April 28, 2025 - May 2, 2025.

Officials are moving forward with plans for a new federal courthouse in Chattanooga at the Vine Street location, despite city and Hamilton County officials favoring a different site that is not for sale. According to Chattanoogan.com, Mayors Tim Kelly and Weston Wamp said they would prefer the new courthouse be built at the vacant TVA office building site on Broad Street. TVA is currently seeking a new use for the property. The proposed project on Vine Street would replace the nearly 100-year-old Joel W. Solomon Federal Building and accommodate for 40 parking spaces, seven courtrooms and nine chambers. Construction on the new courthouse is scheduled to begin in 2027, with an opening projected for 2030.

CoreCivic has been ordered to pay nearly $28 million after an attack at one of its prisons. Inmate Nathaniel Lake was severely beaten at Crossroads Correctional Center in Montana in 2018. He sued, claiming the attack could have been prevented with more adequate staffing and training for its employees. A federal jury ruled that CoreCivic failed to protect Lake from harm and awarded him a $27.75 million verdict. Brentwood-based CoreCivic said it disagrees with the decision, according to The Tennessean. "We respectfully disagree with this decision, don't believe it reflects the facts of the case, and will appeal it on several legal grounds," CoreCivic spokesperson Ryan Gustin said in a statement. The company has 30 days to file an appeal.

Several drivers in South Nashville were taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Saturday night. ICE, working with the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP), made around 150 traffic stops, detained an unknown number of people, and transported some to out-of-state immigration centers, according to the Nashville Banner. Between 40 and 100 individuals — some drivers and some passengers — were brought to an ICE field office off Brick Church Pike. THP said the operation targeted “areas with a history of serious traffic crashes and suspected gang activity” and led to “a few” warrant-related arrests. The Nashville Mayor’s Office told WPLN News that the Metro Nashville Police Department was not involved in the enforcement action.

A Knoxville man sentenced to life in prison at age 16 is asking a criminal court judge for early release, arguing he was sentenced under a now-overturned law. In 2022, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that mandatory life sentences for minors constitute “cruel and unusual punishment” and violate the 8th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Almeer Nance, now 46, was tried and sentenced as an adult for a 1996 homicide though he did not pull the trigger. His attorneys are asking the judge to consolidate his sentences into a single term, which would make him eligible for parole. They also contend that Nance’s positive record while incarcerated and the evolving legal standards should weigh in his favor. Assistant Knox County District Attorney TaKisha Fitzgerald opposes the effort, arguing that Nance should continue serving his sentence. Nance will have to wait until July for Sanchez’s decision, Knox News reports. The judge said he needs more time to review the arguments before issuing a decision.

Music industry attorney Joel A. Katz, a key figure in entertainment law, died April 18 at age 80. Katz was the founding chair of the media practice at Greenberg Traurig and played a pivotal role in shaping the careers of countless artists, producers and executives, according to MusicRow magazine. Over his career, he represented a wide-ranging roster of legendary clients. In 2021, he stepped down from Greenberg Traurig and joined Barnes & Thornburg. Katz earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee, which named its law library in his honor. Services were held last month in Georgia. Donations in his honor may be made to the Mayo Clinic.

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, Republican of Brentwood, has introduced two bills in Congress aimed at combating crime, The Commercial Appeal reports. The "Advancing Frequent and Tailored Education to Rebuild Safe Communities and Help Orchestrate Opportunities and Learning Act," known as the AFTER SCHOOL Act, would authorize $15 million each year for four years to fund a grant for after-school programs in areas with high juvenile crime. The grants would go to after-school programs "proven to reduce juvenile crime and recidivism" in areas that have a "juvenile offense rate exceeding 10% of total violent offenses," according to the senator. The second bill, the Federal Carjacking Enforcement Act, would remove the requirement that prosectors prove an "intent to cause harm" to bring carjacking charges, instead requiring they show only that a defendant “knowingly” took the vehicle. Blackburn says the bill is needed to "fix a broken statute" and empower federal prosecutors to "hold offenders accountable." In a press release issued on the proposed bill, Blackburn says Tennessee saw a nearly 200% increase in auto theft crime by juveniles in 2023.

A Washington, D.C, federal judge late Friday struck down President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting the law firm of Perkins Coie, Bloomberg Law reports. The decision from Judge Beryl Howell bars executive branch agencies from enforcing “any portion” of the March 6 executive order, calling it an unconstitutional violation of clients’ right to pick their own counsel and the firm’s due process protections. She also called the order “an unprecedented attack” on the “foundational principles” of the American judicial system. Perkins Coie was the first of four law firms to sue after being the subject of executive orders. In March, Howell imposed a temporary restraining order on parts of the executive order, but Friday’s ruling found the entire executive order to be null and void.

U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. in Brownsville, Texas, last week blocked the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged gang members, according to Bloomberg Law. The move applies only to detainees in the Southern District of Texas. In the opinion, Rodriguez found that the administration exceeded the scope of the act by using it to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members while the U.S. is not being invaded by a foreign force. Read the opinion. In related news, the administration last week asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow it to deport 600,000 Venezuelans. That effort seeks to lift a California-based federal judge’s ruling that the administration did not follow proper procedure in ending temporary protected status (TPS) for the group. The Hill has more on that story.

The TBA’s 20th Annual Bankruptcy Law Forum will take place May 16-18 in Chattanooga, offering bankruptcy practitioners a weekend retreat featuring 10 hours of CLE credit, including three hours of ethics. The event begins on Friday with sessions covering mortgage developments in bankruptcy, a case law update and a “View from the Bench” discussion. Saturday’s programming includes small group discussions led by prominent bankruptcy judges, focusing on consumer and commercial bankruptcy issues. The forum concludes Sunday with a three-hour session on ethical considerations in bankruptcy practice. Attendees also will have opportunities to network and explore Chattanooga’s scenic downtown and surrounding mountains. For more information and to register visit TBA’s website.