A majority of respondents to a Vanderbilt University poll expressed dissatisfaction with how democracy functions. According to the school, its “Unity Poll” found that 63% were either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied. When broken down by party, 68% of Republicans and 57% of Democrats expressed this view. The poll also showed that 49% believe American democracy is under attack (53% for Republicans and 35% for Democrats). The poll found similar patterns when asking whether the U.S. Constitution is under attack.

Among the more than 200 new Tennessee laws taking effect on July 1 are two that address penalties for specific crimes, reports the Tennessean. One law increases criminal penalties for bullying and cyberbullying offenses to align more closely with harassment offenses. It also requires law enforcement to make an official incident report and inform parents or guardians of minor victims. Another new law allows prosecutors to seek the death penalty in criminal cases of child rape by an adult. This law may face a court challenge, as the U.S. Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional to sentence a defendant to death for a non-homicide crime in 2008. 

Federal judges in Kansas and Missouri this week blocked much of the Biden administration’s recent effort to ease student loan repayment burdens for millions of borrowers, the Associated Press reports. The new program would have gone into effect on July 1. Kansas-based Judge Daniel Crabtree did allow one part of the program to go forward, namely a provision allowing students who borrowed $12,000 or less to have the rest of their loans forgiven if they make 10 years’ worth of payments, instead of the standard 25. Missouri-based Judge John Ross ruled that the U.S. Department of Education cannot forgive loan balances going forward, but it can lower monthly payments. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the president’s first attempt at a forgiveness plan saying the department had exceeded the authority granted by Congress.

Effective July 1, Tennessee will charge a flat fee of $20 for an electronic copy of medical records requested by anyone other than the patient for "patients involved in a claim or appeal of denial for social security disability benefits." Requests for paper records will continue to incur additional costs. This also applies to third-party copy services. This only impacts requests from medical providers, not hospitals. It is still possible to obtain hospital records at no cost with an affidavit of indigency. 

CLICK HERE to read the statute.

Since Adobe open-sourced the PDF standard in 2008, the number of PDF editors and the range of price points has exploded, to the benefit of buyers. This chart walks through a Mac user’s options regarding the major features and primary players to help select just the right product. Find this and more in the Opening a Firm section of TBA’s Law Firm in a Box.

Law school applications from minority students are up this year, Reuters reports. The number of Hispanic applicants is up 8.9% compared with the same time last year, while Black applicants are up 6.7%, and Asian applicants are up 6.1%. White applicants posted the smallest year-over-year increase at 3.1%, according to data from the Law School Admission Council. Though some legal educators feared that the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2023 decision striking down the consideration of race in college admissions would dissuade diverse would-be lawyers from applying, that does not appear to have happened. This year’s numbers continue a trend toward greater diversity in law school classes. Law schools enrolled their most diverse first-year classes on record each of the past three years.

Make plans now to attend the TBA’s 2024 Health Law Primer and Health Law Forum this fall. The primer will take place Oct. 16 in downtown Nashville followed by the forum on Oct. 17-18 in Franklin’s Cool Springs area. Designed for those new to health practice, the primer will provide a general health law overview and practical tips to identify and avoid the pitfalls of real-life situations in the heavily regulated health care industry. The two-day forum will dig deeper into topics such as private equity, antitrust laws, digital health, cyber security, legislative and state case updates and ethics. David Higginson, executive vice president of Phoenix Children's Hospital, will give this year’s keynote address. The premier program for Tennessee health care lawyers, the forum provides all necessary CLE requirements for the year — 12 general hours and three dual hours — while providing opportunities to connect with colleagues from across the state.

On June 24, Coffee County lawyer Judith-Anne Ross St. Clair was reinstated to the active practice of law with conditions. The Tennessee Supreme Court directed St. Clair to engage a practice monitor for one year, continue to comply with her current Tennessee Lawyer Assistance Program (TLAP) monitoring agreement, attend the next two Camp TLAP events, continue to engage with her therapist for one year, and complete 15 hours of continuing legal education, including at least three hours of legal ethics, as long as she remains licensed. St. Clair was suspended in July 2018 with three years to be served on active suspension and six months to be served on probation.

School psychologist Heather McClendon is running as a Democratic candidate to represent District 30 in the Tennessee House of Representatives. She is challenging incumbent Rep. Esther Helton-Haynes, R-East Ridge, who has served in the role since November 2018. McClendon says she was motivated to run after passage of a state law requiring third graders to meet certain requirements to progress to fourth grade. The Times Fress Press has more on her candidacy.

William Hance “Bill” Lassiter Jr., a long time Nashville attorney, died June 21 in Franklin after a short illness. He was 85. Originally from Huntingdon, Lassiter graduated from the Webb School in Bell Buckle, Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Law School. He started his career with the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office in 1963 and of most recently was with Belcher, Sykes Harrington, a firm he helped found. Visitation will be Wednesday from 4-6 p.m. CDT and Thursday at 3 p.m. at Otter Creek Church, 409 Franklin Rd., Brentwood 37027. Funeral services will take place on Thursday at 4 p.m. Memorial donations may be made to Wayne Reed Christian Childcare Center, 11 Lindsley Ave. B, Nashville, TN 37210.