U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s staff has often prodded public institutions that have hosted the justice to buy her memoir or children’s books, the Associated Press reported today. Details of those events were obtained by AP through open records requests to public institutions as part of an ongoing investigation into the ethics practices of the court. The documents show examples of taxpayer-funded court staff performing tasks for the justice’s book ventures, which workers in other branches of the federal government are barred from doing. The AP also found that colleges and universities that host justices for speaking events used those visits as fundraising opportunities and that justices repeatedly accepted all-expense-paid teaching trips to locales such as Hawaii, Iceland and Italy that were “light on classroom instruction."

Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s office confirmed that former attorney general Herbert Slatery continues to do legal work for the state after leaving office last fall, reports the Tennessean. In January, Slatery was tapped by Skrmetti to assist the AG's office with "active and continuing oversight" of cooperation agreements under Tennessee's Hospital Cooperation at a pay rate of $400 per hour. Records of external legal appointments obtained by the Tennessean from January 2022 to the present show the state has hired over 20 lawyers and their firms to assist with a range of legal cases and issues.

Visitation for former Democratic lawmaker Roy Herron will be held this Friday from 5-8 p.m. and Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. CDT at First United Methodist Church, 225 Main St., Martin 38237. A service will take place following the visitation on Saturday at 2 p.m. Burial will be at Sunset Cemetery in Dresden at 400 Poplar St. A gathering celebrating Herron's life will take place after the burial. The location is tentatively set for Blake’s B-B-Que, 312 N. Lindell St. in Martin. The family also plans a celebration of Herron’s life in Nashville on Sept. 30. To RSVP for this weekend's funeral, please call Ashley at 731-364-5415. Memorial donations may be made to The Volunteer Center, c/o Mark Maddox, P.O. Box 5, Dresden, TN 38225; Vanderbilt University Cancer Center, c/o Nancy Miller-Herron, P.O. Box 5, Dresden, TN 38225; or Dresden First United Methodist Church Building Fund, 105 S. Church St., Dresden, TN 38225. See the previous story in TBA Today for more on Herron's life and career.

Memphis lawyer Ben Crump yesterday called for the Shelby County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) to release video footage of the shooting of 21-year old Jarveon Hudspeth, who was killed during a traffic stop in Memphis on June 24, reports the Commercial Appeal. Crump is representing Hudspeth’s family. "Don't play games with this family," said Crump. "Release the video.” Hudspeth was shot by a SCSO officer during a traffic stop. The sheriff's office says that the officer was injured after being dragged over 100 feet during the incident. Hudspeth's mother, Charlotte Haggett, said she has received no information from the SCSO office other than a phone call that Hudspeth was in an accident and “didn’t make it.” The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said the investigation remains active.

U.S. Attorney Kevin Ritz today announced the creation of a National Security and Civil Rights Unit within the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee. This move permanently positions a supervisory attorney and several prosecutors to respond to and prevent hate crimes and civil rights violations, as well as threats to national security. According to a press release from Ritz' office, the new unit prioritizes cases consistent with Attorney General Merrick Garland’s May 27, 2021, directive to U.S. attorneys to combat hate crimes and incidents, address them when they occur, support those victimized by them and reduce the pernicious effects these incidents have on our society.

Sullivan County lawyer Ricky A. W. Curtis received a public censure from the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Tennessee Supreme Court. The court found that Curtis violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3 (diligence), 3.4(c) (fairness to opposing party and counsel) and 8.4(d) (prejudice to the administration of justice).

Shelby County lawyer Urura W. Mayers was permanently disbarred from the practice of law Friday by the Tennessee Supreme Court. After a hearing on the disciplinary petition, a hearing panel determined Mayers withdrew client funds from her trust account without authorization on multiple occasions and used those client funds to gamble at casinos, and attempted to deceive investigators by making false factual statements and submitting altered bank records. After being temporarily suspended from the practice of law pursuant to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9, § 12.3, for misappropriating funds and posing a threat of substantial harm to the public, Mayers failed to comply with Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9, § 28 requirements for suspended attorneys by failing to notify the courts, opposing counsel and clients of her suspension. Mayers continued to engage in the unauthorized practice of law for an extended period of time, failed to respond to subsequent lawful board requests for information and failed to participate in the disciplinary process.

Dr. Catherine Burks-Brooks, a member of the Freedom Riders with a Nashville connection, has died at age 83. WPLN reports that she was among the Nashville students who joined the original 13 Freedom Riders in May 1961, after violent attacks by white mobs in Alabama. Burks-Brooks’ participation in the Freedom Rides led to her expulsion just nine days before graduation from Tennessee A & I, now Tennessee State University. She worked as a social worker and an entrepreneur before moving to the Bahamas in the 1970s. In 1979, she returned to Birmingham, where she served for many years as a substitute teacher in Birmingham City Schools. In 2008, Tennessee State University awarded her and the other expelled Freedom Riders an honorary doctorate.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division will host a virtual name change clinic in partnership with Legal Aid Society of East Tennessee and Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee this Saturday. During the clinic, volunteer attorneys will meet with clients in Zoom breakout rooms to help clients fill out name change petitions and give counsel and advice on the name change process. A training about the process and how to fill out the forms will be provided ahead of the clinic. The clinic starts at 9 a.m. CDT and is fully virtual. Sign up to volunteer at this link.

More than 31,000 Tennesseans have lost their health care coverage as TennCare coverage due to the COVID-19 pandemic tapers off. The Tennessee Lookout reports that an “unwinding report” details that, as of April, slightly more than 80,000 people were eligible to have TennCare coverage renewed. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government temporarily prohibited Tennessee from requiring annual renewals and removing program participants, allowing TennCare participants to continue to receive coverage. The agency said the policy bumped up membership by 25%.