Petitioner, Fabian Claxton, appeals the Shelby County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. After a full review of the record, briefs and oral arguments of the parties, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

A Jefferson County jury convicted the Defendant, Melvin Chism, III, of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of drug paraphernalia. The Defendant appeals, arguing that (1) the evidence at trial was insufficient to establish that he constructively possessed the firearm; and (2) evidence in this case was obtained in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights when an officer took and retained his identification card without reasonable suspicion that he had committed a crime. Upon our review, we respectfully affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Following a woman’s death in a nursing home facility, the woman’s daughter sued the facility and its affiliated entities for negligence and wrongful death. The defendants moved to stay the proceedings and compel arbitration pursuant to an agreement that the woman’s daughter signed when the mother was admitted to the facility. The trial court granted the defendants’ motion but also granted the plaintiff’s request for an interlocutory appeal. This Court agreed with the trial court and granted the interlocutory appeal. Because the woman’s daughter, the plaintiff, did not have the requisite authority to sign the particular arbitration agreement at issue, we reverse and remand.

The plaintiff, who is pro se, filed an inverse condemnation action against a city, county, and related governmental entities, alleging that the defendants constructed and operated an outdoor event venue on property partly owned by him without his knowledge or consent. The trial court denied the plaintiff’s request for a change in venue. The court ultimately granted summary judgment to the defendants for two reasons. First, it concluded that the plaintiff’s claims were barred by the statute of limitations set forth in Tennessee Code Annotated section 29-16-124. Second, the trial court found that the defendants affirmatively negated an essential element of the plaintiff’s claim for inverse condemnation – that his property suffered a decrease in value – and therefore summary judgment was appropriate on that basis as well. The plaintiff filed a post-judgment motion, asking the trial court to consider the impact of a recent decision of the United States Supreme Court. After a hearing, the trial court denied the post-judgment motion. The plaintiff appeals. We affirm.

The pro se plaintiff asserted claims against the defendant for negligence and violations of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, alleging faulty repair work on her vehicle. After the plaintiff presented her proof at a jury trial, the defendant moved for a directed verdict on all claims. The trial court granted the motion, finding that the plaintiff failed to present enough evidence to establish a prima facie case to show that the defendant was negligent or violated the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act. As such, the plaintiff’s claims were dismissed. The plaintiff appeals. We affirm.

After a hearing by a juvenile magistrate, Mother filed a timely petition for rehearing before the juvenile judge under Tennessee Code Annotated section 37-1-107(d). Over five hundred days later, section 37-1-107(d) was amended to eliminate the de novo hearing procedure and require a party seeking rehearing to file written exceptions to the magistrate’s order. Father filed a motion to dismiss Mother’s request for rehearing based on the amended statute. The juvenile court ruled that the amended statute would apply retroactively to Mother’s request for rehearing but granted her additional time to comply with the amended procedure. In this interlocutory appeal, we reverse the decision of the trial court to apply the amendment to section 37-1-107(d) retroactively to this particular case and remand to the juvenile court for a de novo hearing.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti recently has taken action on a number of issues, including leading a group of 31 state attorneys general in urging congressional members to pass the “Kids Online Safety Act.” The bill is designed to protect children from online harm by giving parents easy access to safety settings, the ability to disable algorithms and improved processes for reporting dangerous content. Skrmetti also recently joined with 46 other state attorneys general to call on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to strengthen consumer protections against robocalls and texts. The group outlined a list of actions it would like to see made in the FCC’s Robocall Mitigation Database. Finally, the Office of the Attorney General issued a reminder of the VSAFE.gov website, which highlights fraud schemes targeted at veterans as well as tools for protecting against and reporting scams.

The Tennessee Department of Revenue has refunded $938 million to almost 47,000 businesses based on a change to the franchise tax law passed during the 113th General Assembly. The Nashville Post reports that the 2024 fiscal year budget had provided $1.6 billion for about 120,000 taxpayers to receive refunds due to the legislature's change to its tax on businesses, a modification that removed the provision for the tax based on the amount of property a business owned. Almost 59% of the money in the budget for the refunds has been given to approximately 39% of businesses that are eligible. The department is accepting refund claims until Dec. 2 for most taxpayers, but those in eight counties impacted by Hurricane Helene have until May 1, 2025.

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands (LAS) was recently awarded a new $73,000 grant from the Legal Services Corporation (LSC). In an email to TBA, the LAS says it will use the grant money to evaluate its existing pro bono program, with the goal of attracting and retaining pro bono attorneys to assist in serving low-income clients in the 48 counties it serves across Middle Tennessee. The grant is for six months, with the option to apply for a longer two-year grant to implement recommendations suggested by the evaluation.

The George Barrett Social Justice Program at Vanderbilt Law School will host a book talk on Nov. 20 at 12:10 p.m. CST with Jessica Pishko on her newly released book, "The Highest Law in the Land: How the Unchecked Power of Sheriffs Threatens Democracy." Pishko is a journalist and lawyer who earned her law degree from Harvard Law School and her Master of Fine Arts degree from Columbia University. She has been reporting on the criminal legal system for a decade, with a focus on the political power of sheriffs since 2016.