Police cannot be sued for failing to read criminal defendants their Miranda warnings, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week, Bloomberg Law reports. In a 6-3 decision that broke along ideological lines, the court said its landmark ruling in Miranda v. Arizona does not provide a basis for criminal defendants to bring civil rights suits against police for not providing warnings against self-incrimination. Writing for the court, Justice Samuel Alito said Miranda warnings are meant to prevent improper police questioning and the use of statements obtained during such interrogations. A violation of the rules doesn’t itself run afoul of the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. “Those rules, to be sure, are ‘constitutionally based,’ but they are prophylactic rules nonetheless,” Alito said. Writing in dissent, Justice Elena Kagan said the court’s ruling “prevents individuals from obtaining any redress when police violate their rights under Miranda.”

Memphis Law student Wai-Lin Danieley recently won first place in the American Bar Association’s 2021-22 Mendes Hershman Writing Contest. She will have her piece published in an upcoming issue of the ABA's The Business Lawyer, the school reports.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 today in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization that no constitutional right to abortion exists and that previous court rulings in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey were decided in error. The ruling returns the issue of abortion access to the states, where it was decided before the Roe case in 1973. The ruling came in a case challenging a Mississippi law outlawing abortions after 15 weeks. Under Roe, abortions were protected until the “point of fetal viability” or around 24 weeks. In a separate opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts supported the Mississippi law but said he would have preferred a more incremental approach that would not have required overturning Roe outright. In another separate opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas urged the court to use the same logic it used in the Dobbs case to overturn precedents on contraceptives and LGBTQ rights. The court’s three dissenting justices wrote in their opinion that the majority decision means that “from the very moment of fertilization, a woman has no rights to speak of.” The Hill has more on each of these stories.

Under a trigger law previously enacted by the Tennessee legislature, abortions in the state will be banned “within weeks,” Axios Nashville reports. Under the law, performing or attempting to perform an abortion will become a Class C felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Exceptions would be allowed if the pregnancy puts the mother's life in jeopardy or if there is a "serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function." Mental health threats, including the threat of self-harm, would not qualify, and there are no exceptions for rape or incest. Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III held a press conference this afternoon to announce he will notify the Tennessee Code Commission in writing that Roe and Casey have been overruled, and has asked the full 6th Circuit Court of Appeals to stay the district court’s injunction of the state’s heartbeat abortion law, so that law can go into effect as soon as possible. Read his full statement.

U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals nominee Rachel Bloomekatz, an Ohio public interest lawyer, appeared before the U.S. Senate Judiciary committee this week. She has been nominated to replace retiring Judge R. Guy Cole Jr. on the court, which hears federal appeals from several states, including Tennessee. Some Republicans questioned her past advocacy on behalf of a gun safety group and her views on youth offenders, Reuters reports. Bloomekatz told the members she would follow the U.S. Supreme Court's precedents supporting gun rights and defended her representation of criminal defendants. Bloomekatz has earned support from a number of conservatives, including members of the Federalist Society in Ohio and former Republican Supreme Court clerks who worked with her when she clerked for Justice Stephen Breyer. Cleveland.com has more on the hearing.

The next Veterans’ Legal Advice Clinic — a joint project of Knoxville area legal organizations — will take place July 13 from noon to 2 p.m. EDT at the Knoxville Community Law Office, 1101 Liberty St. This general advice and referral clinic is supported by the Knoxville Bar Association Barristers and Young Lawyers Division, Legal Aid of East Tennessee, Knox County Public Defender’s Community Law Office, University of Tennessee  College of Law, Lincoln Memorial University-Duncan School of Law, and the local Veterans Affairs office. Sign up here to volunteer. Unvaccinated individuals are asked to wear a mask.

The Memphis Lawyers’ Chapter of the Federalist Society is hosting a virtual event on Tuesday from noon to 1 p.m. CDT with state Sen. John D. Stevens, R-Huntington, who will present a legislative update. Attorneys interested in attending can register by contacting J. Gregory Grisham, 901-333-2076 or signing up online.

More than 25 Tennessee attorneys presented educational programming during last week’s Tennessee Bar Association annual convention and several of those sessions will soon be available online for those unable to attend. The Bench/Bar program on Leadership and Professionalism in Tennessee’s Bench and Bar features three separate panels, one moderated by Shelby County Judge Gina Higgins, one by Nashville lawyer and TBA Vice President Ed Lanquist and one by Immediate Past TBA President Sherie Edwards. Also coming to the TBA’s online CLE platform will be the Better Right Now sessions, one featuring Oscar Carr of the Experiential Healing Center and panels moderated by Lisa Cole and Michael Holder from Lewis Thomason. Read bios of all of the speakers or see photos from the events.

Tennessee House Republican leadership yesterday asked Gov. Bill Lee to block the Department of Health from "distributing, promoting or recommending" the COVID-19 vaccine for children under 5, the Tennessean reports. Rep. Jason Zachary, R-Knoxville, authored the letter to Lee, which was co-signed by House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, and Republican Caucus Chairman Jeremy Faison, R-Cosby. In the letter, the group asks Lee to block distribution of the vaccine until "more clinical evidence is available." Zachary said parents who want the vaccine could seek it out from a private doctor but called on Lee to block local health departments from administering the shot to children under 5. Lee’s office acknowledged it had received the letter, but offered no further comment.

Gov. Bill Lee has appointed Knoxville attorney Meredith B. Weaver as judge on the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board for the Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC). Weaver is an attorney with Peterson White and has practiced in workers’ compensation and employment law for 18 years. She will replace retiring Judge David Hensely on the Appeals Board. Weaver is a TBA member, a member of the East Tennessee Legal Association of Women and has served on the board of CASA of East Tennessee. She will be sworn in tomorrow. Read more from the BWC. 

The U.S. Supreme Court today struck down New York’s requirement that “proper cause” must be shown to obtain a concealed-carry gun license, ABA Journal reports. The 6-3 decision ruled that New York’s law violated Second Amendment protections of a person’s right to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home. The New York law at issue required proper cause for concealed-carry licenses but banned the open carry of firearms entirely. In his dissent, Justice Stephen Breyer noted that the decision “severely burdens states’ efforts” to address violence with gun laws. Attorney General Herbert Slatery today commended the high court for its decision. Tennessee previously joined 25 states in an amicus brief supporting the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association.