An Alabama couple has filed suit against the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS) and Sevierville law enforcement alleging their two children were illegally taken for nine months after they were wrongly arrested during a traffic stop, Tennessee Lookout reports. The couple was charged with DUI, public intoxication, child abuse and neglect, and aggravated child abuse and neglect. The parents denied the charges, which were later dismissed by a local prosecutor and subsequently expunged. They also claim that law enforcement did not have probable cause to pull them over. The couple are seeking $15 million in damages for violation of their constitutional rights and $10 million in damages for state law violations. This lawsuit is similar to one filed last year after a Georgia family was stopped in Coffee County and five children were taken from the parents.

The Voyeurism Victims Act unanimously passed the House 93-0 on Monday and now will go to Gov. Bill Lee's desk for his signature. Matthew Vollmer was arrested in November and charged with illegally recording sexual encounters with four women without their consent. The women banded together to push for legislation to change the statute of limitations for bringing a lawsuit to one year past the date of discovery, rather than the date of the original crime, giving victims more time to pursue justice. The bill also will allow victims of unlawful photography to petition for an order of protection. The Tennessean reports that the legislation will not apply retroactively, but the women in the case say they want to change the law to help future victims of similar crimes. The Senate passed the bill March 3 in a 32-0 vote.

The Tennessee House of Representatives on Monday passed a bill that would eliminate race-based policies like affirmative action, racial preferences and racial quotas from being used when making appointments to state boards, including specifically removing rules requiring the governor to strive to ensure at least one person on certain state boards is a member of a racial minority, reports the Nashville Post. Lead sponsor Rep. Jason Zachary, R-Knoxville, says the purpose of HB1237/SB1235 is to align the state with a 2023 Supreme Court ruling that found such race-based programs violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. Opponents of the bill expressed concern over the potential for disparities in certain appointed boards or committees, and pointed out that affirmative action policies are not meant to give members of minority groups an unfair advantage. Senate sponsor, Sen. Paul Rose, R-Covington, asked the Senate Judiciary Committee to move the bill to next week’s calendar.

The Tennessee Bar Association is now accepting nominations for its 2025 Claudia Jack Award and Justice Frank F. Drowota III Outstanding Judicial Service Award. The Claudia Jack Award honors an outstanding public defender or court-appointed private practitioner who has served the legal community and clients in an exemplary fashion. It is named after the late Claudia Jack, a public defender and long-time champion of the poor and underprivileged. The Drowota Award is given to a judge or judicial branch official of a federal, state or local court in Tennessee who has demonstrated extraordinary devotion and dedication to the improvement of the law, the legal system and the administration of justice, as exemplified by the career of former Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Frank F. Drowota III. The deadline to submit nominees for both awards, which will be presented at the TBA Annual Convention in June, is April 4.

Knoxville attorney Edward Bruce Foster Jr. died March 7 at age 88. Foster earned his undergraduate degree in business from the University of Tennessee (UT) and his law degree from the UT College of Law. Following law school, Foster received a commission as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps, serving on active duty in France from 1959-1963. In 1991, he joined Bass, Berry and Sims, opening its first Knoxville office. Foster served as president of the Knoxville Bar Association, was a member of the Tennessee State Constitutional Convention of 1977, and served as a special justice on the Tennessee Supreme Court during Gov. Lamar Alexander’s administration. A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. EDT on April 12 at Second Presbyterian Church, 2829 Kingston Pike, Knoxville 37919, with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to Second Presbyterian Church, the E. Bruce and Mary Evelyn Foster Scholarship at UT Law, Knoxville Knox County-CAC Mobile Meals, or do what Foster did best — do something kind for someone else.

General, Solo, & Small Firm Section members have access to quality TBA CLE programming that can be purchased using a section member discount. Join us for upcoming ethics courses featuring Stuart Teicher: Wedded Bliss and Attorney Ethics, Ted Lasso and Attorney Ethics: Lessons in Life, Law, and Leadership, and The Perfect Pop Song and Attorney Ethics. Brush up on your elder law knowledge at the Elder Law Basics program coming up in April. Also next month, join colleagues for a Rookie Series webcast covering Criminal and Civil Contempt, a program dedicated to supporting service members, veterans, and their families or focus on your mental health at our Yoga, Mindfulness & Meditation for Legal Professionals program. Looking for something else? Check out the TBA CLE catalog to find more courses focused on the needs of solo and small firm practitioners!

Join TBA and your colleagues as we celebrate National Ethics Awareness Month on March 27 with three back-to-back ethics webcasts led by CLE performer Stuart Teicher. Starting at 9 a.m. CDT, Teicher will host Wedded Bliss and Attorney Ethics, during which he will explain how the secrets to a decades-long marriage are actually attorney ethics lessons in disguise. At 10:15 a.m., Teicher will take on Ted Lasso and Attorney Ethics: Lessons In Life, Law, and Leadership, discussing how this feel-good show is a playbook for ethical behavior. The series will end with The Perfect Pop Song and Attorney Ethics at 11:30 a.m., during which Teicher will unpack the ways in which creating a perfect pop song is related to attorney ethics. Visit the individual event pages for more information and to register.

Thank you for your support of the Tort & Insurance Practice Section! It’s been a busy year, led by section Chair Jordan Gibson. Our section's yearly forum took place virtually in February, and featured a course focused on first party claims, a session on health care liability updates, and an ethics course dedicated to the fine art of getting what you want without being a jerk. If you missed the event, no worries; the sessions are available as a 1-Click Package. 

Thank you for being part of the Tort & Insurance Practice Section. If you have thoughts or ideas for future section initiatives, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Thank you for your support of the Disability Law Section this bar year! It’s been a busy year, led by section Chair Chris George. In October, the section held its yearly forum virtually on Zoom. The event featured a course focused on using artificial intelligence in the disability determination process, a conversation with a retired administrative law judge, and a DDS/OHO update. These sessions were led by Disability Law Section members, including Chris George and Emma Webb. If you missed the event, no worries, the sessions are available on demand in our TBA CLE catalog. You also can connect with section members at one of the roundtables that take place periodically throughout the bar year. The next one is scheduled for May 15, where we will discuss some of the highlights from the NOSSCR conference. RSVP here!

Thank you for being part of the Disability Law Section. If you have thoughts or ideas for future section initiatives, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Thank you for your support of the Litigation Section this bar year! It has been a busy year, led by Chair Mary Taylor Gallagher. We are excited to continue our Perspectives From the Bench series, and this summer we're headed to Chattanooga! The upcoming event will feature a conversation with Tennessee Supreme Court Justices Sarah Campbell and Mary Wagner, moderated by Gallagher and executive committee member Zac Greene. Following the program we will have a reception where folks can chat with the justices and network with colleagues. Also, the Litigation Section plans to join forces with the Communications Section later this spring for a CLE focused on open records and cameras in the courtroom, so stay tuned for those details.

Thank you for being part of the Litigation Section. If you have thoughts or ideas for future section initiatives, don’t hesitate to reach out.