Tennessee lawmakers have scheduled a joint convention for Monday to vote on Gov. Bill Lee’s nomination of Shelby County Circuit Judge Mary Wagner to fill an upcoming vacancy on the state Supreme Court, the Tennessee Journal reports. Lee chose Wagner on Feb. 1 from a list of three candidates that also included Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Ross Dyer and Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Camille McMullen. Wagner will fill a vacancy that will occur when Justice Roger A. Page retires on Aug. 31. Wagner, 39, is a TBA member and alumna of the association's Leadership Law Program. She earned her law degree from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law and was appointed to the circuit court in 2016 by then-Gov. Bill Haslam. She won reelection in 2018 and 2022.

The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously advanced a bill today that would require TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance to divest the app or face a U.S. ban, The Hill reports. The “Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,” advanced out of committee with overwhelming bipartisan support just two days after it was introduced by Reps. Mike Gallagher, R-Wisconsin, and Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Illinois, the top lawmakers on the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. TikTok has pushed back on allegations that it poses national security risks based on its ownership by a Chinese company.

Question: Does Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-11-118(d)(1)(B), requiring a defendant to report compliance or non-compliance with a bond condition to the District Attorney General, violate article I, section 9 of the Tennessee Constitution, by having the defendant communicate to the District Attorney General evidence against him or herself?

Opinion: No. Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-11-118(d)(1)(B) does not implicate protections against self-incrimination provided under article I, section 9 of the Tennessee Constitution.

LARSEN, Circuit Judge. Charles O’Neill was charged with sexually exploiting a minor and receiving or distributing child pornography. He pleaded guilty to both charges but reserved the right to appeal the district court’s denial of his motion to suppress. For the following reasons, we AFFIRM the judgment of the district court.

The court received a petition for rehearing en banc. The original panel has reviewed the petition for rehearing and concludes that the issues raised in the petition were fully considered upon the original submission and decision. The petition then was circulated to the full court. Less than a majority of the judges voted in favor of rehearing en banc.

CLAY, Circuit Judge. Plaintiff DeShawn Anderson-Santos, a juvenile detainee at the Kent County Juvenile Detention Center, suffered a head injury after being pushed by Defendant Derek Leshan, a corrections officer. Anderson-Santos subsequently brought claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Eighth Amendment, against Defendant Leshan. The district court denied Leshan’s summary judgment motion, finding that there was a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether Leshan engaged in excessive force in violation of the Eighth Amendment. Therefore, the district court held that Leshan was not entitled to qualified immunity at the summary judgment stage. This interlocutory appeal followed. For the reasons set forth below, we DISMISS this appeal for lack of jurisdiction.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has issued an order soliciting comments on proposed changes to its Rule 13. The proposed revisions do not include any adjustments to the compensation rates and/or caps for appointed attorneys representing the indigent. But they do address the financial obligations of a child's parents, legal custodians or guardians when a guardian ad litem is appointed. The changes also address the crimes that affect the maximum compensation allowed for appointed criminal cases. Comments should be submitted by May 6 and should reference docket number ADM2024-00227.

Committees in the state House and Senate yesterday advanced two “vastly different” versions of a statewide school choice program that would allow students to use public dollars for private school. The House Education Administration Committee passed HB1183, a 39-page proposal that would also overhaul Tennessee's standardized testing requirements for public school students, make changes to teacher and principal accountability, and shut down the state’s Achievement School District by 2026. The Senate Education Committee approved SB503, a version of Gov. Bill Lee's plan, with additional accountability measures. The Senate version also allows "open enrollment to any school," permitting students to attend public schools outside of the districts for which they are zoned. The House version now goes to the House Government Operations Committee, while the Senate bill goes to the Senate Finance Ways and Means Committee. Read more about the bills in the Tennessean.

After a Dickson County jury trial, Defendant, Kirk D. Farmer, was convicted of vandalism of $2,500 or more but less than $10,000 and disorderly conduct. The trial court sentenced him to an effective term of three years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, Defendant argues the evidence produced at trial was insufficient to sustain his vandalism conviction. After review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

In this post-divorce case, Husband/Appellant appeals the trial court’s order holding him in criminal contempt. Due to the deficiencies in Husband’s brief, we do not reach the substantive issues. Appeal dismissed.