The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) announced that it would work with East Tennessee Drivers Services Centers to distribute duplicate licenses or state IDs to anyone who lost those documents in flooding following Hurricane Helene. KnoxNews reports that flood victims can go to the Unicoi Police Department, 3600 Unicoi Dr., Unicoi 37692 or Newport Grammar School, 301 College St., Newport 37821, now through Oct. 4 from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. EDT to seek replacements. According to the paper, the state expects to announce more of these "temporary driver services locations" soon.

In case you missed it, the ABA released a toolkit earlier this year that provides actionable steps for advancing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace. The guide includes recommendations such as auditing DEI programs, developing mentorship and employee development initiatives, improving internal communications, and tracking DEI data to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement. The toolkit also encourages employers to work with clients on joint DEI initiatives, form partnerships for public service, and adopt supplier diversity programs. Access the toolkit here.

The state of Colorado has agreed to pay more than $1.5 million in legal fees to web designer Lorie Smith after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 2023 that the right to free speech allows some businesses to refuse to provide services for same-sex weddings, according to Reuters. An attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom, a faith-based legal advocacy organization that pursues lawsuits related to religious liberty, said, "Our clients Lorie Smith and her design studio, 303 Creative ... achieved a landmark victory ... that helps to protect all Americans’ freedom of speech from government censorship and coercion."

A Shelby County jury convicted the Defendant, Johnny Wilkerson, of two counts of aggravated assault. The trial court imposed twenty-year sentences for each conviction and ordered them to be served consecutively for a total effective sentence of forty years. The Defendant challenged the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain his convictions, and this court affirmed the judgments. State v. Wilkerson, No. W2016-00078-CCA-R3-CD, 2016 WL 6596103, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App. Nov. 7, 2016), no perm. app. filed. The Defendant sought post-conviction relief, which the post-conviction court denied, and this court affirmed on appeal. Wilkerson v. State, No. W2019-00459-CCA-R3-PC, 2020 WL 506781, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App. Jan. 30, 2020), no perm. app. filed. Subsequently, the Defendant filed a motion pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 36.1, challenging the imposition of consecutive sentencing. The trial court denied the Defendant’s motion on the grounds that consecutive sentencing was authorized pursuant to statute and therefore the Defendant’s sentence was not illegal. On review, having determined that the Petitioner has failed to state a colorable claim for Rule 36.1 relief, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

This is an appeal from a final order entered on July 25, 2024. The notice of appeal was not filed with the Appellate Court Clerk until September 3, 2024, more than thirty days from the date of entry of the order from which the appellant is seeking to appeal. Because the notice of appeal was not timely filed, we have no jurisdiction to consider this appeal.

The Defendant, Steven Lawrence Sabo, appeals from the Claiborne County Criminal Court’s probation revocation of the eight-year sentence he received for his felony theft conviction. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the trial court abused its discretion by (1) revoking his probation and ordering him to serve the remainder of his sentence in confinement and (2) ordering consecutive service of the revoked sentence with the sentence for a subsequent attempted aggravated assault conviction. We affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The Biden administration on Monday announced it would implement changes to the asylum claims process at the U.S.-Mexico border. The plan extends the period in which average border crossings must be below an average of 1,500 before allowing new asylum claims. An interim plan put in place in June allowed for new claims if the seven-day average dropped below 1,500. The change extends that timeframe to 28 days. The Department of Homeland Security says the policy is designed to avoid "volatility" at the border. Reuters reports on the story. The ACLU sued the administration over the June policy and says it also opposes this new change.

Husband appeals aspects of the trial court’s classification, valuation, and division of property in its order of absolute divorce. The trial court’s decision is affirmed in part, vacated in part, and reversed in part, and the matter is remanded to the trial court for further consideration.

This appeal is before this court on a remand from the Tennessee Supreme Court to address issues that had been previously pretermitted related to a punitive damages award. Upon consideration of the pretermitted issues in the present case, we affirm the judgment of the chancery court.

This suit was filed pursuant to the Tennessee Governmental Tort Liability Act. The plaintiff was a home improvement contractor replacing a door at a client’s home. He discarded the old door, which was placed in a garbage truck allegedly owned and operated by the defendant. The truck’s compacting mechanism was engaged, causing the door to rise and strike the plaintiff in the head. The plaintiff filed suit and was awarded damages based on injuries he suffered. The defendant filed this appeal raising several issues. Because we have determined that the evidence in the record does not preponderate against the findings of the trial court, we affirm.