The next free advice clinic for Black-owned small businesses and nonprofits is set for Nashville. This month's event will take place on June 18 instead of the usual date in honor of Juneteenth. The clinic, sponsored by the Arts & Business Council's Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts and Bradley, provides assistance with business formation and corporate governance, review of contracts and guidance in navigating local ordinances and state regulations. Register by June 16 to participate. Attorneys should email vlpa@abcnashville.org to volunteer.

SUTTON, Chief Judge. A group of parents claim that their local public school denied their children access to essential special-education services. They sued the school district, unsurprisingly. More surprisingly, they sued the State, based on its alleged failure to supervise the school district and to provide more funding for it. The district court denied the State’s motion to dismiss, holding that the relevant statute, the Americans with Disabilities Act, abrogated its sovereign immunity under the Fourteenth Amendment. This interlocutory appeal followed. We reverse.

The Petitioner, David Sands, appeals the habeas corpus court’s summary dismissal of his second petition for writ of habeas corpus for failure to state a cognizable claim for relief. Specifically, the Petitioner alleges that his sentence has expired due to “missing” pretrial jail credit and improper calculation of behavioral and work credits. After review, we affirm.

The Defendant, Jacorey Tyvon Forte, was found guilty by a Hamilton County jury of aggravated robbery, and he received a sentence of eleven years in prison. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to establish his identity as one of the perpetrators of this offense. Following our review, we affirm the Defendant’s conviction.

North Carolina lawyer Brian Keith Leonard was reinstated to the practice of law in Tennessee on May 20. He had been placed on inactive status more than five years ago, on Feb. 11, 2019. The Board of Professional Responsibility reported that it found the petition for reinstatement to be satisfactory.

Former Davidson County Chancellor Carol L. McCoy has joined Miles Mediation & Arbitration in Nashville. McCoy spent 20 years as a chancery court judge with the 20th Judicial District. Her judicial career also included an appointment by the Tennessee Supreme Court to the Appellate Court Judicial Evaluation Committee, where she was one of five trial judges tasked with evaluating the performance of all Tennessee appellate judges, including the Supreme Court justices. She also served as president of the Judicial Conference from 2009-2010 and as presiding judge of the 20th Judicial District from 1999-2001. McCoy stepped down from the bench in 2016. She can be reached at 615-476-4030 and cmccoy@milesadr.com.

Tennessee Attorney General (AG) Jonathan Skrmetti is leading a bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general in urging the U.S. Congress to take immediate action to address funding shortfalls that threaten the World Trade Center Health Program. In a letter to congressional leadership, the group calls on lawmakers to ensure the long-term financial stability of the program. The health program funds care for 135,000 first responders, survivors and families impacted by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Read more about the effort or read the letter to leaders.

The Tennessee Supreme Court transferred the law license of Georgia lawyer James Darren McWilliams to disability inactive status on May 21. McWilliams may not practice law while on inactive status but may petition the court to return to the practice of law by showing the disability has been removed.

U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel ruled this week that the Trump administration erred when it paused the distribution of millions of dollars in grants — including $14 million awarded to Metro Nashville for transit projects — and must distribute the funds immediately. Gergel gave the administration seven days to comply. Nashville had joined with a group of five major cities and nearly a dozen nonprofits to sue over the cuts in March. The funding will be used to upgrade and expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure and help fund a transit connection project, including protected bike lanes and pedestrian improvements. The Tennessean has more on the decision.

The National Weather Service (NWS) has confirmed that three tornadoes touched down during Tuesday’s severe weather event across the mid-state. According to WKRN, the first tornado hit in northern Clarksville while a second one touched down in southern Clarksville and a third touched down in southern Cumberland County. NWS says the reports are preliminary and may change based on a final review. Teams from the service are continuing to conduct damage assessments in Bedford, Coffee, Lewis, Marshall, Rutherford, Stewart and Warren counties as well as other parts of southwest Middle Tennessee.