Registration is now open for the next free advice clinic for Black-owned small businesses and nonprofits, set for Aug. 15 in Nashville. The clinic, sponsored by the Arts & Business Council's Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts and Bradley, provides assistance with business formation and corporate governance, review of contracts and guidance in navigating local ordinances and state regulations. Prospective clients should register by Aug. 12. Attorneys should email vlpa@abcnashville.org to volunteer.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has dismissed a petition for reinstatement from Shelia L. Robinson-Beasley. The Shelby County lawyer was temporarily suspended on April 4 for misappropriating funds for her personal use and posing a threat of substantial harm to the public. On May 7, Robinson-Beasley filed a petition for reinstatement/dissolution and/or amendment of temporary suspension. A three-member panel of the Board of Professional Responsibility recommended that the petition be denied. The court agreed, keeping the temporary suspension in place until final disposition of the pending disciplinary complaint.

DAVIS, Circuit Judge. Yanjun Xu, a Chinese citizen and member of China’s Ministry of State Security (an intelligence organization), was convicted of conspiracy to commit economic espionage and conspiracy to steal trade secrets from multiple aviation companies over a five-year period. Xu was also convicted of attempted economic espionage by theft or fraud and attempted theft of composite fan-blade technology from GE Aviation. Xu was sentenced to a combined 240 months’ imprisonment. On appeal, Xu seeks to have the judgment vacated and the case remanded to the district court for a new trial. He argues that the district court erred in failing to dismiss Counts 1 and 2 in the indictment as duplicitous, and that the district court abused its discretion in admitting expert testimony in violation of Federal Rule of Evidence 704(b). In the alternative, Xu seeks to have his sentence vacated, arguing that it was both procedurally and substantively unreasonable. We affirm the district court’s judgment.

CHAD A. READLER, Circuit Judge. Leon Hensley surreptitiously recorded minors using the bathroom. He pleaded guilty to 25 counts of production and attempted production of child pornography. The district court sentenced him to 293 months of confinement. On appeal, Hensley alleges two sentencing errors: (1) the district court impermissibly double counted when calculating his offense level; and (2) the district court misunderstood its discretion to depart from the Guidelines. Seeing no error on either front, we affirm.

BLOOMEKATZ, Circuit Judge. The University of Kentucky held not one, not two, not three, but four student conduct hearings after Jane Doe reported that a student raped her in her dorm room on campus. Each of the first three resulted in expulsions or long-term suspensions for the accused, but the University’s appeals board overturned each determination for procedural deficiencies. After the third reversal, Doe filed a Title IX lawsuit against the University for its actions in response to the rape. Then, in the fourth hearing—nearly two-and-a-half years after Doe first reported the rape—the hearing panel flipped and ruled against her. Doe now claims that the University mishandled her fourth hearing in retaliation for her lawsuit. The University moved for summary judgment and the district court granted the motion, concluding that Doe could not state a prima facie case of retaliation under Title IX. Because the district court’s decision rests on several legal errors and the record shows that a reasonable juror could find Doe established a prima facie case, we reverse and remand.

This appeal concerns service of process and the statute of limitations. Vicki Ann Giro (“Giro”) sued Kaleb Wilburn (“Wilburn”) in the Circuit Court for Knox County (“the Trial Court”) for injuries Giro sustained in a car accident with Wilburn. Giro failed to timely serve the summons in compliance with Tenn. R. Civ. P. 3 and failed to issue new process before the statute of limitations expired. Giro filed a motion for enlargement of time. In opposition to Giro’s motion, the Trial Court was furnished with an altered copy of Hollis ex rel. Nicole N. v. Sanchez, No. M2022-01190-COA-R3-CV, 2023 WL 5920145 (Tenn. Ct. App. Sept. 12, 2023), no appl. perm. appeal filed. The altered copy of Hollis retains the heading “MEMORANDUM OPINION” but omits Footnote 1 stating that, as a memorandum opinion, Hollis is not to be cited or relied on in any unrelated case pursuant to Tenn. Ct. App. R. 10. The Trial Court, which had been furnished on Wilburn’s behalf with the altered copy missing the explanatory footnote, relied heavily on Hollis to deny Giro’s motion for enlargement of time. We therefore vacate the judgment of the Trial Court and remand for the Trial Court to exercise its discretion on whether to grant Giro’s motion for enlargement of time without considering Hollis or any other opinion designated by this Court as a memorandum opinion.

The American Bar Association House of Delegates (ABA HOD) this week approved a resolution urging bar admission authorities to create a reporting exception for applicants who have been victims of domestic or dating violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment or stalking so that they do not have to recount any legal, law enforcement, administrative or academic proceedings. Requiring would-be lawyers to “explain their history of abuse” and track down documentation related to their case “retraumatizes” them, according to the resolution. The requirement also may dissuade victims from reporting abuse because they worry about having to disclose it on their admissions application, the group said. Reuters reports on the resolution. 

The Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association (TTLA) has bestowed the Trial Lawyer of the Year Award on attorneys Shea Callahan and Matt Hardin. For seven years, Callahan and Hardin handled a medical malpractice case in Davidson County Circuit Court. The duo was recognized for their exceptional work on the case, which resulted in a $16 million verdict for their client. Callahan earned a law degree from Vanderbilt University in 2010. Hardin is a second-generation Tennessee attorney specializing in plaintiff personal injury law, practicing throughout the state and Kentucky. Read more in a release from TTLA.

Nicholas Waldon Smotherman, 41, of Mt. Juliet was arrested for allegedly assaulting law enforcement officers and other charges stemming from his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. According to court documents, Smotherman was filmed shoving a police officer, attempting to take the officer's baton, and yelling obscenities during the riot. He is charged with felony offenses of obstruction of law enforcement and assaulting officers in addition to several misdemeanors. The case is ongoing and being investigated by the FBI's Memphis and Washington, D.C., field offices. Smotherman will make his initial appearance in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. The U.S. attorneys office for the district announced the charges in a press release.