The Defendant, Sade Janae Burrow, appeals from the partial consecutive sentences imposed by the trial court upon resentencing following the revocation of her community corrections supervision, increasing her effective sentence from ten to sixteen years. She contends that the trial court erred by failing to weigh the relevant mitigating factors against applicable enhancement factors and abused its discretion by inappropriately imposing partial consecutive sentences as punishment for committing a violation of her original community corrections supervision. After review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

In this automobile collision case, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiffs. On appeal, the defendant challenges several rulings related to the admission and testimony of the plaintiffs’ accident reconstruction expert. Because the defendant failed to file a motion for new trial raising these challenges, we conclude that they are waived, and so we affirm the judgment in favor of the plaintiffs. We award the plaintiffs their reasonable attorney’s fees and costs under Tennessee Code Annotated section 27-1-122.

Following an incident in an operating room allegedly involving aggressive actions by a doctor toward a scrub tech, the scrub tech made oral and written statements about the incident to her employer, the police, and a state administrative body. In response, the doctor filed suit for defamation and intentional interference with a business relationship. The scrub tech filed a Tennessee Public Participation Act (TPPA) petition to dismiss, which the trial court granted after it found that the statements were within the ambit of the TPPA and that the doctor could not establish a prima facie case for all of the essential elements of his claims. The doctor appeals. We affirm.

Three community-based organizations in Memphis will receive grant money from the Kresge Foundation for programs that strengthen climate justice and health equity. According to the Commercial Appeal, the money will go to the Center for Transforming Communities, a nonprofit that focuses on health, land and food justice; Knowledge Quest, which promotes education and economic mobility for youth; and The Works Inc., an organization that works to increase the availability of affordable housing and revitalize Memphis neighborhoods. The grants are part of the foundation's Climate Change, Health and Equity Imitative. This year, the foundation awarded $18.6 million to 32 groups across the country.

The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) has announced that Jay Miller is its new general counsel. In the role, Miller will lead the Legal Services and Judicial Development Division and serve as a member of the AOC’s Executive Leadership Team. “We are excited to welcome Jay to our team,” said AOC Director Michelle Long. “His experience in state government and proven track record providing trusted advice on a variety of complex legal issues makes him an asset to the judiciary.” Miller previously served as general counsel for the Tennessee Agriculture Department, with the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office and with Baker Donelson in Nashville. He earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee (now Winston) College of Law.

The Trump administration is restricting the number of refugees admitted annually to the United States to 7,500, a dramatic drop from last year’s ceiling of 125,000 under the Biden administration, according to the Associated Press. The news syndicate also reports that no reason was given for the new number, which was published in the Federal Register. The administration suspended the refugee program on Trump’s first day in office and since then only a trickle have entered the country, mostly white South Africans. Some other refugees have been admitted as part of a court case seeking to allow entry to those who were in the process of coming to the U.S. when the program was suspended.

The American Bar Association (ABA) has altered a scholarship program aimed at boosting law student diversity by eliminating requirements that applicants come from “ethnic minority” or “underrepresented racial” groups. According to Reuters, applicants now must demonstrate “a strong commitment to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion.” The change comes seven months after the American Alliance for Equal Rights sued over the Legal Opportunity Scholarship program, alleging it discriminates against white applicants who were ineligible to apply. The $15,000 scholarship is awarded to between 20 and 25 students annually. The move comes after the ABA revised the criteria for its Judicial Clerkship Program last year to eliminate references to minority students and “communities of color.”

A ban on Tennessee's most popular hemp products will be delayed at least six months, through the end of June, a state board has decided. The delay will allow hemp licenses issued before Dec. 31, to expire before the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission takes over full enforcement from the Agriculture Department, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press. A recently passed state law envisioned the commission having full authority as of Jan. 1, 2026. The commission will start some regulatory duties in January, including overseeing age limits and non-compliant products for retail.

The planned Women's Suffrage Museum in Knoxville will be bigger than originally planned with a gift to purchase another Gay Street building, Knox News reports. Following an initial fundraising campaign of $2 million, a home for the museum was secured at 706 S. Gay St. Now, a new gift of $500,000 will allow the Suffrage Coalition to also purchase 708 S. Gay St. The coalition will need to raise $2.4 million to complete the purchase of the second building and restore it. The museum, which is scheduled to open in 2028, will highlight East Tennessee's role in ratifying the 19th Amendment, celebrating figures such as Lizzie Crozier French and Harry T. Burn. Donations may be made online at WomensSuffrageMuseum.org or mailed to P.O. Box 14322, Knoxville, TN 37914. See photos from an event announcing the project. 

Laura Sosh-Lightsy worked as a dean at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) for over two decades before getting fired for a social media post about Charlie Kirk. This week, she filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the school, WPLN reports. On Sept. 10 — the day Kirk was assassinated — Sosh-Lightsy posted that she did not have sympathy for Kirk due to his prior comments about gun violence. In the complaint, Sosh-Lightsy argues her comments were made as a private citizen speaking on a matter of public concern and, thus, protected by the First Amendment. The school says she was fired because the comments caused a “disruption and interference with University operations.”