Nashville Council member Courtney Johnston is considering a Republican primary challenge to U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles, according to Axios. Johnston has high name recognition and strong ties to business leaders and Republicans, the news source reports. Johnston was elected to the metro council after defeating incumbent Jeremy Elrod in 2019. Her background includes a career as a real estate agent and experience with finance. Ogles won the District 5 seat in 2022 after facing a crowded primary and defeating state Sen. Heidi Campbell in the general election.

At least eight more people have come forward to accuse a Memphis man of pretending to be an attorney and scamming them out of thousands of dollars, WREG reports. The station first reported on Glenis “Chip” Campbell’s arrest in February. At the time, he was charged with three counts of impersonating a licensed professional and two counts of theft of property in three different cases. Since then, new victims have come forward with one individual saying he was scammed out of $25,000 and another saying he paid Campbell $43,000 over a five-year period to represent him. Campbell is now facing 20 charges in 11 cases. He is being held in the Shelby County Jail on a $283,500 bond.

In oral arguments today, U.S. Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical of a challenge to how the Biden administration encouraged social media platforms to remove posts that federal officials deemed misinformation, Reuters reports. The case is testing whether the administration crossed the line from mere communication and persuasion to strong-arming or coercing platforms to unlawfully censor speech about topics such as elections and COVID-19. A lower court had imposed a preliminary injunction on how White House and other federal officials communicate with social media platforms. The Supreme Court paused that order last fall. Also today, the court hard arguments over whether a New York state official can be sued for violating the National Rifle Association's constitutional free speech rights after he allegedly pressured banks and insurers to avoid doing business with the group. Read more about that case here.

A bill making its way through the Tennessee legislature would require some domestic violence offenders to wear GPS monitoring devices so survivors can tell if they are nearby. If enacted, the bill would allow courts to require offenders to avoid contact with survivors and wear GPS tracking devices before allowing release on bond. The bill would apply to people arrested for stalking, aggravated stalking or especially aggravated stalking, as well as any kind of offense specifically against another person, such as assault, kidnapping or rape. Survivors also would have the opportunity to pay for an app that notifies them if offenders are near their location. SB1972/HB2692 has passed committees in both the Senate and House and has been placed behind the budget since it contains a $65,800 fiscal note. WBIR has the story.

The TBA Administrative Law Section is accepting submissions for its annual writing competition for law students. All students enrolled in a Tennessee law school during the 2023–2024 school year are eligible to enter. Submissions are due March 27. The section offers this yearly competition to promote an interest in and understanding of both state and federal administrative law, and to strengthen the relationship among administrative law professors, law students and practitioners in Tennessee. The winning submission will be published in the Administrative Law Section newsletter and the winner will be awarded $1,000. Get more information and competition rules in this handout.

A story in Friday’s issue of TBA Today included reporting from the Memphis Commercial Appeal that the University of Memphis School of Law was considering former Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland as its next dean. The paper also indicated that current Dean Katharine T. Schaffzin had not announced her intention to step down from that post. The paper has now corrected its story to clarify that although the school has not announced Schaffzin’s exit, Schaffzin emailed the law school community of her intention in August 2023. In that email — which until now has not been publicly reported on — she wrote, "My family and I have made Memphis our home for the past fourteen years and plan to remain Tigers. I will continue my service as dean throughout this academic year and, after a sabbatical, plan to return to the classroom preparing competent litigators for the practice of law."

The TBA Young Lawyers Division's Rookie's Guide series continues next week with a session focused on estate planning. Join Memphis attorney Danielle Woods on March 28 at noon CDT to learn more about this practice area. Topics will include drafting a will, creating a trust and protecting assets. Register here.

Diversity Law Week in Memphis and Nashville concluded with impactful presentations at the University of Memphis School of Law and Vanderbilt University Law School. The final events offered students insights from the deans of admission, a college primer, a mock law school class and a panel discussion with experienced attorneys. Over the course of the week, 100 diverse high school students across the state had an opportunity to shadow attorneys, explore courtrooms and immerse themselves in law school for a day. Diversity Law Week, a project of YLD President Quinton Thompson, was designed to help these students — particularly those who expressed an interest in the legal profession — chart their career paths. Thanks to Thompson and Diversity Law Week Chairs Ariel Anthony, Erin Shackelford and Kevin Christopher for their exceptional leadership and dedication to making this program a success. See photos from the event.

CHAD A. READLER, Circuit Judge. The Board of Immigration Appeals dismissed Gloris Sarai Vasquez-Rivera’s appeal from the denial of her application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture. She now seeks review of that order, alleging that she faces a threat of violence and persecution if she returns to El Salvador. We grant in part and deny in part the petition for review.

THAPAR, Circuit Judge. Karnail Singh seeks to set aside his conviction, claiming he would not have pled guilty had he known the plea would affect his citizenship. But when entering the plea, Singh said he’d plead guilty regardless of the immigration consequences. We affirm.