A grandparent petitioned for visitation with her grandchild. The juvenile court found that the loss or severe reduction of visitation with the grandparent would cause severe emotional harm. The child’s mother appeals. Because the evidence preponderates against the court’s finding that denial of grandparent visitation would cause severe emotional harm, we reverse.

December 16, 2024 - December 20, 2024.

The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) has found that two Tennessee agencies — the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners and the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program — discriminated against a lawyer who was denied his law license for nearly three years and forced to pay thousands of dollars for evaluations because he was using a medication to treat his opioid use disorder. According to NBC, the detailed public letter lays out how the organizations violated the Americans with Disabilities Act with “burdensome” actions based on “speculation and stigma” when they “forced [Derek Scott] to choose between his law license or continued treatment as prescribed as necessary by his treating physician.” Scott, who first passed the bar exam in 2021, was sworn into the Tennessee bar in January. The DOJ also found the agencies discriminated against another lawyer, identified as C.B., who had undergone addiction treatment more than 10 years before he passed the bar exam. NBC has been reporting on the stigma surrounding medication-assisted treatment. 

President Joe Biden vetoed legislation that would have expanded U.S. trial courts for the first time in decades, despite pleas by federal judges that their courts are short staffed, Bloomberg Law reports. The legislation, known as the JUDGES Act, would have added 66 federal trial court judgeships in courts across the U.S., in stages over the next decade. In comments explaining the veto, Biden cited the U.S. House’s “hurried action” on the legislation, which he said “seeks to hastily add judgeships with just a few weeks left in the 118th Congress.” The director of the Administrative Office of the Courts criticized the veto, saying the bill was “the product of careful and detailed analysis."

The Tennessee Board of Parole once again granted parole to a smaller percentage of people who came before it this year than the year before, continuing a trend of lengthier sentences of incarceration with fewer chances for early release. A new analysis by the Tennessean found that the board granted parole in just 22.3% of hearings in the 2023-2024 fiscal year, which ended June 30. It also held fewer hearings than the previous year. The number of prisoners granted parole in Tennessee has been declining since 2019. The board attributes the decline in part to normal fluctuation over time, saying it, “Remains committed to minimizing public risk and the prudent, orderly release of adult offenders into the community when they become parole eligible ...”. Wanda Bertram, spokesperson for the Prison Policy Initiative, says the drop is more likely explained by changing attitudes toward parole.

A federal appeals court this week reinstated a looming deadline for businesses to comply with a new law aimed at cracking down on money laundering, Bloomberg Tax reports. The U.S. 5th Circuit on Monday lifted an injunction that had blocked enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act, which requires an estimated 32.6 million entities to disclose who owns and controls their businesses by Jan. 1, 2025. The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network had pushed back the deadline to Jan. 13, 2025, after the injunction was imposed earlier this month.

Congress is putting another $100 billion into disaster relief funding, the Associated Press reports. The funds include $29 million for FEMA to help those recovering from recent hurricanes, $21 billion to help farmers, $12 billion for community recovery through Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grants, $8 billion for rebuilding damaged roads and highways, and $2.2 billion for low-interest loans for businesses, nonprofits and homeowners trying to rebuild after a disaster. The funding is in a bill to keep the government operating through March 14, 2025. President Joe Biden signed it into law on Saturday.

Nashville Judge I'Ashea Myles granted a temporary injunction Monday, stopping the Tennessee Department of Agriculture from enforcing a rule that would have drastically altered hemp sales across the state, reports WKRN. The rule was set to take effect on Dec. 26, prohibiting sales of THCA products that could convert to 0.3% or more THC, with some exceptions for licensed sellers. The injunction, granted until Feb. 18, 2025, follows a lawsuit from the Tennessee Growers Coalition, which argues the ban could harm local hemp businesses. The coalition plans to return to court in February to seek a permanent injunction, WBIR reports.

President Joe Biden granted commutations to nearly every individual on federal death row Monday morning, replacing 37 of the 40 death sentences with life without the possibility of parole. Biden's administration imposed a moratorium on federal executions, and the President said he is “more convinced than ever that we must stop the use of the death penalty at the federal level.” He did however let three death sentences remain in place: Robert Bowers, convicted for the mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue; Dylann Roof, convicted of the shooting at the Mother Emanuel AME Church; and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, convicted for the Boston Marathon bombing, CBS reports.

The TBA Intellectual Property Section launches its 2025 webcast series with the first installment on Feb. 5, 2025, focused on subject matter eligibility updates for AI-related inventions. On July 17, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued an update on patent subject matter eligibility to assist eligibility evaluations in patent applications and patents involving inventions related to AI technology. The webcast, beginning at noon CST, will provide an overview of the guidance update, including examples issued in conjunction with the update and community comments submitted. Make plans to join Knoxville lawyer Lauren Sherwood with Bookoff McAndrews on this one-hour webcast to learn more.