Beginning Nov. 3, the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) will transition from physical mail to scanned, digitized personal mail for inmates at all department facilities. Mail from family and friends will be sent to an off-site facility, where it will be processed, scanned and delivered in digital format to inmates via their department-issued tablets. The new process aims to reduce contraband and increase security while providing faster, more reliable mail delivery to inmates, the Tennessee Tribune reports. Privileged mail from attorneys, court clerks, legal aid clinics, government officials or agencies will not be affected and will continue to be sent directly to the facility where the inmate is housed. Privileged mail sent to the scanning facility will be forwarded, and outgoing inmate mail will not be affected. TDOC implemented a pilot program of the new system in June at three facilities.

A Senate committee with jurisdiction over the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has scheduled a hearing on Oct. 22 to consider President Donald Trump’s nominations to the TVA Board, Knox News reports. The board of the nation’s largest public utility has been unable to conduct regular business for more than six months. The hearing will consider four of the five nominees: Arthur Graham, Mitch Graves, Jeff Hagood and Randall Jones. A fifth nominee, Lee Beaman, was not included in a Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works news release announcing the hearing. A favorable report from the committee would set the stage for a full Senate vote.

The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law and the Harwood Center Inc. will host a parent education session Nov. 6 from 6 to 7 p.m. CST for parents of children with disabilities. The session will cover kindergarten readiness, parental rights and available services to help families prepare their children for school. Register online and view the flyer for more information.

The Nashville Arts and Business Council will host a Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts pro bono legal clinic on Nov. 5 from 6-8 p.m. CDT at the Country Music Association, 35 Music Square E. #201, Nashville 37203. The clinic will provide pro bono legal services to income-qualified artists, emerging arts nonprofit organizations, and creative businesses in drafting and reviewing contracts, protecting work with copyright and trademark and resolving arts-related disputes. Register here by Oct. 31 to participate. Attorneys interested in volunteering should contact vlpa@abcnashville.org.

The Knoxville Bar Association and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, in partnership with Legal Aid of East Tennessee (LAET), will hold a Debt Relief Clinic on Nov. 15 to provide pro bono legal services to income-eligible consumer debtors. The clinic will begin at 9 a.m. EDT at the Knox County Public Defender's Community Law Office, 1101 Liberty St., Knoxville 37919. Judge Suzanne Bauknight will present a short overview of the bankruptcy system and then volunteer lawyers will conduct initial meetings with the clients to discuss their situations and options. Those interested in helping should register online. Clients seeking advice should call 865-637-0484.

Five people have been nominated to fill the vacancy on the Davidson County General Sessions Court left by Judge Jim Todd, who recently was appointed to a seat on the Davidson County Criminal Court to replace Cheryl Blackburn. The nominees are: defense attorney Jodie Bell, former state lawyer Mark Andrew Cole Sr., Leroy Ellis, Davidson County District Attorney General Office attorney David Jones, and lawyer C. Michael Robinson. They now have three days to file their completed questionnaire with the metro clerk. Candidates will appear before the Metro Council’s Rules, Confirmations and Public Elections Committee on Nov. 14. The full Metro Council will vote on the appointment on Nov. 18. Read more about them from the Nashville Banner.

MATHIS, Circuit Judge. Kenneth Evans pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. He now challenges the procedural reasonableness of his 57-month sentence, arguing that the district court improperly increased his advisory Sentencing Guidelines range upon finding that his prior conviction for aggravated robbery under Ohio law is a “crime of violence,” as the Guidelines define that term.

Petitioner, Brittany Faith Swafford, appeals the denial of her petition for post-conviction relief, arguing that the post-conviction court erred in concluding that she received the effective assistance of trial counsel. Petitioner argues trial counsel’s failure to retain an expert witness favorable to the defense and to adequately investigate Petitioner’s then undiagnosed mental health condition constituted the ineffective assistance of counsel. She further argues, in the context of her ineffective assistance claim, that trial counsel’s failure to investigate her undiagnosed mental health condition prevented her from entering a knowing and voluntary plea. After review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

A Rutherford County jury convicted the Petitioner, Baleke Kromah, of sexual battery by an authority figure. On direct appeal, this court affirmed the Petitioner’s conviction. See State v. Kromah, No. M2011-01813-CCA-R3-CD, 2013 WL 781600, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App. March 1, 2013), perm. app. denied (Tenn. July 17, 2013). In 2024, the Petitioner filed a petition for a writ of error coram nobis, which the coram nobis court dismissed as untimely. The Petitioner appealed, and after a thorough review of the record and the applicable law, we dismiss this appeal because the Petitioner failed to file a timely notice of appeal.

A Washington County jury convicted the defendant, Joshua M. Hammonds, of first-degree murder in perpetration of a felony, theft of property valued at $10,000 or more but less than $60,000, and evading arrest with risk of death. After a sentencing hearing, the defendant received a sentence of life in confinement. On appeal, the defendant contends the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support his conviction for first-degree murder in perpetration of a felony. Upon our review of the record, the parties’ briefs, and the applicable law, we affirm the defendant’s conviction.