The Tennessee Justice Center will sponsor a Justice History Walking Tour on Tuesday from 9-10:30 a.m. CDT. The walking tour will start at the corner of 7th Avenue North and Church Street, in front of the Nashville Public Library. The event will be hosted by social justice advocate and TJC co-founder Gordon Bonnyman and is free and open to the public. 

The U.S. Senate today voted 52-46 to overturn a student debt relief plan that would have given 40 million borrowers up to $20,000 in loan forgiveness, reported The Hill. A presidential veto is expected. The Congressional Budget Office recently estimated that reversing course on the relief bill would reduce the deficit by $320 billion over 10 years.

The U.S. Supreme Court in a 9-0 decision today threw out a lower court's ruling that said pharmacy chains owned by Safeway Inc. and SuperValu Inc. could not be held responsible for fraud in whistleblower cases, reported Reuters. Whistleblowers had accused the companies of defrauding Medicare and Medicaid programs by offering prescription drugs at discounted prices to customers paying out of pocket, while charging higher rates to the government. Writing for the court, Justice Clarence Thomas said the whistleblowers had shown evidence that executives knew the discounted prices should have been reported and took steps to hide the lower prices from state and federal authorities.

The U.S. Supreme Court voted 8-1 today to overturn a decision by the Washington Supreme Court that said a lawsuit filed by concrete company Glacier Northwest Inc. against a local affiliate of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters was preempted by the National Labor Relations Act, reported Reuters. Justice Amy Coney Barrett, writing for the majority, said the union’s failure to protect the company’s property before striking "posed a risk of foreseeable, aggravated and imminent harm to Glacier's trucks." Glacier is seeking to bypass federal labor law and sue the union in state court for the destruction of property caused by striking workers. The Biden administration had urged the justices to reverse the lower court's decision, allowing Glacier Northwest's lawsuit to proceed.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 yesterday in a 314-117 vote. Five of the eight Tennessee Republicans in the nine-member house delegation voted against the measure, the Tennessean reported. It will now move to the U.S. Senate. If passed by the Senate, the act will raise the current $31.4 trillion debt ceiling by $4 trillion, avoiding a default on the national debt and limit federal spending through January 2025. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that the federal government will default and be unable to pay bills coming due if an agreement is not signed by President Biden by June 5.

Republican legislators are seeking the release of the Covenant School shooter’s writings as a prerequisite to moving forward with Gov. Bill Lee's special session on public safety and mental health scheduled for Aug. 21, reported the Tennessean. The session was called in response to the fatal shooting in April at Covenant School that claimed the lives of three adults and three 9-year-old children. Metro Nashville Police officers fatally shot the suspect at the school. The shooter’s writings, which have not been made public and are alleged to include other proposed targets, have been the subject of multiple lawsuits. City officials have withheld public release of the writings citing an ongoing criminal investigation. Gov. Lee announced Thursday he intends to bring an extreme order of protection law to the floor during the special session. 

Nashville Soccer Club owner John Ingram wrote a letter to members of the Metro Council Wednesday expressing “significant concerns” regarding proposed upgrades at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, reported the Tennessean. The letter included Ingram's concerns about running two similarly sized stadiums adjacent to one another and the resulting competing for non-soccer and non-racing events. Legislation to approve a deal for the renovations was filed Friday with the Metro Council.

The Nashville Conflict Resolution Center (NCRC) will host its annual Mediation Matters breakfast on Sept. 7 at 7 a.m. CDT at Hillwood Country Club, 6201 Hickory Valley Rd., Nashville 37205. Heather Howell Wright and Bill Norton, attorneys at Bradley, will serve as event co-chairs. A brief program outlining the organization’s service to the community and recognizing community heroes will begin at 7:30 a.m. Since 2021, the NCRC, in partnership with the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts, has been assisting general sessions civil courts throughout Middle Tennessee in providing free mediation for people involved in cases that include landlord-tenant and debt filings related to the COVID-19 pandemic and housing issues arising due to unemployment. Learn more about more about the event.

A public meeting about the proposed new federal courthouse in Chattanooga will be held June 14 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. EDT at the Mac Avenue Event Space, 1304 McCallie Ave., Suite A. The public will have an opportunity to learn about possible locations for the courthouse and provide input on potential environmental impacts. The Chattanooga General Services Administration says that the facility will include seven courtrooms, nine judge chambers and offices for court-related agencies and secured parking spaces as well as the GSA, reported the Chattanoogan. The courthouse also will house the district clerk, bankruptcy clerk, U.S. Probation Office, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Attorney’s Office and Federal Public Defender's Office. 

Graduation ceremonies at law schools across the state are wrapping up with special keynote addresses and award recognitions. At the University of Tennessee College of Law’s ceremony, Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon G. Lee encouraged graduates to lead with integrity and use their law degrees for good. At the Duncan School of Law, 91 graduates heard from federal Judge Curtis L. Collier, who urged them to consider the law as a form of public service. A number of students also received awards. At Vanderbilt University Law School, 23 graduates were recognized with academic and citizenship awards while 31 were recognized for pro bono work. And at the Nashville School of Law, students heard from Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sarah Campbell, who praised the sacrifices many of them made to attend law school while continuing to work.