In a recent press release, the ABA outlined the status of its efforts to revise law school accreditation standards. For the last year, the association has been considering changes to Standard 206, which currently outlines the steps law schools must take to demonstrate a commitment to diversity and inclusion. At its last meeting, the Council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar considered comments submitted in response to proposed changes, as well as other potential changes. It says it is continuing to review the standard to “ensure compliance with the recent executive orders and [direction from] the U.S. Department of Education” and intends to submit its recommendation to the ABA House of Delegates in August. Last week, the ABA decided to suspend the standard until Aug. 31, when adoption of a revised standard is anticipated. The council also said that “literal compliance” with Standard 205 will not be required. That standard prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, national origin, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability or military status.

TBA’s annual Elder Law Forum will take place in person July 25 at the Belmont College of Law. This event will offer insights from top professionals and an opportunity for attendees to network with other lawyers in the elder law practice area. Forum topics will include Medicaid and TennCare, undue influence, office systems and AI, Veterans Affairs benefits and ethics. Elder Law Section members receive a discounted rate to attend. Register now!

General Sessions Court Judge Sheila Bruce-Renfroe is seeking $800,000 in additional funding to expand the Shelby County Mental Health Court, which provides an alternative to incarceration for individuals with mental health diagnoses. According to Action News 5, Renfroe says the court has struggled to reorganize and re-energize since the pandemic, although it has continued to admit participants. In 2023, the Tennessee legislature allocated $5.7 million to mental health courts statewide, with Shelby County receiving $367,000. Additional local funding was redirected to jail repairs. With just 48 admissions in Fiscal Year 2023, Renfroe aims to increase capacity to 120 participants and improve program outcomes. She plans to request the additional funding from Shelby County commissioners according to the news station. Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris expressed qualified support, saying, “I would love to invest more money in our mental health court and for me and the public it’s just function. Can we get more cases turned? Because I’m all for the investment, but I’m also for accountability.”

Fatal drug overdoses are declining in Tennessee and nationwide after years of rising deaths, offering a potential turning point in the opioid crisis. According to the Axios, Tennessee’s overdose death rate fell 6.6% from 56 per 100,000 people in 2022 to 52.3 per 100,000 in 2023, while the national rate dropped 4%. Tennessee has invested tens of millions of dollars from opioid lawsuit settlements into overdose prevention efforts, including expanding access to naloxone, a medication that can reverse  overdoses. Since 2017, overdose prevention specialists have distributed more than 678,000 units of naloxone, documenting over 82,000 lives saved, according to the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. Despite the decline, the state’s overdose death rate remains significantly higher than the national average, with more than 3,800 reported deaths in 2023.

Last week, Dumaka Shabazz was sworn in as the first African American federal public defender for the Middle District of Tennessee at the Fred D. Thompson Federal Building & Courthouse in Nashville, WKRN reports. A seasoned attorney and advocate for marginalized communities, Shabazz has served as an assistant public defender in Nashville since 2010, representing clients in complex cases involving fraud, homicide and large-scale narcotics offenses. Before joining the Federal Public Defender’s Office, Shabazz worked in private practice. He began his legal career as a prosecutor in the Davidson County District Attorney’s Office. He also has taught trial advocacy at Vanderbilt Law School and trained newly hired federal public defenders at the New Defender College in New Mexico. The Office of the Federal Public Defender was established in 1978 under the Criminal Justice Act. It provides legal representation to individuals who cannot afford private counsel, ensuring their Sixth Amendment right to a legal defense.

The City of Memphis has appointed a nine-member team to monitor the Memphis Police Department (MPD), including former law enforcement officials, religious leaders, health experts, professors, and a community organizer. Led by former federal Judge Bernice Donald, the team was formed after the city refused to enter a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice regarding civil rights violations by MPD, the Commercial Appeal reports. Additionally, the city has again moved to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Tyre Nichols’ family, arguing that the officers involved acted independently of any official policy and that the allegations are insufficient to establish liability against the city.

The Tennessee Supreme Court issued an opinion today rejecting a First Amendment challenge to the state’s personalized license plate program. Tennessee license plates typically feature a randomly generated alphanumeric combination, but drivers can request personalized plates for an additional fee. Leah Gilliam had displayed a personalized plate reading “69PWNDU” for over a decade before the state revoked it, deeming the message to be offensive. Gilliam sued, arguing that the program unlawfully discriminates based on viewpoint in violation of the First Amendment. The court ruled that personalized plate messages constitute government speech rather than private speech and therefore are not protected under the First Amendment. The decision relied on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling in Walker v. Texas, which found that specialty license plates represent government speech. Read more in a press release from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

A significant aspect of the indigent representation proposal from the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), on behalf of the Tennessee Supreme Court, is the establishment of an “Indigent Representation Commission.” This commission would provide oversight and management for the indigent representation system, including the proposed "Office of Indigent Conflicts and Civil Counsel." The commission would be governed by Tennessee Supreme Court Rule, like existing supreme court boards and commissions, and would manage indigent representation tasks presently handled largely with the courts. The commission also would work closely with other stakeholders to review and implement policies to improve the system. Learn more about the plan and indigent representation in Tennessee. Watch for more details about the plan in upcoming issues of TBA Today.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has directed Carlos Eugene Moore to respond within 30 days why discipline imposed in the state of Mississippi should not also be imposed in Tennessee. The Supreme Court of Mississippi imposed a one-year suspension on Moore on Dec. 31, 2024. The Tennessee court noted in its order that if Moore does not respond, it will impose discipline "with identical terms and conditions" than what was imposed in Mississippi.

President Donald Trump has appointed Alice Marie Johnson, a Memphis woman previously pardoned by Trump, to work on clemency issues, The Daily Memphian reports. Johnson is being referred to as the administration’s new “pardon czar,” though her exact duties have not been specified. She was convicted in 1996 of a first-time, nonviolent drug offense and sentenced to life in prison without parole. In 2018, reality television star Kim Kardashian advocated for her release, and Trump granted her executive clemency. Initially placed on a five-year probation, Johnson received a full pardon in 2020.