Are you still looking for ethics credits before Dec. 31? Look no further! The TBA's 12 Days of Ethics launches today and runs through Dec. 19 with innovative programs and packages you don't want to miss. Be sure to check our social media channels over the next 12 days to see the programs being offered. Visit TBA's Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn channels for more information, and join the fun by posting your own 12 Days experience using the hashtag #TBA12Days. Looking for something else? Visit  the TBA CLE Course Catalog to access more than 200 programs available now!

While the holiday season can be a joyful time for some, the pressures and stressors of work and life escalate for others. The TBA Attorney Well Being Committee on Dec. 18 will provide a webinar and empathetic conversation about the difficulties that professionals encounter during the season and how to navigate through them for a healthier experience. Panelists will discuss real issues faced by today's lawyers and explore resources available to assist. This event is free for TBA members. Register here.

TBA’s “Sunrise Series,” which offers early-morning CLE webcasts from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. CST, continues tomorrow with Stuart Teicher presenting "Good Lawyers Gone Bad: Ethics Lessons from True Lawyer Slime and Crime." The session will explore actual missteps committed by lawyers and the ethics lessons underlying the actions. Make plans now to get your day started with a CLE boost!

The TBA Travel Discount Program offers travel discounts to TBA members. Savings average 10-20% below market on all hotels, car rentals, cruises, vacation rentals, entertainment (concerts, parks and more) and worldwide tour packages. Explore destinations like the Amalfi Coast, Costa Rica and beyond. Local Hospitality negotiates the best deals and comparison pricing for members for all of their travel needs. To access this service, log in to your TBA member account and then explore any hotel, car or ticket anywhere, anytime.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD) is accepting registrations for its 2026 Artist in the Courtroom Contest. With the support of the TBA YLD Fellows, the 2026 Tennessee State High School Mock Trial Competition once again will include the Artist in the Courtroom Contest. The contest will take place first on the district level in February with the top three artists being recognized at the state competition in Nashville on March 20-21, 2026. The top artist will be eligible to participate in the national contest in Des Moines, Iowa, on May 7-9, 2026. The Artist in the Courtroom contest is designed to give more students the opportunity to learn about the courtroom and the legal process, while improving their artistic ability and introducing them to the courtroom artist profession. To learn more about the artists in the courtroom contest check out the rules and this informative video.

HERMANDORFER, Circuit Judge. As a convicted sex offender, Gene Roper must register his whereabouts with state authorities. He has a long track record of failing to do so. After Roper’s latest failure-to-register conviction, the district court sentenced him to prison. It also imposed a 20-year term of supervised release, which was above the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines’ recommendation but below the statutory maximum of lifetime supervision. In explaining the supervised-release term, the district court cited—among other considerations—Roper’s history of mental-health issues and the treatment that supervision could facilitate. Roper now says the district court erred by relying in part on his mental illness to justify the 20- year term of supervision. We disagree. And Roper’s supervised-release term otherwise falls within the statutory limits and is reasonable. We therefore affirm.

Question 1: Does Tennessee’s ban on religious charter schools violate the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution?

Opinion 1: Likely yes. Tennessee Code Annotated § 49-13-111(a)(2) requires public charter schools to “[o]perate as … nonsectarian[ and] nonreligious.” In addition, § 49-13-104(16)(B) prohibits bodies that “promote the agenda of any religious denomination or religiously affiliated entity” from sponsoring a public charter school. Those restrictions exclude otherwise qualified religious entities from participating in a public benefit, and no compelling interest is apparent. So § 49-13- 111(a)(2)’s and § 49-13-104(16)(B)’s restrictions on religious charter schools likely violate the Free Exercise Clause.

Question: Does a utility or energy authority formed pursuant to the Municipal Energy Authority Act have the same requirements or regulatory oversight regarding rates and fees as a government- owned utility or electric cooperative?

Opinion: Generally, no. State laws and regulations differ depending on utility type, and utilities created under the Municipal Energy Authority Act (i.e., “Energy Authorities”) typically set their own rates “without the necessity of review or approval by any other municipality, the state, or any commission or authority thereof.” Tenn. Code Ann. § 7-36-107(a)(7). Contracts between utilities and the Tennessee Valley Authority (“TVA”)—by far the largest energy provider in Tennessee— could impose other rate- and fee-setting requirements across all types of electric utilities, but those requirements would be contract specific.

Question: As it relates to Tenn. Code Ann. § 5-1-202(c), does the statutory language “terms” apply to the offices of sheriff, register, county clerk, assessor of property, and trustee in Shelby County?

Opinion: Yes. Although Tenn. Code Ann. § 5-1-202(c) does not currently reflect the contents of 2025 Tenn. Pub. Acts, ch. 221, § 1, Tennessee courts recognize that a public act controls in the event of any discrepancy. Here, that means that the relevant portion of Tenn. Code Ann. § 5-1- 202(c) should read that “subsection (c) must not be construed to affect the terms of the charter or constitutional county offices of sheriff, register, county clerk, assessor of property, or trustee.” And because this provision concerning “terms” is thus partially directed at the listed “charter” offices, we believe it effectively speaks with respect to those offices in Shelby County, a county that has adopted a charter form of government and has “county charter officers” that parallel constitutional county offices.

Davidson County Chancellor I’Ashea Myles heard arguments this week in a case seeking greater media access to information about state executions. A group of news outlets has sued to compel the Department of Correction to provide the information, according the Nashville Banner. Myles said her ruling, even if released before the execution of Harold Wayne Nichols next week, will not affect press access at that event. Paul McAdoo, with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, asked Myles to accommodate the request for access “as soon as practical.” In related news, a group of medical professionals are calling on Gov. Bill Lee to pause executions until the lethal injection protocol can be reviewed by a court. A letter from the group raised “grave concerns” with the use of pentobarbital. The Banner has more on both stories in its newsletter.