Metro Nashville Finance Director Kevin Crumbo announced that $2 million earmarked for Nashville arts organizations is in jeopardy due to the mismanagement of the department budget. The Nashville Banner reports that Crumbo emphasized that monies paid to consultants and contractors are the greatest sources of concern: “One of the root causes of the internal audit review … are the reports of multiple [Metro Arts] employees who have alleged excess spending … and behaviors at the highest level of management that may violate Metro’s policies governing workplace conduct.” An internal report examining allegations of discrimination is due for release March 4.

Memphis lawyer Constance K. Brown has been appointed to chair the Memphis Bar Association's Access to Justice Committee for a second term. Constance is a member of the Memphis Bar Association, the National Bar Association, the Association for Women Attorneys and serves on the TBA Access to Justice Committee. She is currently the Anti-Blight prosecutor for the city of Memphis.

A University of Memphis Law School Duberstein Bankruptcy Team of Alexandra Nabity, Carson Klepzig and Alton Smith won the Sixth Circuit's Shapero Cup Regional Duberstein Competition. Nabity also won the award for Best Oral Advocate. They will go on to compete in New York at the National Duberstein Competition. A second team consisting of Elizabeth Hunt, Tarik Terry and Olivia Cox made it to the semifinal round. See photos from the event. Additionally, the law school's Trial Law Team made it to the final round of regionals at the National Trial Competition in Birmingham. That team consists of Peyton Barrow, Annika Rush, Kelsey McClain, Cody Tolbert, Ciana Charity and Mary Cano. See photos from the event.

The Petitioner, Joseph Wilson, was convicted in 2001 by a Madison County Circuit Court jury of a number of offenses, including attempted second degree murder and three counts of aggravated rape, based on his having raped and cut the throat of a woman during his participation with accomplices in burglarizing her home. In February 2022, the Petitioner filed a petition pursuant to the Post-Conviction DNA Analysis Act of 2001, Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-30-301, et. seq., for DNA analysis of the sexual assault kit, the knife used to cut the victim’s throat, the clothing the victim was wearing at the time of the assault, and assorted other items recovered from the bathroom where the sexual assault occurred, asserting that “significant technological developments in forensic methodologies over the last fifteen years [have occurred] that may now make it possible to conclusively identify the true perpetrator[.]” Following a hearing, the post-conviction court denied the petition, finding that the Petitioner had not shown there was a reasonable probability that he would not have been prosecuted or convicted or that new DNA testing would resolve an issue that had not been previously resolved. On appeal, the Petitioner argues that the post-conviction court erred in finding that the Petitioner did not satisfy the requirements for DNA analysis pursuant to the Post-Conviction DNA Analysis Act. The State concedes that DNA analysis of the sexual assault kit and the knife is warranted but argues that it is not warranted for the other pieces of evidence. We agree with the State that DNA analysis is warranted for the sexual assault kit and unwarranted for the items collected from the bathroom and for the victim’s clothing that was not collected as part of the sexual assault kit. However, we disagree that DNA analysis is warranted for the knife. Accordingly, we reverse the denial of the request for DNA analysis of the sexual assault kit but affirm the denial of the request for DNA analysis of the knife and additional items. Thus, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for entry of an order for DNA testing consistent with this opinion.

The Supreme Court of Tennessee today suspended Cleveland attorney Kent Thomas Jones from the practice of law for 90 days pursuant to Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 9, § 12.2. The court found that Jones sent threatening and/or derogatory emails to his client and opposing counsel in two separate matters, that he failed to properly maintain client funds in a trust account and failed to satisfy a lien obligation in a timely manner from which his client suffered actual harm. His actions were determined to violate Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 1.15, 4.4, 8.4(a) and 8.4(d).

The Defendant, Branden Eric Michael Delong, appeals the Chester County Circuit Court’s ordering him to serve his ten-year sentence in confinement after revoking his probation, arguing that the trial court should have elected to place him back on supervised probation. Based on our review, we affirm the trial court’s revocation of the Defendant’s probation but reverse the court’s placing his original ten-year sentence into effect and remand the case to the trial court for findings related to the appropriate consequence for that revocation.

SUTTON, Chief Judge. Premier Dealer Services competes with Allegiance Administrators to manage car dealers’ loyalty programs, an arrangement used to service cars after the dealer sells them. The terms and conditions of the programs appear on loyalty certificates that dealers use to enroll buyers. When Allegiance obtained the account of a former Premier client, it incorporated Premier’s Lifetime Powertrain Loyalty Program certificates into its own plan. Premier sued Allegiance for using its copyrighted certificates. The district court held that Allegiance infringed Premier’s copyright, ordered Allegiance to disgorge any profits from using the certificates, and awarded Premier attorney’s fees. We affirm.

BOGGS, Circuit Judge. This case concerns a narrow parcel of land (the “Parcel”)—roughly 600 feet by 32 feet—that runs adjacent to Norfolk Southern Railway Company’s active rail line in Euclid, Ohio. No one disputes that Norfolk owns the Parcel. But Dille Road Recycling, which owns the property on the other side of the Parcel, has occupied and used the Parcel for nearly two decades. A few years ago, the parties began an out-of-court dispute over the Parcel’s use. After negotiations stalled, the parties took the matter to federal court. Dille sought adverse possession of the Parcel or, alternatively, a prescriptive easement. Norfolk sought a declaration that Dille’s property claims were preempted by the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act (ICCTA). The district court held that Dille’s prescriptive-easement claim was not preempted, and then granted Dille its easement. We disagree with the district court’s threshold conclusion. Because federal law does preempt Dille’s state-law prescriptive-easement claim, we reverse.

The pro se petitioner, Antwain Tapaige Sales, appeals the Bedford County Circuit Court’s order dismissing his Rule 36.1 motion to correct an illegal sentence. Discerning no error, we affirm.

The defendant, Shaun Dewayne Patton, appeals his Robertson County Circuit Court conviction of evading arrest, challenging the sufficiency of the convicting evidence. Discerning no error, we affirm.