Retirement takes planning! The most successful turnovers require a more gradual approach than you might think. Take this free tutorial on Succession and Contingency Planning and you will learn ways to successfully turn over the keys to your firm, all while protecting your firm from the unexpected. Whether you are decades or months away from retirement — there are benefits to planning for retirement now. See more resources for your practice in TBA’s Practice Management Center.

Last week, Tennessee lawmakers approved a $56.2 billion state operating budget for the 2024 fiscal year. Specifics include $3.3 billion for road projects, $140 million for public school resource officers (SRO), a $1.1 billion funding increase for the Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement Act, and $18.5 million in one-time grant funds for volunteer fire departments, rescue squads, EMS providers and inclusion parks for the intellectual and developmentally disabled. The budget passed with wide bipartisan support. Republicans were unanimous in their votes, but some Democrats criticized the SRO funding item as not addressing the root cause of gun violence in the state and wanted the state to do more to relieve citizens' financial stress by expanding Medicaid and offering permanent grocery tax cuts instead of a temporary holiday. Read more at The Tennessean.

TBA's IP Law Forum on effective patent prosecution strategies related to AI, as well as the role of AI and Web 3.0 in copyright and trademark disputes, will take place this Friday. As the world of artificial intelligence rapidly takes shape, what about the resulting impact on innovation, authorship, and the broader landscape of intellectual property law? Courts, attorneys, inventors, artists, and brand owners are now regularly being confronted with new problems, issues, and strategies driven by AI on both the IP protection and enforcement fronts, and that trend will likely explode in the coming years. The four hours of programming will also include one hour of dual credit on IP-related ethical issue. A reception will be held Thursday evening.

Services for attorney Thomas Ivo Carlton Jr., 85, will be held on Saturday at 10 a.m., preceded by a visitation from 9 a.m. - 10 a.m. at Saint Henry Church, 6401 Harding Road, Nashville, TN 37205. Carlton graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1960 and  the Nashville School of Law in 1965, where he later instructed Moot Court. Carlton was a partner at Cornelius & Collins, where he practiced until retiring in 2022. Read more about Carlton’s life and career.

CHAD A. READLER, Circuit Judge. More than two decades ago, Mary Jane Johns kidnapped her ex-girlfriend at gunpoint and sexually assaulted her. Following her arrest and pretrial release, Johns absconded from federal law enforcement, staying on the lam for roughly 16 years. When the law eventually caught up to Johns, she was convicted of three separate federal offenses, resulting in a 168-month sentence. Intervening Supreme Court jurisprudence, however, cast doubt on the viability of one of those charges. Accordingly, the district court resentenced Johns to 151 months in prison for the remaining charges. Johns asserts that her new sentence is unreasonable. For the reasons stated, we affirm.

RONALD LEE GILMAN, Circuit Judge. The placement of a bump stock on a semiautomatic rifle causes the rifle to function essentially like a machinegun by dramatically increasing the rate of fire. And the possession of a machinegun is a criminal offense under the Gun Control Act of 1968. This raises the question of whether a bump stock is a machinegun “part” as defined by the National Firearms Act of 1934. The question is a close one on which reasonable jurists have disagreed, a disagreement caused by ambiguities in how the applicable statute defines the term “machinegun.”

An Act of Congress could clear up the ambiguities, but so far Congress has failed to act. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (the ATF) has been on both sides of this issue, with its current regulation (the Rule) banning bump stocks as a machinegun part. In this situation, the rule of lenity that is applicable to criminal offenses requires us to rule in favor of Hardin. We therefore REVERSE the judgment of the district court and REMAND for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Greene County lawyer Crystal Goan Jessee received a public censure today from the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Tennessee Supreme Court. Jessee filed a poorly drafted and ambiguous motion to recuse while also making a frivolous statement concerning the judge’s representation of his current wife in a prior divorce proceeding without making reasonable inquiry regarding the truth of this assertion. Further, Jessee made a reckless statement that the judge had endorsed her opponent in an election in violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct. Jessee was found to have violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3 (diligence), 3.1 (meritorious claims and contentions), and 8.2 (judicial and legal officials).

This case involves a dispute over a parcel of real property. Because of the profound deficiencies with Appellants’ brief, we dismiss the appeal and remand the case to the trial court for a determination of damages under Tennessee Code Annotated section 27-1-122.

Two law firms seek accelerated interlocutory review of the denial of their motion to disqualify the trial judge. Because there is a reasonable basis for questioning the judge’s impartiality, we reverse and remand for reassignment.

The TBA Local Government Practice Section will host its annual forum as a hybrid event, with the in person option held in Knoxville from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. EDT. Topics include the pros and cons of school resource officers, property rights and development, First Amendment auditors, and the annual legislative update. Go here for full live virtual details.