The Knoxville Bar Association and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, in partnership with Legal Aid of East Tennessee (LAET), will hold a Debt Relief Clinic to provide pro bono legal services to income-eligible consumer debtors in Knox, Blount, Loudon and Sevier counties. The clinic will begin at 8:45 a.m. EDT at the Knox County Public Defender's Community Law Office, 1101 Liberty St., Knoxville 37919. Attorneys will volunteer to conduct initial meetings with the clients to discuss their situations and options. Those interested in helping, or those seeking advice, should call the LAET office at 865-637-0484. The deadline for client registration is April 26.

A lawsuit brought over the 2022 death of Landon Eastep will go forward after U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr. declined for now to grant immunity to police officers and state troopers accused of using excessive force while interacting with Eastep. Instead, Crenshaw reserved the issue until there is "further factual development" in the case. He did throw out one claim of failure to protect Eastep and all claims against the Metro Nashville and Mount Juliet governments. Nine law enforcement officials opened fire on 37-year-old Eastep after a 30-minute standoff on Interstate 65 when he pulled a metal object, later determined not to be a weapon, from his pocket. The Tennessean has more on the decision.

Two open positions on the TBA Board of Governors will be filled by the body when it convenes on June 14 at the TBA Annual Convention in Memphis. During its spring meeting this past weekend, the board declared the vacancies in accordance with Article 47 of the TBA Bylaws. The openings are for a West Tennessee Grand Division Governor and a Middle Tennessee Grand Division Governor, each of which will serve a one-year term. To be considered for either position, email TBA Executive Director Sheree Wright with your interest by June 1. Please include a resume with your submission as well as any other information you would like the Board of Governors to consider.

Gov. Bill Lee has signed three bills into law in the last few days. HB2124/SB2576 requires local police to work with ICE whenever an undocumented person is detained. The Associated Press reports on that measure. HB2169/SB1738 prevents the Department of Children’s Services from requiring foster parents to support LGBT rights, meaning the parents in question do not have to accept a child’s sexual orientation or gender identity to become the caregiver. Courthouse News has more on that bill. Finally, HB1726/SB2359 prohibits the Department of Children’s Services from requiring an immunization for foster parents. Before this change the families had to be vaccinated against the flu and whooping cough in an effort to protect medically fragile children, according to The Nashville Scene.

The Tennessee Republican Party has finalized the candidates for the Aug. 1 primary. Of those who sought to run for various positions, the party removed 14 and restored eight after those individuals paid their party dues. Among those blocked from running were three candidates for Congress, two for the state Senate and nine for the state House, Tennessee Journal reports. Party leaders said these individuals failed to meet “bona fide” standards, which require Republican candidates to have voted in at least three of the last four statewide GOP primaries. With that move, U.S. Reps. Mark Green and David Kustoff no longer face primary opponents, while Rep. Scott DesJarlais will face two opponents rather than three. The Associated Press has more specifics.

DAVIS, Circuit Judge. After serving seventeen years in prison for murder, Plaintiff Hattie Tanner gained her freedom when this court granted her habeas relief and set aside her conviction, finding that it lacked sufficient evidentiary support. Once released from custody, Tanner filed a lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Defendant David Walters, a since-retired police detective who she says violated her constitutional rights by falsifying investigation reports and testifying falsely to obtain her wrongful conviction. Walters moved for summary judgment based on qualified immunity, which the district court granted in part and denied in part. Specifically, the district court found that Tanner’s claims for fabrication of evidence and malicious prosecution should proceed to trial. Walters now appeals the district court’s partial denial of his motion. For the reasons that follow, we AFFIRM.

MURPHY, Circuit Judge. Deputy Andrew Young and Officer Andrew Teichow arrested Kamel Chaney-Snell during a search of his girlfriend’s house. Chaney-Snell pleaded guilty to attempting to resist their arrest. But he now claims that, after he peacefully surrendered, Young punched him in the face and one of the officers kneed him in the back and dragged him across the floor. Chaney-Snell sued Young and Teichow under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging excessive-force and failure-to-intervene claims. The district court denied qualified immunity to both officers.

All told, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and dismiss in part for lack of jurisdiction.

Petitioner, Larry B. Sexton, appeals as of right from the Lawrence County Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, wherein he challenged his conviction for aggravated statutory rape, for which he received a sentence of twelve years’ incarceration. On appeal, Petitioner contends that, during trial, his right to due process of law was violated when the trial court permitted the State to reopen proof following his motion for judgment of acquittal. Additionally, Petitioner asserts that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel based upon trial counsel’s failure to: (1) communicate the State’s plea offer to him; (2) request a trial continuance following the issuance of an amended indictment; (3) prepare a mistake of fact defense and interview potential witnesses to support this defense; (4) request a jury instruction on mistake of fact; (5) argue at sentencing and on direct appeal that NCIC entries are not “reliable hearsay” for purposes of sentencing; (6) object during sentencing when the trial court failed to comply with Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-35-106(b)(5) and raise the issue on appeal; and (7) adequately argue during trial and on appeal the issue of the reopening of proof. Following a thorough review, we affirm.

In this case, the plaintiffs sued the former attorneys of her opponent in a multitude of unsuccessful actions involving family trusts. In their complaint, the plaintiffs argued that they were damaged by the tortious conduct of the attorneys under the tort of another doctrine. The defendant-attorneys filed a petition to dismiss under the Tennessee Public Protection Act. The trial court denied the motion to dismiss on the basis that the act was inapplicable. We reverse and remand for further proceedings.

This appeal arises out of proceedings in which a trial court denied a motion to recuse. The parents of the minor child at issue have attempted to appeal pursuant to Rule 10B of the Rules of the Supreme Court of the State of Tennessee. Because the parents did not timely file a petition for recusal appeal, we dismiss the appeal.