Fatal drug overdoses are declining in Tennessee and nationwide after years of rising deaths, offering a potential turning point in the opioid crisis. According to the Axios, Tennessee’s overdose death rate fell 6.6% from 56 per 100,000 people in 2022 to 52.3 per 100,000 in 2023, while the national rate dropped 4%. Tennessee has invested tens of millions of dollars from opioid lawsuit settlements into overdose prevention efforts, including expanding access to naloxone, a medication that can reverse  overdoses. Since 2017, overdose prevention specialists have distributed more than 678,000 units of naloxone, documenting over 82,000 lives saved, according to the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. Despite the decline, the state’s overdose death rate remains significantly higher than the national average, with more than 3,800 reported deaths in 2023.

Last week, Dumaka Shabazz was sworn in as the first African American federal public defender for the Middle District of Tennessee at the Fred D. Thompson Federal Building & Courthouse in Nashville, WKRN reports. A seasoned attorney and advocate for marginalized communities, Shabazz has served as an assistant public defender in Nashville since 2010, representing clients in complex cases involving fraud, homicide and large-scale narcotics offenses. Before joining the Federal Public Defender’s Office, Shabazz worked in private practice. He began his legal career as a prosecutor in the Davidson County District Attorney’s Office. He also has taught trial advocacy at Vanderbilt Law School and trained newly hired federal public defenders at the New Defender College in New Mexico. The Office of the Federal Public Defender was established in 1978 under the Criminal Justice Act. It provides legal representation to individuals who cannot afford private counsel, ensuring their Sixth Amendment right to a legal defense.

The City of Memphis has appointed a nine-member team to monitor the Memphis Police Department (MPD), including former law enforcement officials, religious leaders, health experts, professors, and a community organizer. Led by former federal Judge Bernice Donald, the team was formed after the city refused to enter a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice regarding civil rights violations by MPD, the Commercial Appeal reports. Additionally, the city has again moved to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Tyre Nichols’ family, arguing that the officers involved acted independently of any official policy and that the allegations are insufficient to establish liability against the city.

The Tennessee Supreme Court issued an opinion today rejecting a First Amendment challenge to the state’s personalized license plate program. Tennessee license plates typically feature a randomly generated alphanumeric combination, but drivers can request personalized plates for an additional fee. Leah Gilliam had displayed a personalized plate reading “69PWNDU” for over a decade before the state revoked it, deeming the message to be offensive. Gilliam sued, arguing that the program unlawfully discriminates based on viewpoint in violation of the First Amendment. The court ruled that personalized plate messages constitute government speech rather than private speech and therefore are not protected under the First Amendment. The decision relied on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling in Walker v. Texas, which found that specialty license plates represent government speech. Read more in a press release from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

A significant aspect of the indigent representation proposal from the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), on behalf of the Tennessee Supreme Court, is the establishment of an “Indigent Representation Commission.” This commission would provide oversight and management for the indigent representation system, including the proposed "Office of Indigent Conflicts and Civil Counsel." The commission would be governed by Tennessee Supreme Court Rule, like existing supreme court boards and commissions, and would manage indigent representation tasks presently handled largely with the courts. The commission also would work closely with other stakeholders to review and implement policies to improve the system. Learn more about the plan and indigent representation in Tennessee. Watch for more details about the plan in upcoming issues of TBA Today.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has directed Carlos Eugene Moore to respond within 30 days why discipline imposed in the state of Mississippi should not also be imposed in Tennessee. The Supreme Court of Mississippi imposed a one-year suspension on Moore on Dec. 31, 2024. The Tennessee court noted in its order that if Moore does not respond, it will impose discipline "with identical terms and conditions" than what was imposed in Mississippi.

President Donald Trump has appointed Alice Marie Johnson, a Memphis woman previously pardoned by Trump, to work on clemency issues, The Daily Memphian reports. Johnson is being referred to as the administration’s new “pardon czar,” though her exact duties have not been specified. She was convicted in 1996 of a first-time, nonviolent drug offense and sentenced to life in prison without parole. In 2018, reality television star Kim Kardashian advocated for her release, and Trump granted her executive clemency. Initially placed on a five-year probation, Johnson received a full pardon in 2020.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge to a Tennessee law restricting some drag performances, allowing the first-in-the-nation law to remain largely intact, The Hill reports. In a brief, unsigned order, the justices denied Friends of George’s request to intervene after a three judge panel of the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the law to take effect, overturning a district court judge in Memphis, who had blocked the law. The full court of appeals declined to hear the case, leading the group to appeal to the Supreme Court. The law targets “adult-oriented performances” that take place in public or where they may be seen by minors. The paper reports that the theater group did not respond to a request for comment.

Former Tennessee state senator Brian Kelsey has reported to federal prison after exhausting all appeals in his case, the Daily Memphian reports. He will be housed at a minimum-security satellite camp at FCI Ashland in Kentucky. Kelsey pleaded guilty in 2022 to an illegal campaign finance scheme but then tried unsuccessfully to change his plea. He had argued that his guilty plea was entered into with an “unsure heart and a confused mind” due to events in his personal life. He later argued that he had ineffective legal counsel, and that his claim of innocence was supported by two key witnesses. U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw in Nashville denied the final appeal a few days ago.

The Defendant, Eric Joseph Mathis, was sentenced to a sum of twenty years of supervised probation. After multiple probation violations, the trial court revoked the entirety of the Defendant’s probation and ordered him to serve the sentences in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the Defendant argues that the trial court abused its discretion in ordering the revocation of his probation because (1) he had treatable substance abuse issues and financial needs that would be better addressed outside of prison and (2) the trial court based its orders on the Defendant’s failure to pay restitution without conducting an ability-to-pay hearing. For the following reasons, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.