A bill that would make it a felony to help pregnant minors get abortion care, even if it includes taking them out of state, passed the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday. It is now headed to the Senate Calendar Committee to be scheduled for a floor vote, WBIR reports. The bill, SB1971/HB1895 – introduced by Rep. Jason Zachary, R-Knoxville, and Sen. Paul Rose, R-Covington – passed the House Health Committee in February, but was placed behind the budget in the House's Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee yesterday accepted the resignation of Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Melissa Boyd, who has been charged with coercion of a witness and harassment, and then jailed after she violated her bond agreement by testing positive for cocaine. Erin Merrick, Lee’s chief counsel, notified Boyd’s attorney of the decision in a brief letter, the Associated Press reports. Earlier in the day, Boyd had submitted a letter to the Administrative Office of the Courts saying she would resign immediately, a move that avoided a vote by the General Assembly to consider her removal from office. Her criminal trial is set for April 24.

The Johnson City/Washington County Family Justice Center is commemorating April’s designation as Sexual Assault Awareness Month by holding a new clothing drive for female and male victims. Melanie Jaynes, the center’s victim services coordinator, tells the Johnson City Press that the clothing will be given to victims of sexual assault to wear after hospital examinations, as their own clothing is often collected as evidence. Donation barrels are available at city hall, Burn Boot Camp, First Horizon Bank and Johnson City Medical Center. Businesses interested in hosting a collection barrel should call the Family Justice Center at 423-722-3720.

Shannon Wagner has been named the new executive director of the Nashville Conflict Resolution Center. She replaced Sara Figal, who retired, on April 1. Wagner has been the center’s assistant director for the last year, with a focus on finance and programming. She previously worked on development at other nonprofits including Renewal House, the Nashville Public Library Foundation and the Martha O’Bryan Center. Wagner holds two bachelor’s degrees, a certificate in nonprofit management and leadership, and a master’s degree in conflict management. The Nashville Post reports on the move.

CLAY, Circuit Judge. Plaintiff Lufti Said Saalim appeals the district court’s two orders granting judgment on the pleadings in favor of Defendants Jeffrey Bretzloff, Justyn McNett, Michael Navarre, and the Lucas County Board of Commissioners, and sua sponte dismissing Defendants Walmart, Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores, East, LP. Saalim alleged violations of his Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and also asserted various violations of Ohio state law. For the reasons set forth below, we AFFIRM in part, REVERSE in part, and REMAND the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

MATHIS, Circuit Judge. This case involves the alleged infringement of a copyright on software code used in an industrial control system. This is the third time this case has come before us. RJ Control Consultants, Inc. and its sole shareholder, Paul Rogers (collectively, “Plaintiffs”), appeal the district court’s exclusion of their proposed expert and the grant of summary judgment to Multiject, LLC; its sole owner, Jack Elder; and RSW Technologies, LLC (collectively, “Defendants”). In the first appeal, we reversed the district court’s grant of summary judgment to Defendants on Plaintiffs’ copyright-infringement claim related to the software code and remanded the case to the district court “for the taking of additional evidence.” RJ Control Consultants, Inc. v. Multiject, LLC, 981 F.3d 446, 458–59 (6th Cir. 2020) (RJ Control I). We dismissed the second appeal for lack of appellate jurisdiction. RJ Control Consultants, Inc. v. Multiject, LLC, No. 22-1102, 2023 WL 2785764 (6th Cir. Apr. 5, 2023) (RJ Control II). Because the district court did not abuse its discretion in excluding Plaintiffs’ proposed expert and because the district court did not err in granting summary judgment to Defendants, we affirm.

Petitioner, Lavino Horne, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, arguing that the post-conviction court correctly determined that the statute of limitations should be tolled for his untimely petition because he diligently pursued his petition after being abandoned by trial counsel. He further contends that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial. The State responds that the post-conviction court erred by finding that extraordinary circumstances prevented Petitioner from timely filing his petition and denying the State’s motion to dismiss the petition as untimely. The State further argues that Petitioner failed to show that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial. Following our review of the entire record, the briefs, and oral arguments of the parties, we conclude that Petitioner failed to show that the one-year statute of limitations should be tolled on due process grounds. Accordingly, Petitioner’s postconviction claim of ineffective assistance of counsel is barred by the statute of limitations and we reverse the post-conviction court’s denial of the State’s motion to dismiss the petition as untimely.

This appeal involves a decision by the Tennessee Claims Commission (“the Commission”) awarding damages to the claimant for her injuries caused by the negligence of a state employee. The Commission determined that an employee of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville had created a dangerous condition by leaving a wet tile floor in a dormitory bathroom and failing to warn the claimant, who was a resident of the dormitory room, of the condition. The Commission found that the state employee’s negligence had caused the claimant to fall and break her arm, thereby also causing her to incur medical expenses and other damages. The Commission awarded damages to the claimant and against the State of Tennessee (“the State”) in the amount of $187,398.23. The State has appealed. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm.

Early data from the February bar exam suggests that pass rates will increase and the attorney licensing test has stabilized after several years of volatility attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the National Conference of Bar Examiners, the national average score on the Multistate Bar Exam — the 200 multiple-choice question portion of the exam — ticked up 0.7 of a point to 131.8. That increase comes after two years of declines in the average score. In addition, the number of February examinees across the country was the highest in five years, at 19,496. Read more projections about this year’s data from Reuters.

The TBA has hired Lanny Brown as its next assistant executive director. Brown, who joined the TBA on April 8, is a 20-year veteran of the non-profit sector with more than 15 years of management experience. He most recently served as vice president of the Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee and previously as curator of the Nashville Zoo. With a diverse background in all aspects of operations, Brown has extensive experience in organizational efficiency and utilizing available resources and technology to add value to the member experience. Brown also enjoys playing an active volunteer role in the community, specifically helping small fledgling non-profits navigate the early stages of founding and launch. An Arizona native, Brown and his family moved to Nashville in 2012. He replaces longtime Assistant Executive Director Barry Kolar, who retired at the end of 2023.