This is an appeal from the trial court’s order of restitution. The Appellant asserts error, and the State concedes. After review, we reverse the trial court’s judgment and remand the case for a new restitution hearing.

A Knox County jury convicted Defendant of Class E felony theft of property valued at more than $1,000 but less $2,500. Defendant claims that the evidence was insufficient to sustain the conviction and that the trial court erred in denying Defendant the right to enter relevant evidence. Following our review, we determine that the evidence was sufficient for the jury to find Defendant guilty and that the trial court properly excluded the evidence because it was not properly authenticated. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The Department of Labor and Workforce Development announced that Tennessee's unemployment rate dropped to a historic low level, setting a record at 3%. WSMV reports that the rate decreased by 0.1% between April and May to 3% and made history as the lowest unemployment rate since the government began tracking the statistic in 1976. “Tennessee employers created 3,300 new nonfarm jobs between April and May. The accommodation and food services sector was responsible for most of those new jobs. The professional, scientific, and technical services sector was the next top job creator in May, followed by the health care and social assistance sector,” the department said.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti will not issue an opinion as to whether Donald Trump should remain on the state's presidential election ballot. The Tennessee Lookout reports that in a letter to Rep. Vincent Dixie, D-Nashville (who requested a formal legal opinion after Trump was convicted on felony charges in New York), Skrmetti said that after careful consideration, his office cannot opine based on a state law dealing with election eligibility. “The Attorney General’s statutory authority is limited to providing ‘written legal opinions’ on matters submitted by officials ‘in the discharge of their official duties.’” Skrmetti’s office notes, “And Tennessee’s election officials — not individual members of the General Assembly — enforce (the state law) in specific factual scenarios.” Dixie said in a statement he is “disappointed” but “not surprised” by the response.

An inmate in the Gibson County Correctional Complex in Trenton filed a lawsuit alleging unsafe living conditions and being denied access to file court documents. The Tennessean reports that Thomas Brandon Karnes is seeking $100,000 in mental and emotional damages and $100,000 for the jail's failure to pass inspection. The suit names Gibson County Sherriff Paul Thomas, who is currently facing misconduct charges, as well as other corrections employees. Records show the Gibson County jail passed inspections in 2020, 2022 and 2023; in 2021, two infractions were noted in terms of supervision and storage of medical and dental equipment.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division met last week at the TBA's 2024 Annual Convention in Memphis. On Friday, the group held its Annual Meeting during which Franklin attorney Sean Aiello took office as president. Others taking office were President-elect Alex McVeagh, Hamilton County General Sessions judge; Vice President Jen Sneed of Memphis; Secretary Ross Smith of Nashville; and Treasurer Darius Walker Jr. of Nashville. The 2024-2025 YLD Board met on Saturday for committee planning sessions and its first board meeting. On Friday evening, both the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 boards met for the YLD annual dinner and gavel pass tradition. They were joined by members of the 2024 DLI Class for their graduation and the YLD Fellows for induction of new fellows. The YLD Fellows also elected new officers: Jackson lawyer Michelle Greenway Sellers, president; Memphis lawyer Mason Wilson, vice president; Chattanooga lawyer David McDowell, secretary; and Memphis lawyer Nicole Grida, treasurer. Click the links above to see photos from the events.

The Tennessee Democratic Party (TNDP) on Thursday announced the hiring of Brian Córdova as its new executive director. Córdova is joining the TNDP after almost a decade of working in Tennessee politics. He served as political director for the House and Senate Democratic Caucuses in 2022 and has worked on or consulted on races across Tennessee and around the country, including in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Hawaii. Clarksville Online has more.

The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a federal law that bans people under domestic violence restraining orders from owning firearms, rejecting a defendant’s challenge to the ban. The Hill reports that the 8-1 decision, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing for the majority, noted a tradition of disarming individuals found to pose a credible threat to the physical safety of another. Justice Clarence Thomas was the lone dissenter, writing that “not a single historical regulation justifies that statute at issue.”

HB2472/SB2682, sponsored by Rep. Kevin Raper, R-Cleveland, and Sen. Dawn White, R-Murfreesboro — both former teachers — was signed into law recently by Gov. Bill Lee. The new law requires a one-year suspension for students who assault teachers at school. According to data from the Tennessee Department of Education, there were 1,918 assaults of teachers and staff reported by schools across Tennessee during the 2022-2023 school year ― the highest number in the last five years and up nearly 700 from the 2021-2022 school year. “We have a teacher shortage,” Raper said. “And we are losing a number of these teachers because they just said 'I'm not going back to this situation, and I'll go work somewhere else.'” The Tennessean reports on the story.

TBA's annual Adoption Law Forum will be held Sept. 9 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. CDT at the Tennessee Bankers Association's Barrett Training Center in Nashville. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available!