A Tennessee man pleaded guilty to hacking the U.S. Supreme Court’s electronic case filing system and other federal platforms, according to The Tennessean. Nicholas Moore of Springfield pleaded guilty to one count of fraud activity in connection with computers, a Class A misdemeanor, after stealing login credentials from three individuals. According to the paper, he accessed the court’s filing system, AmeriCorps’ internal member portal and the Department of Veterans Affairs’ medical platform. Prosecutors said Moore accessed the systems repeatedly between August and October 2023 and posted screenshots of the compromised information to an Instagram account under the handle “ihackedthegovernment.” Moore faces up to one year in federal prison and a fine of up to $100,000. He is scheduled to be sentenced April 17.

Downtown surveillance cameras will not be purchased with state grant funds following a Tuesday vote from the Nashville Metro Council. According to the Nashville Post, the council voted 20-15, with three abstentions, to not use a portion of a $15 million state public safety grant awarded to the Nashville Downtown Partnership to buy 15 replacement cameras, citing concerns about state overreach, surveillance and potential impacts on marginalized communities. The council did approve using the grant funds for an armored rescue vehicle, a mobile command post and a tactical support post for the Metro Nashville Police Department. The vote followed extensive public comment opposing the cameras and ongoing debate over surveillance technology in the city.

Metro Council Member Joy Styles announced that she intends to run for mayor of Nashville, being the first candidate to declare for the August, 2027 election, Axios Nashville reports. Styles is in her second term representing the Antioch area on the council. Her voting record is pro-business, and she's also supported public safety measures, such as the police department's plan to create a network of security cameras owned by private businesses, Axios reports. “I'm running because Nashville needs a fighter, someone who's going to fight for you and your neighborhood. Over the last six years, I've shown what inclusive leadership looks like.” Styles said at her press announcement. According to the news source, incumbent Mayor Mayor Freddie O'Connell is likely to run, but has not entered the race officially.

Former state Rep. Dr. Tommie F. Brown, D-Chattanooga died Tuesday at age 91, The Chattanoogan reports. Brown served in the Tennessee legislature for 20 years and was the first African American to lead a department at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC). She represented her district in the state House of Representatives from 1992 to 2012. Brown also was the lead plaintiff in the landmark 1987 Brown v. Board of Commissioners of Chattanooga lawsuit, which resulted in a federal court ruling that the city’s at-large voting system violated the Voting Rights Act and significant changes in Chattanooga’s form of government. An elementary school on the UTC campus is named in her honor, and her personal and professional papers are housed in the UTC Library’s Special Collections.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Jan. 15 rejected the Board of Professional Responsibility’s recommendation to impose a 10-year suspension on Hamilton County lawyer Arthur C. Grisham Jr. Instead, the court proposed to increase the punishment to permanent disbarment. Under the rules, the board now has 30 days to file the record of the disciplinary hearing, after which Grisham will have 20 days to file his brief and then the board will have 20 days after that to respond. Grisham already is serving a five-year suspension, which was imposed on May 13, 2025.

The American Bar Association (ABA) Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility has issued Formal Opinion 520 to address the disclosure of information after representation is withdrawn. The opinion provides guidance for the limited situations when a lawyer is required to respond to requests for information from former clients or successor counsel. Lawyers should respond when the information being requested was acquired during the course of representation, is unavailable from other sources and is important to the client’s interests in the matter in which the lawyer formerly provided representation. Compliance with the request also must be “reasonably practicable.” Rule 1.16(d) does not require a lawyer to take steps to acquire information, research and generate written responses, or provide further legal services to the client in response to a request for information. Read more in a news release from the ABA or from Bloomberg News.

The TBA Mentoring Committee, in collaboration with the TBA Young Lawyers Division, will hold a special event — "Developing Lawyers, Developing Leaders: A CLE on Mentorship and Professional Excellence" — on Jan. 30 at Belmont University College of Law's Baskin Center. Make plans now to join TBA President Heidi Barcus; Marshall County General Sessions Court Judge Lee Bussart; University of Tennessee Winston College of Law professor Joan Heminway; Amy Schmisseur, chair of Belmont University's Department of Communication Studies; Joseph Hubbard of Polsinelli; and Toyin Edogun of Bass Berry & Sims as they explore topics of mentorship, leadership and communication across one's legal career. The day of "Mocktails and Mentorship" will include lunch and three hours of CLE credit, followed by a networking event and the opportunity to mix mocktails together. Because good conversations are meant to be shared, lawyers who register for this course are invited to bring a colleague with them at no additional cost.

As part of the TBA’s effort to help educate members about the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Sept. 16 order — which solicited comments on seven areas of possible regulatory changes to the legal profession — the TBA Legal Access and Regulatory Reform Task Force will hold a virtual town hall on Jan. 22 beginning at noon CST. This town hall, the first of several to be planned, will be geared toward attorneys who practice in rural areas. The event will start with a 20-minute presentation by University of Tennessee Winston College of Law Professors Ben Barton and Alex Long. Then McMinnville lawyer Mike Galligan will moderate a discussion about the seven issues presented in the order, including concerns and possible solutions. Attendees are encouraged to review the TBA’s Legal Access & Regulatory Reform resource page before attending. Register for the town hall here.

Candidates for Tennessee governor have begun collecting signatures for nominating petitions, formally launching the race ahead of the Aug. 6 primaries and the November election to replace term-limited Gov. Bill Lee. At least a dozen candidates have declared, including Republicans Marsha Blackburn, John Rose and Monty Fritts; Democrats Carnita Atwater and Jerri Green; and independent Lauren Pinkston. Petitions are due March 10. The Tennessean reports on the candidates.

In state legislative races, the Daily Memphian reports that six of the 13 House incumbents from Shelby County picked up qualifying petitions on Friday. They are: Democrats Larry Miller, Gabby Salinas and Torrey Harris, along with Republicans Mark White, John Gillespie and Kevin Vaughan. Two incumbent state senators from Shelby County — Democrat London Lamar and Republican Brent Taylor — also picked up qualifying petitions. In East Tennessee, according to Local 3 News, Rep. Yusuf Hakeem, D-Chattanooga, has announced he will seek reelection in District 28 and Sevierville Republicans Reps. Fred Atchley and Andrew Farmer also will run for reelection. In Cocke County, Republicans Kenny Cody, Jeff Fanger and Michelle Lane, Democrat Sheila McMahan and Independent Larry Brown have announced their intentions to run for a seat being vacated by Rep. Jeremy Faison, R-Cosby. In District 20, Democrat Karen Gertz is running against incumbent Rep. Tom Stinnett, R-Friendsville. In Knoxville, Democratic Reps. Sam McKenzie and Gloria Johnson picked up petitions to run for reelection, as did Republican incumbents Reps. Dave Wright, Justin Lafferty and Jason Zachary. In District 18, Elliot Schuchardt picked up a petition to challenge incumbent Rep. Elaine Davis in the Republican primary. And for the Knox County Senate seat, Kent Morrell picked up a petition to challenge incumbent Rep. Richard Briggs in the Republican primary. WBIR has more on the races.

SUTTON, Chief Judge. Several students sued the University of Kentucky under Title IX, arguing that it failed to provide Division I sports teams for women in three sports: equestrian, field hockey, and lacrosse. After a bench trial, the district court found that the plaintiffs had not shown that enough female students at the University wanted to and had the ability to compete in these sports at the Division I level, as opposed to the existing club team level. Because the district court did not clearly err in making these findings and because the plaintiffs accept the validity of the interpretive guidance on which those findings are premised, we affirm.