Gov. Bill Lee on Friday signed a $1.9 billion franchise tax cut into law, the Tennessee Journal reports. The law provides businesses with state operations $1.55 billion in refunds for the past three tax years if they paid the property tax element of the two-component tax. It also eliminates the property tax portion going forward at a projected cost of $405 million per year.

McKEAGUE, Circuit Judge. Was Diamond Transportation Logistics contractually required to cover Kroger’s costs in settling a claim for negligent selection, hiring, and retention? The district court said yes. We agree and affirm.

Davidson County General Sessions Judge Jim Todd details the challenges of the current bail system and offers ideas for reform in a recent interview with the Nashville Banner. Among the issues, he cites lack of access to criminal records outside of the county and inadequate supervision and enforcement of bond conditions. To improve the system, Todd — who has worked as both a prosecutor and defense attorney — is working on an agreement with the county sheriff to check criminal histories in the National Crime Information Center database. He and other judges also plan to ask the local government to fund new positions to handle that task. Additionally, Todd argues that Metro should adopt a bond supervision system similar to the federal courts. He and Criminal Court Judge Cynthia Chappell are working on a pilot program along those lines to increase supervision of those released on bail.

THAPAR, Circuit Judge. Storing tens of thousands of dollars in a shoebox is seldom a good idea. Dealing drugs illegally never is. Brian Dewayne Darden-Mosby did both, earning himself two federal convictions. What’s more, the government seized over a quarter million dollars from him. Mosby now wants his money back, but most of his arguments don’t cash out. We affirm in part and reverse in part.

The Defendant, Kelby Lerha Taylor, appeals his convictions for nine counts of incest, eight counts of rape, three counts of sexual battery by an authority figure, two counts of aggravated assault, and one count of aggravated rape. Specifically, the Defendant argues that his substantive due process and fair trial rights were violated when the State, after its case-in-chief, dismissed a count charging continuous sexual abuse of a child under the Child Protection Act (“CPA”). This dismissal occurred after the Defendant had previously withdrawn a motion to sever the offenses based upon his understanding that the presence of the CPA charge necessitated joinder of at least some of the offenses. The Defendant additionally challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his convictions. After review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

For the week of May 6, 2024 - May 10, 2024

The administration of President Joe Biden has asked a federal judge to terminate key aspects of a 1997 settlement agreement that established minimum standards for housing unaccompanied migrant children in detention facilities. Reuters reports that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is arguing it should be released from the settlement now that it has adopted regulations. The Flores settlement, named for a 1985 class action lawsuit, generally places a 20-day limit on detaining children who enter the country without documentation and requires facilities that house them to be licensed by state authorities.

President Joe Biden last week signed into law a bill sponsored by U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, Republican of Tennessee, that is designed to expand reporting about the sexual exploitation of children online. Under the bill, website and social media companies must report incidents of sex trafficking, grooming or enticement of children for sexual acts to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Companies previously were required to report only on child sexual abuse. The new law also toughens penalties for companies that fail to report crimes, and requires evidence to be preserved for one year, instead of the current 90 days, giving law enforcement more time to investigate and prosecute crimes. The Tennessean has more.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch will be out with a book this summer. ”Over Ruled: The Human Toll of Too Much Law” will be released Aug. 6 according to Harper Collins. The book is written by Gorsuch and one of his former clerks, Janie Nitze. According to the publisher, Gorsuch and Nitze will review a variety of legal cases, from fishermen in Florida to an Internet entrepreneur in Massachusetts, and how Americans find themselves “trapped unexpectedly in a legal maze.” The Associated Press has more on the book.

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee last week approved the nomination of U.S. Attorney Kevin Ritz of the Western District of Tennessee to serve on the Cincinnati-based 6th Circuit. The committee voted 11-10 along party lines, Reuters reports. Tennessee’s senior Republican senator, Marsha Blackburn, who serves on the committee, accused the White House of rushing the nomination through without meaningfully consulting her. She and other Republicans also had questioned Ritz during his confirmation hearing about an ethics complaint they said was filed against him. Ritz denied doing anything wrong and said he was unaware that a complaint had been filed.