A Shelby County Circuit Court judge has ruled that 73 Memphis police officers can join an ongoing legal battle between the city and the police union over a new police rank. The Memphis Commercial Appeal reports that the dispute centers around the city's attempt to implement a second lieutenant rank, which the union opposes. An arbitrator sided with the union, but the city is contesting the decision. Concerned about potential career implications, 73 officers have joined the lawsuit, arguing that neither the city nor the union adequately represents their interests. Despite the city's objection, the judge sided with the officers, recognizing their direct stake in the outcome of the case due to potential career implications.

The U.S Senate has unanimously passed the JUDGES Act, which would add 66 new judgeships to federal district courts over the next decade. Above the Law reports that the effort aims to address a growing caseload and alleviate the burden on overworked judges in 25 district courts in 13 states. The bill, if enacted, would be the first major expansion of the federal judiciary since 1990. Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, a lead cosponsor of the legislation, stated, "For decades, Congress has failed to authorize new federal judgeships, creating a massive backlog of case filings for our nation’s federal judges." The bill now goes to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Members of the TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD) Executive Committee attended the American Bar Association (ABA) 2024 Annual Meeting in Chicago this month. President Sean Aiello, Immediate Past President Quinton Thompson, Secretary Ross Smith and Middle Tennessee Governor Alix Rogers connected and networked with influential legal professionals from across the country and attended CLE programming. They were joined by 2023-2024 TBA YLD board member Patrick Morris, who is the assembly clerk of the ABA YLD. The TBA YLD Diversity Law Week program was recognized at the meeting with an achievement award as one of the top state programs in the country related to diversity. The program was created by Thompson, and program co-chairs were Chattanooga attorney Ariel Anthony, Memphis attorney Kevin Christopher and Nashville attorney Erin Shackelford. Over the course of the week, 100 diverse high school students across the state had an opportunity to shadow attorneys, explore courtrooms and immerse themselves in law school for a day. See photos from this year's Chattanooga program, Memphis program and Nashville program.

Members of the TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD) Executive Committee attended the American Bar Association (ABA) annual meeting in Chicago this month. The TBA YLD Diversity Law Week program was recognized at the meeting with an achievement award as one of the top state programs in the country related to diversity. The program was created by Quinton Thompson, immediate past YLD president. Program co-chairs were Chattanooga attorney Ariel Anthony, Memphis attorney Kevin Christopher and Nashville attorney Erin Shackelford. Over the course of the week, 100 diverse high school students across the state had an opportunity to shadow attorneys, explore courtrooms and immerse themselves in law school for a day. See photos from this year's Chattanooga program, Memphis program and Nashville program.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division's (YLD) Diversity Law Week program was recognized this month at the American Bar Association (ABA) annual meeting in Chicago. The program received an achievement award as one of the top state programs in the country related to diversity. The program was created by Quinton Thompson, immediate past YLD president. Program co-chairs were Chattanooga attorney Ariel Anthony, Memphis attorney Kevin Christopher and Nashville attorney Erin Shackelford. Over the course of the week, 100 diverse high school students across the state had an opportunity to shadow attorneys, explore courtrooms and immerse themselves in law school for a day. See photos from this year's Chattanooga program, Memphis program and Nashville program.

This is a personal injury case. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of one of the defendants. The plaintiff appeals. Because the order appealed is not a final judgment, and because the order was improperly certified as final pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 54.02, we dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.

Jay James Macken, Defendant, was convicted of aggravated assault, aggravated rape, especially aggravated kidnapping, and interference with emergency communication after a jury trial. The trial court sentenced him to an effective sentence of 20 years. After the denial of a motion for new trial, Defendant sought review of his convictions in this Court. On appeal, Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support his convictions for aggravated assault and especially aggravated kidnapping. Because the evidence supported the convictions, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Petitioner, Robert Wayne Garner, filed a petition for writ of error coram nobis challenging his 2011 convictions for first degree felony murder, aggravated arson, and theft of property valued at $10,000 or more but less than $60,000. The coram nobis court held an initial hearing to determine whether Petitioner was entitled to a full evidentiary hearing; after the initial hearing, the coram nobis court dismissed the petition. Petitioner appeals, arguing the trial court erred in dismissing the petition without a full evidentiary hearing. After review, we affirm the judgment of the coram nobis court.

A Maury County jury convicted the Defendant, Austin Cunningham, of possession of methamphetamine with the intent to sell and possession of a firearm during the commission of or attempt to commit a dangerous felony, among other offenses. The trial court ordered the Defendant to serve an effective twelve-year sentence. On appeal, the Defendant asserts that the evidence is legally insufficient to sustain his convictions and that the trial court erred when it denied alternative sentencing. Upon our review, we hold that the Defendant has waived his issues by failing to properly prepare his brief in accordance with Tennessee Rule of Appellate Procedure 27. Although we remand Count 6 for entry of a modified judgment as to the sentence imposed, we respectfully affirm the trial court’s judgments in all other respects.

Several judicial seats were decided in yesterday's election. In the votes to retain their seats, both Supreme Court Justice Dwight Tarwater and Court of Criminal Appeals — Western Division Judge Matthew Wilson were successful. In a contested race, TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD) President-elect Alex McVeagh prevailed over Kisha Cheeks in the Hamilton County Circuit Court judge seat in District 3. McVeagh will replace Judge Marie Williams, who stepped down six years before her term was set to expire. TBA Board of Governors member David Veile ran unopposed for District 21 Circuit Court judge. Rhea Clift won the election in the Germantown Municipal Court judgeship race, defeating Justin Gee. She will succeed her father, Ray Clift, who served as judge for many years. Former Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer bested Lisa Arnold in the contest for Shelby County General Sessions Court clerk. In Knox County, incumbent law director David Buuck defeated challenger Jackson Fenner and Judge Hector Sanchez ran unopposed for Criminal Court judge in District 6. The Times Free Press, Daily Memphian and Knox News report on the races.