Retired U.S. Magistrate Judge B. Waugh Crigler died April 26 at age 74. A resident of Charlottesville, Virginia, Waugh earned his law degree in 1973 from the University of Tennessee College of Law, where he was a member of the Tennessee Law Review and was admitted to the Order of the Coif and the Legal Honor Society Phi Delta Phi. Waugh joined the chambers of the Hon. Robert Taylor in the Eastern District of Tennessee as a law clerk and later practiced in Culpeper, Virginia, in what became Davies, Crigler, Barrell and Will PC. In 1981, he was appointed U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Western District of Virginia, a position he held until his retirement in 2013.

The Memphis branch of the NAACP criticized Tennessee’s response to gun violence after a shooting Wednesday at Fox 13 News. The group questioned the apparent ease with which the assailant was able to obtain an assault rifle. Local chapter President Van Turner called on Gov. Bill Lee and the General Assembly to call a special session this summer to consider gun reform. The group also announced it is in support of Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy’s decision not to charge Preston Hemphill, an officer who was involved in the initial attempted arrest of Tyre Nichols in January. The Daily Memphian has the full report.

Despite calls from various groups, Metro Nashville Police (MNPD) says it will not be releasing the Covenant School assailant’s writings at this time. Some Covenant parents have told MNPD they do not want the writings to be made public, and Metro Law Director Wally Dietz says, “We believe family members of the victims should have the opportunity to present any concerns or objections to the Court at that time.” WPLN reports that Metro plans to eventually release a redacted version of the journal found in the assailant’s car.

Petitioner, Ronnell Barclay, appeals as of right from the Shelby County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, wherein he challenged his convictions for rape of a child, aggravated sexual battery, and sexual exploitation of a minor by electronic means. On appeal, Petitioner asserts that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel because counsel (1) did not communicate to Petitioner that the victim made a new disclosure on the first day of trial; (2) failed to request a continuance after the State informed the trial court and Petitioner of the new disclosure; and (3) incorrectly informed Petitioner of his potential exposure at trial as a result of the new disclosure. Following our review, we affirm in part; however, we remand the case to the post-conviction court for further findings of fact and conclusions of law relative to the exposure issue.

This appeal concerns a Memphis police officer’s application for a line-of-duty disability pension. Torrance Taylor (“Taylor”) filed a petition in the Chancery Court for Shelby County (“the Trial Court”) seeking judicial review of a decision by the Administrative Law Judge (“the ALJ”) for the Board of Administration of the City of Memphis Retirement System denying his application for a line-of-duty disability pension. In 2016, Taylor injured his left knee in the course of his duty while detaining a suspect. Afterwards, Taylor retired from the police force and was recommended for ordinary disability benefits. The ALJ ruled that, based on the opinions of physicians, Taylor’s disability stemmed from a chronic condition in his left knee and not from his employment. Thus, the ALJ denied Taylor’s application for a line-of-duty disability pension. The Trial Court upheld the ALJ’s decision. Taylor appeals to this Court. He argues among other things that, but for his 2016 injury in the line of duty, he would not be disabled. The evidence reflects that Taylor worked without restriction before the injury in 2016, which ended his police career. We find that the ALJ’s decision was unsupported by substantial and material evidence. We further find that the ALJ’s decision was arbitrary and capricious. Taylor is entitled to a line-of-duty disability pension. We reverse the judgment of the Trial Court.

Because the order appealed from does not constitute a final appealable judgment, this Court lacks jurisdiction to consider this appeal.

JANE B. STRANCH, Circuit Judge. In this judicial foreclosure action, Regions Bank appeals the district court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of Donnie and Dennis Fletcher (“the Fletcher brothers”). The district court concluded that Regions’ suit was barred by Tennessee’s statute of limitations for actions to enforce liens on real property, Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-2-111, and declined to establish an equitable lien in favor of the Bank. For the following reasons, we AFFIRM the district court’s judgment.

KAREN NELSON MOORE, Circuit Judge. For nearly a century, Congress has aimed to provide all Americans with universal access to telecommunications services. Congress issued this universal-service mandate in the Communications Act of 1934 and elaborated upon it in the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) implemented the universal-service mandate by establishing the Universal Service Fund (“USF” or “the Fund”), which now consists of four different program mechanisms to “help[] compensate telephone companies or other communications entities for providing access to telecommunications services at reasonable and affordable rates throughout the country, including rural, insular and high costs areas, and to public institutions.” Fed. Commc’ns Comm’n, Glossary of Telecommunications Terms: Universal Service, https://www.fcc.gov/general/glossary-telecommunications-terms; see also 47 U.S.C. § 254. To pay for these universal-service pursuits, Congress requires that certain telecommunications carriers fund these efforts. 47 U.S.C. § 254(d). Thus, on a quarterly basis, the FCC publishes the percentage of “interstate and international end-user telecommunications revenue” that covered telecommunications carriers must contribute to the Universal Service Fund’s programs, known as the quarterly contribution factor. 47 C.F.R. § 54.709(a)(3). Petitioners—a group of consumers, a nonprofit organization, and a carrier—challenge this statutory arrangement as violating the nondelegation doctrine. They further allege that the role of a private entity in administering the Universal Service Fund violates the private-nondelegation doctrine. We disagree and DENY the petition for review.

You won't want to miss the TBA Immigration Law Section's annual forum, hosted live in Nashville next week on Wednesday, May 10, at 1212 Germantown. Topics include the Southeastern Provision meatpacking plant raid settlement, family law immigration updates, the intersection of criminal and immigration law, and how foreign direct investment impacts immigration. End the day with a practical workshop on the categorical and modified categorical approaches. Section members receive a discount on all section-sponsored CLE. Register here to take advantage of your discount!

Schedule:

• 9am-10am CT: Bean Station Raid of 2018
  • Michelle Lapointe, National Immigration Law Center (NILC)
  • Jazmin Ramirez, TN Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC)
  • William Gill, LMU Duncan School of Law & Volunteer Attorney at Catholic Charities of East TN

• 10:15am-11:15am: Family Immigration Law Trends, Timing, and Packets
  • Terry Olsen, Olsen Law Firm

• 11:30am-12:30pm: “I just pleaded guilty and later I found out that I might not be able to get a green card because of my conviction—can I take it back now?”
  • Steven Simerlein, Law Offices of Steven J. Simerlein

• 1:15pm-2:15pm: Employment and Investment-Based Immigration Options: How Foreign Direct Investment Leads to Nonimmigrant Worker Visas & Permanent Residence
  • Billy Hoover, Export Manager, Southern Champion Tray
  • Kanzi Takayama, Magellan Group, eXp Commercial Realty
  • Waddell Wright, Principle Broker, W. Wright Companies

• 2:30pm-3:30pm: Making Sense of the Categorical and Modified Categorical Approaches: A Practical Workshop
  • Andrew Rankin, Law Office of Andrew J. Rankin

Join us for the live virtual Local Government Forum May 12 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. CDT. Government law is an ever-changing practice area with a unique blend of constitutional, statutory and case law. This year’s program features a legislative update, sessions on sovereign citizens and annexation, as well as a session titled "The Ethical and Professional Challenge of Police in Schools." Register here.