Registration is now open for the TBA’s 37th Annual CLE Ski set for Jan. 20-25, 2024, in Snowmass, Colorado. The CLE package offers 15 hours of credit in a variety of practice areas while allowing time to enjoy the beautiful slopes and one of Colorado's premier ski resorts. Participants will stay at The Stonebridge Inn, located in the heart of Snowmass Village just 10 miles from Aspen and central to four remarkable ski areas: Snowmass, Aspen Highlands, Aspen Mountain and Buttermilk. An opening reception on Jan. 20 will kick off this year's program. Reserve your spot now or learn more in the online CLE course catalog.

The Tennessee General Assembly continued its second day of a special legislative session called by Gov. Bill Lee focused on public safety proposals in response to the shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville last March, reports the Tennessean. The special session began with the adoption of new rules governing the proceedings and announcing committee assignments for two representatives expelled from the chamber in April for participating in a protest on the House floor. House subcommittees passed legislation addressing keeping minors’ autopsy reports private, allowing law enforcement officers, the military and handgun carry permit holders to carry a handgun openly or concealed in public schools and buses, establishing a loan forgiveness program for mental health professionals and several bills addressing school safety.

The Senate Judiciary Committee passed legislation eliminating sales tax on gun safes, requiring the TBI to give an updated report on human trafficking and the creation of a new deadline for court records to be entered into the state database used for background checks. Spectators crowded the committee rooms and three protesters were physically removed from the House Civil Justice Subcommittee for holding up signs during the committee proceedings. No end date for the session has been established. Senate and House Committees are scheduled to meet tomorrow at 8 am.

The Tennessee Supreme Court suspended Davidson County lawyer Newton S. Holiday III from the practice of law on Aug. 17 for two years, with six months to be served on active suspension and the remainder on probation. The court conditioned reinstatement on payment of $9,500 in restitution, engagement of a practice monitor and payment of the disciplinary costs. The court found that Holiday failed to act with reasonable diligence; failed to communicate with a client or keep her informed of significant events and developments in her case; accepted representation pursuant to a contingent fee agreement that was not in writing; and secured the client’s acceptance of a settlement without advising the client of his conflict of interest. These actions were determined to violate Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 1.4, 1.5(c), 1.8(h) and 8.4(a).

Four lawyers recently were reinstated to the practice of law in Tennessee after being on inactive status. They are: Washington, D.C., lawyer Marc Scandlyn Brewen, Virginia lawyer Katherine Villane Johnson, Williamson County lawyer Erika D. Roberts and Alabama lawyer Amanda Kay Snipes. Read about their specific cases in the Tennessee Supreme Court orders linked above.

The Tennessee Supreme Court yesterday reinstated 18 lawyers who had been suspended for failing to complete annual continuing legal education requirements in 2022. View the order or see the list of those reinstated online.

The Shelby County District Attorney's Office says it will release footage from fatal police shootings faster following a change to the office's practices, reports the Commercial Appeal. Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said his office will complete "an internal checklist" before releasing footage and will provide context for shorter videos. In cases where the shooting was not fatal, the discretion to release footage will fall to law enforcement agencies. The shooting of 21-year-old Jarveon Hudspeth during a traffic stop by a Shelby County Sheriff's Office deputy in June could be the first shortened video to be released later this week.

The Tennessee Department of Revenue will host a free live webinar Aug. 29 at 9 a.m. CDT to discuss the taxation of short-term rental and vacation units. Go here to register.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti is joining Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares’ bipartisan coalition of 40 state attorneys general in urging the Supreme Court to rule in favor of James Rudisill in Rudisill v. McDonough. Rudisill, a decorated army veteran, had used the GI Bill to complete his undergraduate degree. After being accepted into the Yale Divinity School, Rudisill was denied further benefits, even though veterans with multiple requisite periods of service can earn up to 48 months of educational benefits. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the decision. You can read the brief here.

The employee reported suffering a mental injury when a man with a weapon entered the store where she was working and held her at gunpoint during the course of robbing the store. The employer accepted her claim as compensable, and the employee received treatment from an authorized treating psychiatrist who later assigned an impairment rating and restrictions. Two other psychiatrists also assigned impairment ratings, one of which was a physician selected from the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation’s Medical Impairment Rating Registry. Following a compensation hearing, the trial court concluded the employee sustained an impairment consistent with the impairment rating assigned by the authorized treating physician and the doctor selected from the registry. The court also determined that the employee’s wage rate at the end of the initial benefit period was not equal to or greater than her pre-injury wage rate and that she was, therefore, entitled to increased benefits. The employer has appealed. Having carefully reviewed the record, we affirm the trial court’s order and certify it as final.

JANE B. STRANCH, Circuit Judge. This is the fourth appeal in the case before this court. We summarized the claim in the last appeal: “Kentucky taxpayers sued the State of Kentucky and Sunrise Children’s Services, a religiously affiliated organization, alleging that Kentucky violated the Establishment Clause by paying Sunrise for religious services that the taxpayers allege Sunrise imposes on children in State custody.” Pedreira v. Sunrise Child.’s Servs., Inc., 826 F. App’x 480, 482 (6th Cir. 2020). After proceedings resumed, the taxpayers and Kentucky, without Sunrise, entered into a settlement agreement in which the taxpayers agreed to dismiss the suit in exchange for Kentucky’s agreement to make certain changes to its foster-care system, and jointly moved to dismiss the case with prejudice. The district court granted the motion, dismissed the case, and refused to review the settlement agreement. Sunrise appealed. We AFFIRM the decision below.