Registration is now open for the next free advice clinic for Black-owned small businesses and nonprofits. The clinic, sponsored by the Arts & Business Council's Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts and Bradley, provides assistance with business formation and corporate governance, review of contracts and guidance in navigating local ordinances and state regulations. The next clinic will take place Jan. 18, 2024. Attorneys should email vlpa@abcnashville.org to volunteer.

State Sen. Adam Lowe, R-Calhoun, is proposing Tennessee adopt a uniform process for conducting recalls of non-constitutional public officials, WATE reports. Calhoun says the bill would not affect constitutional officers such as governor, secretary of state, attorney general or any county leadership. Instead, it would deal with city leadership and school boards. He says a situation in his own district motivated him to propose the legislation.

Tennessee Department of Health Commissioner Ralph Avarado and Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti have announced that Joe Landsman will succeed Larry Fitzgerald as the Ballad Certificate of Public Advantage (COPA) monitor in April 2024. Landsman, president and chief executive officer of the University of Tennessee Health System, has been with the university since 1999. He previously held senior level positions with other health care organizations. In his new role, Landsman will be responsible for evaluating the continued public advantage of the COPA by monitoring Ballad’s compliance and performance.

After exhausting “all available investigative avenues,” the Metro Nashville Police Department says it is unable to identify who leaked images of The Covenant School shooter’s writings to a radio host. The police, however, say that the images did not come from a current department employee or employees of the any partner agency, and that employees placed on administrative assignment during the investigation have since returned to their regular duties. A former detective had access to the images but is no longer with the department and police officials say they do not have the ability to compel statements or cooperation from former employees. The case file documenting the investigation will be presented to Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk’s Office for review, according to the Associated Press.

Severe weather impacted 11 Tennessee counties, with reports of 13 tornadoes on Saturday night. Six people died in Clarksville and Madison and 83 injured patients were rushed to area hospitals in the aftermath of what is likely the deadliest December for Middle Tennessee tornadoes on record, according to the Tennessean. Gov. Bill Lee and affected counties have issued state of emergency declarations and the Tennessee legal services community is prepared to provide assistance to those affected. The Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services' website Help4TN is always available with legal information and resources, and individuals with disaster related legal questions may call 844-HELP4TN and ask to speak with the expert disaster resilience attorney Nick Gau. Regional legal aid programs are planning clinics and other services in the coming days. More information, including a link for attorneys to volunteer to help is available on the TBA website. 

Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti is joining 26 other state attorneys general and the Arizona state legislature in a letter asking the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) to drop a proposed rule they argue violates the Second Amendment. The group writes that the rule risks making any individual who sells a firearm for profit — even to friends or family —liable to civil, administrative and even criminal penalties for failing to register with a federal agency. The proposed rule, “Definition of Engaged in the Business as a Dealer in Firearms,” was put out for public comment on Sept. 8. Read the letter.

A Shelby County jury convicted the defendant of rape of a child for which he received a sentence of 60 years’ confinement as a career offender. On appeal, the defendant claims the trial court erred in allowing the State, over the defendant’s objection, to dismiss the second count of the indictment, aggravated sexual battery, at the close of its proof. Additionally, the defendant asserts that the demonstrative aid used by the prosecutor during jury voir dire constituted misconduct. The State insists that “it is within the State’s prerogative” to dismiss count two and that by failing to object, the defendant has waived his claim relating to the State’s voir dire. Upon our review of the record, the applicable law, and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Alabama lawyer Larry Wayne Brantley was censured on Friday by the Tennessee Supreme Court in response to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office publicly reprimanding him and placing him on probation for 36 months with conditions. On Oct. 25, the court directed Brantley to respond to a notice of reciprocal discipline and provide any reason why the same discipline should not be imposed in Tennessee. The court reports that Brantley did not provide a response.

A news summary in Thursday’s issue of TBA Today mischaracterized the argument Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, The Daily Wire and The Federalist are making in opposing two projects funded by the State Department’s Global Engagement Center. The group argues that the technology being used by the center could "render disfavored press outlets unprofitable" and specifically cite funding that went to GDI and NewsGuard. Read the full story from Reuters.

Six individuals have applied to be considered by the Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments to fill a vacancy that will be created when Justice Roger A. Page retires from the court on Aug. 31, 2024. They are: 29th Judicial District Chancellor Tony Childress, Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Judge J. Ross Dyer, McNairy County General Sessions & Juvenile Judge Van Douglas McMahan, Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Camille R. McMullen, Memphis lawyer Jeffrey C. Smith and 30th Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Mary L. Wagner. The Administrative Office of the Courts has links to each candidate’s application. The council will hold a public meeting to consider the candidates on Jan. 4, 2024, at the Belmont College of Law Randall and Sadie Baskin Center, 1901 15th Ave. S., Nashville 37212 at 9 a.m. CST. Interested individuals may attend the hearing and may express, orally or in writing, any objections concerning the applicants. The council is expected to vote immediately following the interviews and forward three names to Gov. Bill Lee for his consideration.