The Tennessee Supreme Court on Monday reset execution dates for four men on death row after a five year pause in the procedure. The Tennessean reports that the court set the following dates: Oscar Franklin Smith, execution date May 22: Byron Lewis Black, execution date Aug. 5; Donald Ray Middlebrooks, execution date Sept. 24; and Harold Wayne Nichols, execution date Dec. 11. Gov. Bill Lee temporarily halted executions after a 2022 investigation found that the state had failed to follow the execution protocol it set in 2018. Gary Wayne Sutton, the fifth person who was scheduled to die before Lee's 2022 announcement, did not have his execution date set by the court. The state created new lethal injection protocol in December 2024 that would use a single drug, pentobarbital, replacing the three-drug cocktail previously used. In January, the U.S. Department of Justice rescinded its protocol that allowed single-drug lethal injections for federal executions.

The Belmont University College of Law Journal will host a Health Law Symposium on March 21 entitled "Healthcare in a Changing Landscape: Navigating the Ever-Evolving Health Law Climate" from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. CDT. Keynote speakers include professors Scott Burris and Stacey Tovino, who will present on government responses to the opioid crisis and public and private insurers’ use of AI to deny claims. Nashville practitioner panels will discuss private equity in health care and the rise of arbitration in health care litigation. Direct questions to Executive Symposium Editor Maddie Sabourin.

Butler Snow recently announced that its Nashville office has moved to new space at The Neuhoff Building, Ste. 1400, 1320 Adams St., Nashville, TN 37208. “Nashville has a thriving business community where we have been serving clients across various industries for years and with this move, we’re furthering our commitment to Nashville and our clients for years to come,” said Christopher R. Maddux, chair of Butler Snow. The firm announced in March of last year that it would be moving out of downtown, following several other firms making a similar exit.

The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) appeared before the state Senate Judiciary Committee for its regular budget review. Director Michelle Long presented the AOC’s budget request, including funding for a new Office of Indigent Conflicts and Civil Counsel, which would assume responsibility for managing the state’s indigent representation system. At press time, the group was still answering lawmakers’ questions about the proposed plan. Watch for a full report from the committee proceeding in tomorrow’s issue of TBA Today. To learn more about the state’s current crisis in providing legal representation to indigent individuals, and how the AOC’s plan seeks to address the situation, review the TBA’s indigent representation primer posts and past coverage of the AOC’s plan.

Eight Tennessee attorneys were admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court during the 39th annual TBA Academy on Tuesday. TBA President Ed Lanquist Jr. moved for admission of the members during a regular court session in Washington, D.C. The group heard oral arguments in a case brought by the government of Mexico against gun manufacturers Smith & Wesson and Colt accusing them of aiding illegal firearms trafficking to drug cartels and fueling gun violence in that country. Reuters has more on that case. Attorneys admitted before the high court were Nashville attorneys Mary Cheadle, Lauren Colaric, Chicoya Smith Gallman and Trevor Howell; Humboldt attorney Tim Fowler; Jacksboro attorney Leif Jeffers; Mt. Juliet attorney Angela Williams; and Johnson City attorney Deborah Yeomans-Barton. The visit to Washington, D.C., included a welcome reception, tour of the U.S. Capitol, the swearing in ceremony and a celebratory lunch. See photos from the event.

MATHIS, Circuit Judge. Shenisa Mohammed seeks review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) ordering her removal from the United States for having been convicted of an aggravated felony under the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”). Mohammed raises one issue: Is her Virginia arson conviction an “aggravated felony” under the INA, making her deportable under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii)? Because we answer in the affirmative, we deny her petition for review. For these reasons, we DENY the petition for review.

Petitioner, Antwain Tapaige Sales, appeals from the Hardeman County Circuit Court’s order summarily dismissing his third state petition for writ of habeas corpus. On appeal, Petitioner asserts that his sentence is void and that he is entitled to habeas corpus relief. After review, we affirm the judgment of the habeas corpus court.

Defendant, Clarence M. Porter, was convicted by a Loudon County jury of two counts of felony murder, one count of theft of property under $1,000, and one count of especially aggravated robbery. He was also charged with possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, but following a bifurcated trial, that charge was dismissed by the trial court. The trial court imposed an effective life sentence for the felony murder, theft, and especially aggravated robbery convictions. Defendant argues that the trial court erred in admitting a hearsay statement by a co-defendant because the State failed to prove that Defendant was involved in a conspiracy with co-defendants; that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions because there was no independent proof to corroborate accomplice testimony and the State failed to prove that he was criminally responsible for the actions of his co-defendants or that he independently possessed any criminal intent to commit the charged offenses; that the trial court erred in allowing the State’s lead investigator to reference the Chattanooga Police Department’s “street gangs unit;” and that the State committed prosecutorial misconduct during closing argument. Following our review of the entire record and the oral arguments and briefs of the parties, we determine that the trial court erred in admitting hearsay evidence. Further, following State v. Thomas, 687 S.W.3d 223, (Tenn. 2024), because the accomplice testimony was not sufficiently corroborated, we find that the evidence is insufficient to sustain Defendant’s convictions. Accordingly, we reverse the judgments of the trial court and dismiss the charges against Defendant.

Shelby County Chancellor Melanie Taylor Jefferson on Friday dismissed all but one claim — the question of who owns the land — in a lawsuit against the new Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. The museum was sued by Friends for Our Riverfront, alleging that the project violates an easement established in the early 19th century. A temporary restraining order to stop construction was issued in September 2023 with a $1 million bond. The group never posted the bond. Jefferson denied a temporary injunction against the museum in June 2024, citing the unpaid bond as the primary reason to allow construction to resume, the. Commercial Appeal reports.

Vanderbilt University Law School has received a $6.8 million gift from the Anbridge Charitable Fund to endow the creation of The Gail Anderson Cañizares Innocence Clinic, which will support the exoneration of wrongfully convicted individuals in Tennessee while providing students with hands-on case experience. The clinic, which will function as a course available to 2L and 3L students, will launch in the 2026 spring semester, and will coordinate with the Tennessee Innocence Project to source cases. Read more in a press release from the law school.