For the week of October 2, 2023 - October 6, 2023

Los Angeles-based Southwestern School of Law, an institution known for its entertainment law curriculum, is offering the nation’s first full-time online law degree program, Above the Law reports. The school will begin accepting applications this month with the inaugural class set to begin in fall 2024. President and Dean Darby Dickerson said the program is not “Zoom U” but “a carefully considered, thoughtfully designed program that will allow students to interact with faculty and other students meaningfully while providing scheduling and geographic flexibility.” The American Bar Association (ABA) approved the program last April. Read more from the school.

The Tennessee Department of Human Services reports it is taking significant steps to bolster childcare access for families in need as part of its commitment to improve affordable childcare services. According a news release from the department, a majority of licensed childcare agencies participating in the Child Care Certificate Program will receive increased reimbursement rates starting this month. Under the certificate program, the state pays a reimbursement rate directly to childcare providers on behalf of families who are enrolled and meet the program’s income and work or education requirements.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a challenge to South Carolina’s congressional redistricting map next Wednesday, NC Newsline reports. In Alexander v. SC State Conference of the NAACP, the plaintiffs argue that the state legislature adopted a racially discriminatory map last year, moving hundreds of thousands of South Carolinians to different congressional districts and lowering the Black populations in all but one district. They contend that the maneuver denied Black voters the equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice. A lower court agreed, calling the map a “stark racial gerrymander.” The state legislature appealed the decision, denying any discriminatory motive.

A group of Democratic U.S. senators is asking the Senate Appropriations Committee to approve increased funding for federal public defenders in fiscal year 2024. The group of 23 lawmakers say $1.52 billion is needed to avoid significant job cuts among the ranks of public defenders. Bills that have advanced through congressional committees so far call for providing and $1.38 billion or $1.41 billion. Read the group's letter or more about the issue from Reuters.

The number of jobs in the U.S. legal services sector rebounded in September after nearing its lowest level this year in August, Reuters reports. New Labor Department data shows the sector added 5,100 jobs last month. Legal job numbers have fluctuated since hitting an all-time high in July 2022.

A Madison County jury convicted the Appellant, Nicolas Wayna Johnson, of possession of marijuana with intent to sell or deliver (counts one and two), possession of a firearm with intent to go armed during the commission of a dangerous felony (counts three and four), theft of property up to $1,000 (count five), and possession of unlawful drug paraphernalia (count six). Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court merged counts one and two and imposed a concurrent sentence of two years. The trial court also merged counts three and four and imposed a sentence of three years to be served in the Tennessee Department of Correction. By operation of law, the trial court ordered the concurrent twoyear term for counts one and two to be served consecutively to the three-year term in counts three and four. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1324(a), (e)(1), (g)(1). For counts five and six, the trial court imposed a concurrent term of eleven months and twenty-nine days, to be served concurrently with all other counts, for an effective sentence of five years in confinement. The sole issue for our review is whether the trial court abused its discretion in denying alternative sentencing. Because the Appellant was eligible for probation on the theft and drug-related offenses, we remand for resentencing.

In response to a lawsuit challenging its minority fellowship program, the law firm of Perkins Coie has changed its criteria, expanding the applicant pool to all law students, not just members of "historically underrepresented" groups, Reuters reports. The suit, brought by Edward Blum and his American Alliance for Equal Rights, challenged the program as unlawful based on the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent rulings on affirmative action in higher education. The group recently dropped a similar law suit filed against Morrison Foerster after that firm changed eligibility criteria for its diversity, equity and inclusion fellowship. Bloomberg Law has more on that development.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Tennessee has filed a federal lawsuit against a Murfreesboro ordinance designed to ban drag performances from public property, the Associated Press reports. The suit was brought on behalf of the Tennessee Equality Project (TEP), a nonprofit that advocates for LGBTQ rights and has hosted a Pride event in the city since 2016. The organization has faced opposition from city leaders since its 2022 event, which was criticized as being inappropriate. The city first warned TEP it would deny future event permits but later updated its community decency standards to “assist in the determination of conduct, materials, and events that may be judged as obscene or harmful to minors.” The suit alleges the ordinance violates the U.S. Constitution’s first and 14th amendments.

Legal Aid of East Tennessee and the Kingsport Bar Association will host their monthly Kingsport Bar Clinic on Oct. 19 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. EDT at VO Dobbins Community Center, 301 Louis St., Kingsport 37660. The clinic is open to the public, offering general legal advice on civil matters, including housing, property, taxes, estate, contracts and family law. Attorney volunteers should email shuff@laet.org for more information.