Two female inmates at the Shelby County women’s jail say they were assaulted by a male inmate who was being housed with them last year due to overcrowding at the men’s jail. The federal lawsuit, filed Nov. 10, alleges the male inmate gained access to the women’s cells through a broken door. It also claims that a staff member opened the door, another staff member witnessed the assault but did not intervene or alert others, and that staff failed to report the incident or follow up afterward. The suit names the Shelby County government, Sheriff Floyd Bonner and several jail staffers. The women are seeking a jury trial and an unspecified amount in damages, according to the Daily Memphian,

The Tennessee Department of Human Services has announced it would begin processing partial Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments, which could be available as soon as today, according to a news release. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service has directed states to issue 65% of benefits this month, Knox News reports. Remaining benefits for the month will be issued after the federal government reopens. SNAP customers who were originally scheduled to receive their benefits Nov. 1–12 will begin to see payments on Nov. 12, the release said. Tennessee SNAP recipients can use the One DHS Customer Portal to view the latest case details.

Chattanooga attorney Robert Lee Brown died Nov. 9 at age 86. Brown earned his law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1964 and served in the U.S. Army as a judge advocate attorney. He began his legal career in Atlanta before relocating to Chattanooga, where he became president and owner of Legal Title and Escrow Inc. According to his obituary, Brown served as a past chair of the TBA's Real Estate Section and as a past president of the Tennessee Land Title Association. Throughout his career, he was an instructor for the Tennessee Bar Association, Chattanooga Bar Association, Georgia Bar Association, Tennessee Association of Realtors and the National Business Institute. A celebration of life will be held Nov. 16 from 1 to 3 p.m. CST at the Heritage Landing Community Clubhouse on Heritage Landing Drive in North Chattanooga.

The TBA’s Family Law Section will host a webcast, “From Conflict to Consensus: Family Law Mediation That Works,” on Dec. 2 from noon to 1 p.m. CST. The program will feature three of Tennessee’s most experienced family law mediators from East, Middle and West Tennessee, who will share practical strategies for successful mediation. Topics include preparing clients and cases for mediation and effective techniques to guide parties toward resolution. The program offers CLE credit for attorneys and mediation credit for Rule 31 mediators. Learn more and register at the TBA website.

Immigrant rights advocates and the ACLU of Tennessee are raising concerns over a new Knoxville Police Department (KPD) policy that directs officers to detain individuals flagged by federal immigration databases for up to 20 minutes while waiting for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to respond. The change follows a 2024 state law requiring local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration agencies, but critics say the mandate is vague, risks constitutional violations and erodes trust between police and immigrant communities, Knox News reports. KPD says the policy complies with state law and limits detentions to a “reasonable amount of time.” City officials also argue that the 20-minute window prevents people from being held for hours as seen in other jurisdictions.

Belmont University College of Law and the TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD) on Nov. 8 served seven individuals by providing wills, health care powers of attorney (POA) and durable POAs at the Belmont Ministry Center in Nashville. Volunteer attorneys assisted clients, while students from Belmont Law and the Nashville School of Law assisted and served as witnesses. Altogether, the TBA YLD provided approximately $7,000 in legal services.

Tennessee death row inmate Harold Wayne Nichols on Monday declined to choose between the electric chair and lethal injection for his Dec. 11 execution, meaning the state will default to lethal injection, according to the Associated Press. Nichols was sentenced to death in 1990 after he was convicted of raping and murdering Karen Pulley, a 21-year-old student at Chattanooga State University, two years earlier. In 2024, Tennessee announced a new lethal injection protocol to administer a single drug, pentobarbital. The move was challenged in a March lawsuit brought by nine death row inmates, one of whom has since been executed. Soon after, Nichols sued the state to delay his execution until litigation over the execution drug is resolved. His attorneys also have filed suit seeking access to state records on execution procedures.

In Tennessee, the rate of women killed by men is among the nation’s highest, according to a 2023 report from the Violence Policy Center. Now, new reporting from Nashville Public Radio and ProPublica highlights what they say is a dangerous gap in the state’s probation system that leaves domestic violence victims at risk. As the news sources explain, once a judge issues a probation violation warrant, officers halt all in-person supervision — including visits and home checks — even for high-risk offenders, sometimes for months or longer. Between 2019 and 2022, at least six young Black mothers were killed during these supervision lapses, often by armed men who should have been closely monitored. The Tennessee Department of Correction acknowledges the pause in face-to-face oversight but says officers shift their focus to helping law enforcement locate violators. Critics of that approach say it undermines public safety.

State Rep. Caleb Hemmer, D-Nashville, on Monday announced that he would not seek reelection for a third two-year term in the state legislature. Hemmer represents District 59 in southern Davidson County and passed bills during his tenure dealing with maternal health, university-sponsored lab schools, affordable housing and children’s mental health. The Tennessee Lookout reports that in his parting statement, Hemmer urged constituents to continue holding elected officials “to the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct.”

Christopher Steele, an inmate at the Shelby County Jail, died on Friday, marking at least the 10th such fatality and the third in 10 days. The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office is investigating, and no cause of death has been given yet. Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr. announced last week that hundreds of inmates at the overcrowded facility would be moved to other nearby jails in an effort to combat that overcrowding. The Daily Memphian has more on the developments.