up answers to users' queries. It comes on the heels of a similar case filed by the New York Times. Other news publishers have chosen not to sue, opting instead to negotiate paid deals with AI companies, which could be seen as undermining the argument that companies will be financially harmed by the AI platforms.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, along with Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, have announced that Florida, New York and the District of Columbia have joined the multistate coalition suing the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The suit, filed in January, argues that the NCAA is violating federal antitrust laws with its anticompetitive restrictions on the ability of current and future student-athletes to benefit from their name, image and likeness (NIL). Read more in a release from the attorney general’s office.

Shelby County Juvenile Court is now closed indefinitely while asbestos, mold and lead issues are abated, the Daily Memphian reports. County officials discovered the hazards last week, according to Shelby County Juvenile Court Judge Tarik Sugarmon. Although he has not viewed test results, Sugarmon said he was informed last week that asbestos was located in the building’s boiler room. Mold was also discovered and lead was located in a few stairwells. There is no timeline for opening the building. Court staff members are conducting most proceedings and administrative work virtually. Court proceedings that cannot be handled virtually have been rescheduled. In a separate report from the paper, Sugarmon said the court is looking for temporary space.

The Tennessee Department of Revenue will host a free webinar on May 7 on Schedule G franchise tax refunds and the implications of Tennessee House Bill 1893. Revenue administrative staff will discuss how this legislation will remove the franchise tax property measure and create statutory provisions for taxpayer refunds. Learn more or register here. The webinar is one in a series of educational sessions held by the department each month.

Today is Law Day, a time set aside to reflect on and celebrate the rule of law as America’s founding principle. In a statement issued today, American Bar Association (ABA) President Mary Smith writes that Law Day has never been more important. “Today, we are at an inflection point regarding the rule of law. At home and around the globe, autocrats threaten its very existence. American democracy is under strain, and we must all use our voices to maintain our system of laws and ensure that our democracy — as conceived — endures.” She calls on lawyers to help promote a renewed nationwide focus on civics education, the principles of democracy, the rule of law and basic human rights.

The American Bar Association (ABA) has won its bid to toss a proposed class action over a 2023 data breach that exposed the personal information of about 1.5 million lawyers and others. Reuters reports that a New York federal judge granted the group's motion to dismiss the case, finding the plaintiffs did not provide enough evidence to support their claims. The ABA announced last year that an unauthorized third party penetrated its network and took user names and passwords for online accounts used to access an old ABA website and its career center prior to 2018.

Those arrested for aggravated domestic violence in Tennessee will now have to wear a GPS monitoring device until their court date, WPLN reports. SB1972/HB2692, which passed with bipartisan support, requires that victims be notified if their abuser is within a certain distance. The measure is named for Marie Varsos and her mother Debbie Sisco, who were murdered in 2021 by Varsos’ husband. He had been arrested for strangling Varsos until she lost consciousness but was released and returned to the home to attack again. Family members believe that a law like this one could have saved the women.

State funding has been approved to add another circuit judge in the 4th Judicial District, which serves Cocke, Grainger, Jefferson and Sevier counties. WATE.com reports that the funding is included in the state budget. The funding was added to help reduce the caseload on the current six judges. “Public safety is one of our top priorities, and part of that is ensuring speedy trials and getting criminals off our streets. Another judge in the 4th judicial district will help expedite that process and ultimately make the community a safer place for everyone,” Rep. Jeremy Faison, R-Cosby, said. The bill funding this new judge also reallocated another judgeship to the 19th Judicial District, which serves Montgomery and Robertson counties.