The TBA will host its 29th Annual Labor and Employment Law Forum on May 2 at the Bradley L. Barrett Training Center in Nashville from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CDT. The forum will provide insights into current labor and employment law topics. More information about topics and speakers now is available on the TBA website.

A recent ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Jon McCalla has raised concerns about the future of the Kendrick Consent Decree, a federal order that has long prevented the Memphis Police Department (MPD) from spying on citizens, the Commercial Appeal reports. McCalla's decision modifies the decree by replacing a private attorney who monitors police activities with two lawyers employed by the city of Memphis and assigned to the Memphis Police Department. Memphis lawyer Ed Stanton has been serving in the role since 2018. The ACLU of Tennessee, city outside counsel Bruce McMullen and Stanton support the change, saying the independent monitor role was not intended to be permanent. Others — including attorney Bruce Kramer, who first sued the city in 1976 over MPD’s illegal surveillance — argue that the shift risks undermining protections against civil rights violations. The Kendrick Consent Decree, established in 1978 after the MPD was found to have spied on political activists, has been crucial in safeguarding First Amendment rights, supporters say.

Aprio, a U.S.-based business advisory and accounting firm, and Radix Law, a full-service business law firm in Arizona, announced last week they have entered into an exclusive letter of intent to merge into Aprio Legal LLC, a full-service Alternative Business Service (ABS) law firm. The new firm will provide a holistic approach to serving entrepreneurs and business leaders, according to an Aprio press release. Both Aprio Legal and Radix Law are licensed by Arizona's ABS program, with Aprio receiving approval in May 2024 and Radix Law in 2021. The merger is expected to be finalized in late spring. Last month, KPMG — another accounting firm seeking to enter the legal services market — had its application put on hold after the state’s Supreme Court requested additional information.

Springfield attorney Larry Wayne Simmons died Friday following a 46-year legal career. Simmons served as a corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps before earning his law degree at the Nashville School of Law. He began his career as an attorney in 1970 and later served as the Adams city attorney and as a city judge in Springfield. Funeral services will be held on Feb. 18. Visitation will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. CST in the chapel of Austin & Bell Funeral Home, 509 N. Walnut St., Springfield, TN 37172. The service will take place at 2 p.m. Burial will follow at Hillcrest Cemetery, 3141 US-31W., White House, TN 37188. Memorial donations may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105, or to Churches of Christ Disaster Relief Effort, P.O. Box 111180, Nashville, TN 37222-1180.

The city of Johnson City agreed last week to pay $28 million to settle a lawsuit filed by multiple anonymous women who accused the city police department of failing to investigate a man who allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted dozens of women between 2018 and 2021. The department has denied allegations of corruption or bribery in the handling of the cases, according to WPLN News. The accused assailant, Sean Williams, is currently in jail on charges of producing child sexual abuse images and escaping police custody, though he has not yet been charged in connection with the women's allegations. The lawsuit is one of three accusing the police department of mishandling evidence that Williams was drugging and assaulting women for years. The city said it has since improved department practices, including adopting a new sexual assault investigation protocol and creating a "comfortable space" for victim interviews.

Those interested in an appointed position on the TBA Young Lawyers Division's 2025-2026 Board should review available positions and complete the online application by Feb. 28. Get details on positions and a link to the application on the YLD's webpage.

Those interested in an appointed position on the TBA Young Lawyers Division's 2025-2026 board should review available positions and complete the online application by Feb. 28. Get details on positions and a link to the application on the YLD's webpage.

THAPAR, Circuit Judge. When police officers saw George Short driving twenty-five miles per hour over the speed limit and without a car hood, they tried to initiate a traffic stop. But Short refused to obey their orders and led the officers on a high-speed chase. When the officers caught and arrested Short, they found a rifle in his car. Short wasn’t allowed to have the rifle since he had several prior felonies, so he pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Given Short’s prior violent felonies, he was sentenced as an armed career criminal. But Short argues that the factual basis in support of his plea agreement was insufficient. It wasn’t, so we affirm.

MURPHY, Circuit Judge. This case requires us to consider whether the district court lawfully used a standard form order with only a few sentences of analysis to deny Armani Davis- Malone’s request for a sentence reduction. The court originally imposed a 60-month sentence that fell ten months below Davis-Malone’s guidelines range. The Sentencing Commission then amended the guidelines in a way that would have reduced his range to 57 to 71 months if the change had applied at his sentencing. Because the Commission made this change retroactive, Davis-Malone sought a reduced sentence under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2). But the district court denied relief because its 60-month sentence remained near the bottom of his amended range. Davis-Malone now argues that the district court legally erred because he interprets its form order as finding him ineligible for a sentence reduction. And even if it did not commit this error, Davis-Malone adds, the court abused its discretion by failing to explain its denial in more detail. Yet we read the court’s order to have found Davis-Malone eligible and to have denied him relief as a matter of its discretion. And we conclude the court did not abuse its discretion by relying on a form order given this case’s simple facts and the record showing that the court considered the parties’ evidence and arguments. We thus affirm.

Defendant, Darrell Scott Wallis, was indicted by a Maury County Grand Jury on three counts of automobile burglary. Pursuant to a plea agreement, he pled guilty to one count of automobile burglary to receive a Range II sentence at thirty-five percent with the trial court to determine the length of sentence and manner of service. The trial court sentenced Defendant to serve three years and six months, suspended to probation after service of twelve months of incarceration. Defendant appeals, arguing that the trial court abused its discretion by ordering the split confinement sentence. Following our review of the record, the briefs of the parties, and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.