At its winter meeting last month, the TBA Board of Governors announced a vacancy in two board positions: West Tennessee Grand Division Governor (a one-year term) and 7th District Governor (a three-year term). The 7th District includes the counties of Benton, Carroll, Chester, Crockett, Decatur, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Lake, Lauderdale, McNairy, Madison, Obion, Tipton and Weakley. To be considered for either of these positions, email a statement of interest and resume to TBA Executive Director Sheree Wright at barED@tnbar.org by March 3. The board will consider nominees at its March meeting. Read more about the 2026-2027 election on the TBA website.

The TBA Today issue sent earlier this evening contained incorrect information about the current open positions on the TBA Board of Governors. At its winter meeting last month, the board announced a vacancy in two board positions: West Tennessee Grand Division Governor (a one-year term) and 7th District Governor (a three-year term). The 7th District includes the counties of Benton, Carroll, Chester, Crockett, Decatur, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Lake, Lauderdale, McNairy, Madison, Obion, Tipton and Weakley. To be considered for either of these positions, email a statement of interest and resume to TBA Executive Director Sheree Wright at barED@tnbar.org by March 3. The board will consider nominees at its March meeting. Read more about the 2026-2027 election on the TBA website.

The March/April issue of the Tennessee Bar Journal is now available online! The cover story by mentor and mentee pair Buck Lewis and Brock Willis offers a proactive, strategic approach that emphasizes regular engagement and long-term growth rather than reactive crisis management. In her President's Perspective column, Heidi Barcus also encourages lawyers to mentor others, not only because it strengthens the profession, but also because it strengthens the community. A feature story by Daniel Horwitz on waiver rules in Tennessee appellate procedures and columns on TLAP's 2025 annual report, competency to stand trial and Elvis' autopsy cases offer a wide variety of reading on topics of interest to Tennessee lawyers. Also get an update from the Drowota Trust and news from the TBA, including new leadership coming in 2028 and an update on construction at the new TBA office.

DAVIS, Circuit Judge. Scott Williams filed this action against Addison Community Schools and the then-superintendent of the School District plus five members of the School Board in their individual and official capacities. On appeal, Williams challenges the district court’s denial of his partial motion for summary judgment as to his constitutional tort claim under the Fair and Just Treatment clause of the Michigan constitution, and he challenges its grant of Defendants’ motion for summary judgment as to that same claim. For the reasons stated below, we vacate the district court’s decision and remand.

MURPHY, Circuit Judge. Federal law allows a “prevailing party” to seek reimbursement for attorney’s fees in suits against a federal agency unless the agency’s “position” was “substantially justified.” 28 U.S.C. § 2412(d)(1)(A). This case asks whether the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) was “substantially justified” in treating rifles fitted with bump stocks as illegal “machineguns.” In 2017, the ATF departed from its long-held view on the legality of bump stocks. Its new interpretation produced a flood of litigation. Eventually, a circuit split led the Supreme Court to resolve this question against the ATF. See Garland v. Cargill, 602 U.S. 406, 415 (2024). The district court in this case nevertheless found the ATF’s reading substantially justified and so refused to award attorney’s fees to the challengers. We must give deference to the district court’s finding. And the court acted reasonably because of the substantial judicial disagreement that this novel legal question produced. We thus affirm.

DAVIS, Circuit Judge. In March 2022, police handcuffed and detained Ryan Franke outside a local recreational center on suspicion of domestic violence against his ex-wife. After handcuffing Franke, Officer Kenny Janes escorted him toward a police vehicle. During the walk to the vehicle, Franke yelled out to nearby family members, which led Janes to apply pain compliance techniques to keep Franke moving. Later, Janes allegedly twisted Franke’s wrist, causing injury. Franke brought this civil rights action, claiming that Janes used excessive force. The district court found that Janes is protected by qualified immunity and granted him summary judgment on that basis. Because there is a genuine dispute of material fact concerning the need for the amount of force applied, we AFFIRM IN PART, REVERSE IN PART, and REMAND for further proceedings.

JANE B. STRANCH, Circuit Judge. Rihanna Buddi pleaded guilty to failure to register as a sex offender in violation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). In advance of sentencing, and over Buddi’s objection, the district court classified her as a Tier II sex offender under SORNA. She was sentenced to 24 months of imprisonment, followed by twenty years of supervised release, which was fifteen years over the applicable advisory Guidelines range of five years flat. Because we find that Buddi is a Tier I offender under SORNA and that the district court erred procedurally in imposing her twenty-year term of supervised release, we REVERSE the district court’s ruling on Buddi’s objection regarding her SORNA classification, VACATE her supervised release sentence, and REMAND for resentencing.

Defendant, James Andrew Paige, appeals from his three convictions for rape, for which he is serving an eleven-year sentence in confinement. On appeal, Defendant argues that the trial court erred (1) by admitting the victim’s hearsay statements; (2) by denying his motion for judgment of acquittal because the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions; and (3) by failing to inquire into defense counsel’s unintentional contact with a juror or declare a mistrial. Defendant also argues that the cumulative effect of these errors entitles him to a new trial. Because we find that Defendant has failed to timely file his notice of appeal and the interest of justice does not support waiver of that requirement, we dismiss the appeal.

The Petitioner, Kenneth Lee Cross, appeals as of right from the Trousdale County Circuit Court’s summary denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. He argues that his probation was revoked at a January 4, 2023 “furlough termination” hearing without counsel and without a valid waiver, rendering the judgment void. The habeas corpus court denied relief, finding noncompliance with statutory filing requirements and concluding the petition failed to state a cognizable habeas corpus claim. Based on our review, we affirm the habeas corpus court’s dismissal of the petition.

The Petitioner, Juan Cerano, appeals the trial court’s summary dismissal of his petition for a writ of certiorari or supersedeas. Specifically, he contends that he is entitled to relief because he was twice punished for a single act in violation of double jeopardy and that merger of his convictions for aggravated sexual battery and rape of a child was improper. The Petitioner’s notice of appeal was filed almost two and one-half months late; an issue pointed out by the State on appeal. Following our review, we conclude that the interest of justice does not require waiver of the timely filing requirement because the Petitioner has given no explanation for the untimely filing, and the nature of his double jeopardy issue does not warrant such. Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal.