Hamilton County General Sessions Court Judge Ron Durby has died. Durby earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee and practiced with the Legal Aid Society and attorney Clarence Shattuck before being appointed Hamilton County clerk and master in 1986. He went on to serve 18 years as a general sessions court judge. Services were held on Dec. 13 in Chattanooga. Burial followed at Hamilton Memorial Gardens.

Tommy Thompson, one of Tennessee’s longest-serving district attorneys, died Dec. 12. He was 78. Thompson had been appointed district attorney in the state’s 15th Judicial District (which includes Jackson, Macon, Trousdale, Smith and Wilson counties), in 1977 and remained in that position for 44 years. He retired in 2021. A 1969 graduate of Vanderbilt Law School, Thompson began his professional career as an assistant district attorney in Nashville and later practiced law with his father in his hometown of Hartsville. Visitation will be held on Dec. 19 from 2-8 p.m. at Anthony Funeral Home, 337 McMurry Blvd. E, Hartsville 37074 and on Dec. 20 from 10 a.m. to noon at Hartsville First Baptist Church, 773 E. McMurry Blvd. Funeral services will follow the visitation on Dec. 20 at the church. Interment with military honors will take place after the service at Hartsville Memorial Gardens, 25 Cemetery Ln. Memorial donations may be made to the 15th Judicial District Child Advocacy Center, the Alzheimer’s Association or a charity of the donor’s choice. The Tennessean has more on Thompson's life.

Five Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) board members and the district have sued the Shelby County Election Commission, arguing that new state and county election changes unlawfully shorten their four-year terms by forcing them onto the 2026 ballot. The lawsuit claims the changes violate the Tennessee Constitution and were a coordinated effort by lawmakers and county commissioners to punish board members who voted to fire former Superintendent Marie Feagins. According to the Daily Memphian, attorneys are seeking an injunction to block the five seats from appearing on the 2026 ballot as partisan school board elections. Feagins in November announced she would run for Shelby County mayor.

This appeal involves judicial review of an administrative agency decision. The trial court found that the agency’s decision lacked a foundation of substantial and material evidence and remanded the matter to the agency for further investigation or proceedings. Having determined that the trial court impermissibly re-weighed the evidence presented in this matter, we reverse the court’s judgment and affirm the agency’s decision.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Dec. 15 censured Alabama lawyers William Jefferson Cranford III and Matthew Brett Reeves. According to the court, Cranford drafted, signed and personally filed two motions for a client that included fabricated citations generated by using Artificial Intelligence (AI). The citations were added to the motions by another attorney, but the court found that Cranford had an obligation to check the citations before signing the motions and filing them. It also determined that he failed to act with diligence and caused a delay in his client’s case. In addition, the court found that Reeves personally used AI to add citations to two motions. The court found that the citations were fabricated and Reeves took no action to check their accuracy. It also determined that he failed to act with diligence and caused a delay in his client’s case. The actions of Cranford and Reeves were deemed to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 3.2 and 8.4.

Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law (LMU Law) has promoted Assistant Professor of Law Kayla Swiney to director of bar success. In this role, Swiney will oversee bar preparation initiatives and provide support to students and graduates throughout the bar exam and admissions process. Swiney’s leadership will be central as the law school transitions to preparing students for the NextGen Uniform Bar Exam, according to a news release. “I am so excited to take on the role of director of bar success and to assist our students from their first day of law school through the final stages of bar preparation,” Swiney said. “The implementation of the NextGen bar exam will allow me the unprecedented opportunity to work side by side with our graduates to ensure they feel supported, confident and ready to succeed on this new exam.”

Attorneys for Metro Nashville's legal department have reviewed an ethics complaint against Metro Councilmember Rollin Horton, filed by a group of his West Nashville constituents. The attorneys found that, if true, the allegations in the complaint did not rise to ethics violations and will recommend to the Board of Ethical Conduct that the complaint be dismissed. The complaint stems largely from a failed recall effort and cites incidents including an Instagram post that displayed a resident’s address, police being called on petition gatherers and alleged pressure on business owners. The Nashville Banner reports on the developments.

SUTTON, Chief Judge. A Michigan State Trooper conducted a traffic stop for a vehicle with expired registration. During the stop, the trooper learned that the passenger, Adam Santos, was a convicted felon known to be potentially armed and dangerous. In the course of removing the driver and Santos from the car, the trooper found that Santos had a gun. An indictment followed for unlawful possession of a gun by a felon. Santos moved to suppress the gun as evidence obtained in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. The district court denied the motion, and we affirm.

NALBANDIAN, Circuit Judge. TwinSpires, an Oregon-based electronic wagering platform and a business unit of Churchill Downs Inc., accepts interstate wagers on horseraces. This is legal under the Interstate Horseracing Act (IHA) if TwinSpires obtains consent from state regulators and the racetrack’s racing association. But which state regulators? TwinSpires says only Oregon and the racetrack’s home state. Michigan says it too can regulate wagers that are made in Michigan but accepted on the TwinSpires application. So when TwinSpires fell out of compliance with Michigan’s regulations, Michigan revoked TwinSpires’ license under the Michigan Horse Racing Law (MHRL). TwinSpires sued, arguing that Michigan’s enforcement of the MHRL is inconsistent with the IHA. The district court agreed and issued a preliminary injunction. And we agree with the district court. TwinSpires is likely to show that the IHA preempts Michigan’s licensing requirement, and the other preliminary injunction factors favor TwinSpires. So we affirm.

CLAY, Circuit Judge. Plaintiff Jacob Blankenship appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment to Defendants Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky Metro Government and Elliott Young. At summary judgment, the district court dismissed Plaintiff’s free speech, free exercise, and due process claims against both Defendants. The district court also dismissed Plaintiff’s Monell municipal liability claim against Defendant Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky Metro Government and granted qualified immunity to Defendant Elliott Young. For the reasons set forth below, we AFFIRM the district court’s judgment.