The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has sued the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago, accusing them of impeding new immigration enforcement policies. The suit is seeking a court order to set aside sanctuary laws, arguing such measures are unconstitutional because of the federal government’s supremacy. The Hill reports that soon after taking office as the new attorney general, Pam Bondi issued a memo stating that “sanctuary” jurisdictions should not receive funds from DOJ grant programs, and the department should take actions against jurisdictions that impede immigration enforcement.

The Tennessee Supreme Court dismissed a reinstatement petition from Virginia lawyer Daniel Lynn Withers on Feb. 4. The court took the action after determining that Withers had not met outstanding obligations with the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education by the deadline of Feb. 1. On Dec. 19, 2024, the court alerted Withers to the outstanding obligations and gave him until Feb. 1 to resolve the issues.

The Tennessee Supreme Court reinstated Mississippi lawyer Franklin Alan Garrison to the practice of law on Feb. 4 after finding he satisfied outstanding obligations with the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility and the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education. The court made the reinstatement effective as of Jan. 8. Garrison filed a reinstatement petition on Dec. 26, 2024. The court gave him until March 17 to satisfy the obligations or said it would dismiss the petition.

A Madison County jury convicted Defendant, Gary Allen Jordan, Jr., of fifty-five offenses, including charges of possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell or deliver, possession of cocaine with intent to sell or deliver, possession of heroin with intent to sell or deliver, possession of fentanyl with intent to sell or deliver, possession of marijuana with intent to sell or deliver, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. The trial court imposed an effective sentence of sixty-six years’ confinement. On appeal, Defendant contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence seized during the search of his vehicle and that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions related to the possession of cocaine and marijuana and the possession of a firearm. After review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

In 2008, the Petitioner, Glenard Cortez Thorne, was convicted of two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping and sentenced to a term of twenty-one years for each conviction. In 2024, the Petitioner applied for a writ of habeas corpus, alleging that the trial court failed to consider a required statutory mitigating factor at sentencing. The habeas corpus court summarily dismissed the application, and the Petitioner appealed. Upon our review, we respectfully affirm the judgments of the habeas corpus court. 

New data from the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) reveals a record level of representation for women, people of color and LGBTQ individuals in U.S. law firms — especially for women, who now constitute 55.4% of associates. But the study also found that the percentage of women summer associates in 2024 dropped 0.7% of a point from last year — the first decline since 2013, the National Jurist reports. The authors warn this drop may indicate more sluggish growth in coming years. In addition, Black individuals experienced a second consecutive year of declining representation in the summer associate ranks. Overall, diversity in summer associate programs was up due to increased representation from Asians and multi-racial individuals. Read more about the 2024-2025 Report on Diversity in U.S. Law Firms in this news release from NALP.

Brandon Rashann Murray, Defendant, admitted to violating the terms of his community corrections sentence. Following a hearing, the trial court ordered Defendant to serve the balance of his eight-year sentence in confinement. Defendant claims that the trial court erred in imposing a sentence of incarceration because his violations were technical in nature. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

A hearing panel of the Board of Professional Responsibility found that a Sullivan County attorney violated Rules 1.6, 4.4, and 8.4 of the Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct after the attorney disclosed confidential information about a client’s case to third parties in a separate case. The hearing panel imposed a public censure as punishment. The attorney appealed, and the chancery court affirmed the hearing panel’s decision. The attorney now appeals to this Court, arguing that Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9 violates his due process rights and that his actions did not amount to violations of Rules 1.6 and 4.4. After careful review, we affirm the judgment of the chancery court with regard to Rule 1.6. However, we reverse the chancery court’s judgment upholding the hearing panel’s finding that the attorney violated Rule 4.4.

East Tennessee Lawyers’ Association for Women (ETLAW) recently announced new leaders and board members for the year. Bianca White is president and law school liaison for the group. Jennifer Franklyn is president-elect, Katie Ogle is treasurer, Christina Magrans-Tillery is secretary, Stephanie Coleman is historian, Jennifer Egelston is Membership Committee chair, Bridget Pyman is Programming Committee chair, Kendal Walker is Communications Committee chair and Adriannette Williams is Community Outreach chair. Membership Committee members are Allison Starnes-Angela, Elizabeth Carroll and Geran Minor. Programming Committee members are Caitlin Torney and Emily Cala.

The Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) honored Belmont College of Law Dean Alberto Gonzales at a  reception Saturday evening at the American Bar Association (ABA) Midyear Meeting in Phoenix. Meeting attendees from across the country gathered to celebrate Gonzales’ leadership at the law school. See pictures from the event. The TBA hosts the Tennessee Reception twice a year at the ABA Midyear Meeting in February and the Annual Meeting in August. The events provide an opportunity to raise the state's visibility among the national legal community and honor the good work being done by Tennessee attorneys.