Davidson County District Attorney General Glenn Funk's office has been named to handle the prosecution of a shooting case in Soddy Daisy after local district attorney Neal Pinkston recused himself based on the advice of the Board of Professional Responsibility. Pinkston asked the board if he had a conflict given that he has accused his political opponent Coty Wamp of obstruction of justice and witness tampering in the case. The board replied there could be a conflict. Wamp, who is legal counsel in the sheriff's office, has alleged that the wrong man was arrested in the case. Soddy Daisy Judge Marty Lasley has now signed an order appointing Funk's office as the district attorney pro temp, Chattanoogan.com reports. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation also is reportedly getting an outside district attorney involved to investigate Pinkston’s accusations against Wamp, who is challenging Pinkston in the May 3 Republican primary. The Times Free Press has more on that story.

State Rep. Brandon Ogles, R-Franklin, says he will be drafting legislation that could change the subpoena power of state agencies, Tennessee Lookout reports. The announcement comes a few days after he threatened a “deep dive” into the Registry of Election Finance’s subpoena power over recent subpoenas issued. He now says he wants to look at subpoena authority across all state boards to make sure they are “transparent.” More specifically, Ogles said this week that he would like to see requirements for a judge’s signature on subpoenas in addition to invitations to appear before panels voluntarily before subpoenas are issued. Bureau of Ethics and Campaign Finance Executive Director Bill Young confirmed this week the Registry has the power to subpoena witnesses, conduct audits, hold hearings and take other actions, based on state law.

This week’s episode of Legislative Updates with TBA Director of Public Policy & Government Affairs Berkley Schwarz and Adams and Reese attorney and TBA lobbyist Brad Lampley features a preview of Gov. Bill Lee’s State of the State address, a discussion on budget and another update on where several TBA-sponsored bills currently stand. Do you have a personal story about a financial hardship preventing you from comfortably paying the Professional Privilege Tax? Send our public policy team an email. Legislative Updates airs every Thursday on the TBA’s Facebook page. It is also released as a podcast on the same day and can be found on the TBA’s website or wherever you listen to podcasts.  

A Grammy-award-winning music producer sued the city of Nashville in 2017 after he was ordered to stop seeing clients in his home, a case that this week was heard by the Tennessee Supreme Court, according to NewsChannel 5. The city had said Lij Shaw was violating a zoning ordinance by serving clients from his home business. Before the original case was resolved, however, in 2020 because of the pandemic, Metro Council approved a bill that would temporarily allow up to six clients at home businesses like Shaw’s. That law will expire in 2023, so Shaw continued with the suit.

Plans for a 14-acre juvenile justice campus in Nashville are underway, WKRN reports. Juvenile Court Judge Sheila Calloway says the new facilities, named the “Nashville Youth Campus for Empowerment,” will build on the restorative justice practices they’ve been using over the years. The campus will house the county’s Juvenile Court, a pre-trial housing facility and resources and agencies that can get services to families in need. It will include a 24-hour assessment center officials hope will support youth in crisis, a safe exchange facility for custodial visitation, and meeting areas for community partners. Calloway says she hopes to spend less money on the “detention side” of things and more on the “prevention side, to make sure that we’re providing great services to have our service providers right there on the campus with us.” The project is estimated to take about three and a half years to complete, costing  $130 million, but Calloway and others are working with architects to eliminate some aspects and lower that amount. 

Law firm Lewis Thomason has established a new diversity scholarship at the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law. The Lewis Thomason Diversity Scholarship will be awarded to a student who meets at least one of the following criteria: a first-generation college graduate, a graduate of a historically minority undergraduate institution, a socio-economically disadvantaged student, or a member of a historically under-represented group. Lisa Ramsay Cole, managing shareholder of the firm, says the scholarship will also “support a mentorship program, providing recipients a mutually beneficial relationship and develop well-prepared young attorneys.” This is the second such scholarship Lewis Thomason has offered in recent years. Read the full press release.

Jury selection began Tuesday for the trial of Travis Reinking, who is accused of fatally shooting four people inside a Nashville Waffle House in 2018, the Associated Press reports. Reinking opened fire inside the restaurant with an AR-15 before being tackled to the ground by restaurant patron James Shaw Jr. Reinking then fled on foot, prompting a two-day manhunt. District Attorney Glenn Funk’s office said prosecutors would seek a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole against Reinking, who has pleaded not guilty. Reinking was ordered to receive treatment for schizophrenia after his arrest, but mental health experts concluded in October 2018 that he was fit to stand trial. The trial is expected to begin early next week. Records in the case have been sealed and attorneys are under a judge’s order to not speak publicly on the case. It is unknown how Reinking plans to defend himself.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer formally announced his retirement during an event with President Joe Biden at the White House today. Quoting from the Gettysburg Address and, at one point, holding up his own personal pocket-sized copy of the U.S. Constitution, Breyer expressed hope for the future of the “experiment” of U.S. democracy. NPR has the full video and transcript of Breyer’s speech. “I’ve made no decision except the one person I will nominate will be someone with extraordinary qualifications, character, experience and integrity,” Biden said during the event according to the Associated Press. “And that person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court. It’s long overdue.”

Judge Michael Collins this week announced he will run in the Republican primary to keep his seat on the 15th Judicial District Circuit Court, covering Wilson, Smith, Macon, Jackson and Trousdale counties, the Lebanon Democrat reports. Collins was elected to serve as the district’s General Sessions judge in 2014 before being elected to the Circuit Court in 2020, filling the vacancy created by Judge John Wootten’s retirement. Collins was appointed by former Gov. Bill Haslam to serve on the Recovery Court Advisory Committee to the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and awarded the Community Impact Award from the Drug Prevention Coalition. He also founded the district’s first Misdemeanor Recovery Court and has been recognized for his work in addiction recovery.

Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III today provided an update on the $26 billion opioid agreement with drugmaker Johnson & Johnson and pharmaceutical distributors Cardinal, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen, for the companies’ roles in the opioid crisis. Last year’s settlement hinged on a “critical mass” of participation from states, who had 30 days to join the deal, and local governments, who had five months. In Tennessee, more than 150 local governments have joined the settlements, including every county and all cities with populations of 25,000 or more. “Today we have every reason to be encouraged: we have impressive participation, nationally and locally, to get this settlement across the finish line,” Slatery said. Read more from the AG’s website.