The Tennessee Supreme Court on March 5 suspended 52 attorneys who did not pay the annual professional privilege tax as required. The attorneys include those living in Tennessee as well as 11 other states. View the order or see the list with reinstatements noted.

HELENE N. WHITE, Circuit Judge. Defendant-Appellant Kim Davis, in her capacity as the clerk of Rowan County, Kentucky, refused to issue a marriage license to Plaintiffs-Appellees David Moore and David Ermold. Plaintiffs sued Davis under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, claiming that Davis violated their constitutional right to marry. After several interlocutory appeals, the district court entered judgment for Plaintiffs on liability and a jury awarded them compensatory damages. Davis now appeals, arguing that she is entitled to qualified immunity, that she has affirmative defenses to liability under the Free Exercise Clause and the Kentucky Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and that Plaintiffs’ evidence of their emotional distress was insufficient to support the jury’s award. We AFFIRM.

THAPAR, Circuit Judge. Lamonte Brown pled guilty to two separate charges: conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He now appeals various aspects of his sentence. We affirm.

The Defendant, Royce Scott Earley, confessed to multiple acts of rape against his eight- year-old daughter, and a jury subsequently convicted him of two counts of rape of a child (counts one and three), two counts of incest (counts two and four), and one count of aggravated sexual battery (count five), for which he received an effective sentence of 104 years in confinement. On appeal, the Defendant raises three issues for our review: (1) whether the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress his confession because it was not voluntary; (2) whether the State introduced sufficient evidence to corroborate his confession for counts three through five under the modified trustworthiness standard outlined in State v. Bishop, 431 S.W.3d 22 (Tenn. 2014); and (3) whether the trial court imposed an excessive sentence.1 After review, we affirm.

This is an appeal from a final judgment entered on December 10, 2024. The appellant filed his notice of appeal with the appellate court clerk on March 3, 2025, together with a Motion to Accept Late Filing. Because the thirty-day time limit for filing a notice of appeal with the appellate court clerk is jurisdictional and cannot be waived, we deny the Motion to Accept Late Filing and dismiss the appeal.

In this compensation appeal, the employee argues the trial court erred in determining she did not give sufficient notice of her alleged gradual injury. Prior to reporting a work-related injury, the employee had suffered from pain in both knees for a period of time and had received medical treatment on her own. After reporting to her physician that she had suffered an increase in symptoms while at work, her physician referred her to a specialist. After attending several appointments with a specialist and undergoing objective testing, the specialist reviewed the results of the objective testing with the employee and recommended surgery in both knees. The employee then gave written notice of her injury to her manager. The employer initially denied the claim based on a lack of evidence of medical causation. It later raised a notice defense, contending the employee knew or should have known she had a work-related injury causing permanent physical impairment more than fifteen days before she provided written notice. After a trial, the court found the employee knew or should have known she had a work-related cumulative trauma injury more than fifteen days prior to her written notice of injury and was therefore barred from receiving compensation. The employee has appealed. Upon careful consideration of the record and arguments of counsel, we reverse the trial court’s decision and remand the case.

This appeal arises from a road-rage incident in Marion County involving the defendant, William Rimmel, III, and the victim, Bobbie Burke. While riding his motorcycle, Rimmel aggressively pursued Burke on the interstate and eventually broke the passenger window of Burke’s car by pounding on it with the slide of a loaded handgun. Rimmel never fired the handgun or pointed it in Burke’s direction, however, and Burke was unaware that the object used to break the window was a gun. A jury convicted Rimmel of attempted aggravated assault and felony reckless endangerment with a handgun. Rimmel challenges the sufficiency of the evidence for both convictions. Because we conclude that Rimmel intended to place Burke in reasonable fear of serious bodily injury by using his handgun and took a substantial step toward doing so, we affirm his conviction for attempted aggravated assault. But because the evidence does not establish that Rimmel’s handgun- related conduct placed Burke in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death, we reverse his conviction for felony reckless endangerment.

The following attorneys were suspended by the Tennessee Supreme Court on March 3, 2025, for failing to pay the state professional privilege tax pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated 67-4-1702. Pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 9, Section 26, attorneys who are deemed noncompliant for 90 days or more are summarily suspended. Those who since have complied with the rule are noted as reinstated.

Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly hopes federal officials will reconsider the decision to place a new federal courthouse near Vine Street, the Chattanoogan Times Free Press reports. The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) selected the site for the courthouse, which will include seven courtrooms, nine chambers and 40 parking spaces. Kelly said in an interview last week he believes there may be a change of heart regarding the location. According to Local News 3, the property owners of the site also oppose the decision, stating they repeatedly informed GSA that the properties were not for sale and advocated for an alternative location. Chattanooga city and Hamilton County officials had previously urged the federal government to consider the TVA downtown office complex. The GSA, citing a Final Supplemental Environmental Assessment, maintains that Vine Street is the most advantageous location and that the project will have no significant environmental impact. Design is expected to begin in spring 2025, with construction planned to start in spring 2027.

The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) on behalf of the Tennessee Supreme Court has proposed a plan to address the growing crisis in providing legal representation to indigent individuals in Tennessee. Under the current program, many attorneys cannot afford to take appointed cases due to low compensation and program constraints. Among the innovative elements of the plan is a proposal to utilize strategic and flexible contracting with attorneys. Contracts with attorneys would use a combination of retainer, flat fee and hourly or other contracts and would be tailored to fit the qualifications of the attorney, the complexity of the case type and the particular needs of the judicial district. In addition, attorneys would have options to contract to provide this representation for a percentage of their time, allowing appointed cases to be balanced with other clients. Learn more about the plan and indigent representation in Tennessee. Watch for more details about the plan in upcoming issues of TBA Today.