“How to Sue the Klan: The Legacy of the Chattanooga Five” will be screened on Feb. 26 at the Chattanooga State Community College. The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CST in the CC Bond Auditorium of the HUM Building. The film tells the story of four Black women who were shot by local Ku Klux Klan members. In criminal court, an all-white jury acquitted two of the Klansmen and sentenced the third to just nine months. Civil unrest followed the verdict, which also caught the attention of the Center for Constitutional Rights. The center successfully sued the shooters in federal civil court on behalf of the women. The court awarded today’s equivalent of over $1.5 million and issued an injunction against all Klan activities in the city. The suit also served as a precedent to go after the Klan in cities across the nation. Learn more about the story and the film.

Tens of thousands of immigrant children who arrived in the United States without a parent could lose legal representation after federal funding was abruptly put on hold this week, the Daily Memphian reports. Casey Bryant, executive director of Memphis’ Advocates of Immigrant Rights, tells the paper that no one knows how long the stop-work order will last or if funding will eventually resume. The group says it has 200 active cases with minors in Tennessee, Arkansas and Northern Mississippi. Another group, Latino Memphis, has a caseload of 126. Both groups say they will find alternative sources of funding to continue their work. “We’ll figure out how we find the money to do this … we have to keep going. We cannot let these children be hanging out there,” said Latino Memphis Executive Director Mauricio Calvo.

The public has lost the ability to peruse Davidson County Criminal cases as the only mechanism for doing so — two publicly accessible computers at the court — have been removed. The Nashville Banner reports that the court removed the computers because confidential personal information was being entered into the system. “We’re doing that out of an abundance of caution,” Chief Deputy Criminal Court Clerk Julius Sloss said. Those seeking affidavits, legal filings or judicial orders now must make targeted requests for records. The Tennessee Coalition for Open Government Executive Director Deborah Fisher says that is a problem. “The public has a huge interest in the justice system and journalists, who report for the public, have an interest in being able to have access to the system,” she said.

Legal officials in Tennessee are adjusting to a new law that will lengthen sentences for some children convicted of crimes, the Tennessean reports. “Blended sentencing,” which took effect at the start of the year, allows prosecutors to try some youth as “serious youth offenders” who can be given both juvenile and adult sentences. The adult sentence is paused until the child turns 19, when it can be imposed or revoked depending on a handful of criteria. Supporters of blended sentencing argue it closes loopholes that enabled juveniles to commit serious, violent offenses. Opponents say it weakens judicial discretion and hurts children who are not well served by blanket requirements for longer sentences. Nashville Juvenile Court Judge Sheila Calloway talked with the paper about the new law and the challenges she sees with its implementation.

Rob McGuire inherited the role of acting U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee through a series of events he says he never anticipated. Henry Leventis, who led the office for nearly two years, announced last September that he would resign ahead of the presidential election. Tom Jaworski took over as the district’s acting U.S. attorney and asked McGuire to be his deputy. A few months later, Jaworski announced his own departure and McGuire took the helm of the office. “Here I am, kind of the accidental acting U.S. attorney,” McGuire told the Nashville Banner. But he has no plans to remain in the role. McGuire says he wants to get back to spending more of his time in the courtroom. “If you are a presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed U.S. attorney, it’s a four-year term, it’s at the pleasure of the president, and then when it’s over, you have to leave the Department of Justice. I don’t want to leave the Department of Justice.”

Judges continue to rule on Biden administration policies. Last week, a federal judge in Texas allowed a rule to take effect that permits retirement plans to consider “Environmental, Social and Governance” (ESG) factors as a “tie breaker” between equally valid options when making investment decisions. The decision came after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sent the case back to the trial court with instructions to consider the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling overturning the Chevron doctrine. National Law Review has more on the decision. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, in partnership with 24 other state attorneys general, had sued over the rule in 2023. In another case, a federal rule barring discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in federally funded schools was struck down. The judge in that case said the Education Department exceeded its authority when it crafted the rule interpreting Title IX. Bloomberg Law reports on that finding. Skrmetti had sued over that rule as well. Finally, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has blocked Biden's student debt relief plan, Reuters reports.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti this week led a 38-state and territory bipartisan coalition requesting that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) take swift action against bad actors who are endangering consumers with counterfeit and unsafe forms of the GLP-1 weight loss and diabetes drugs Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound. The group is asking the FDA to lead efforts to safeguard the American supply chain and to work with other federal and state agencies to stop bad actors from producing counterfeit drugs. Read more in a news release from the attorney general office, read the full letter or view Tennessee’s GLP-1 warning.

Make plans now to join the TBA for a CLE like no other! The Murder Mystery CLE, set for May 16, is a unique opportunity that will allow participants to step into the roaring 1920s and unravel the mystery of J.W. Hanks’ untimely demise. Was Hanks’ killer his employee, his doctor, his wife, his mistress, his best friend or someone else he trusted? Using Tennessee’s latest criminal laws to uncover crucial clues, teams will spend the afternoon immersed in this unforgettable blend of education and entertainment with guidance from Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law professors Sydney Beckman and Melanie Reid. The event, which includes lunch, will take place from noon to 4 p.m. CDT at the Nashville Public Library. Members of the Criminal Justice Section save on registration. Not a section member yet? Join here.

Due to the winter storm and threat of hazardous travel conditions, Gov. Bill Lee closed state offices in the West and Middle Grand Divisions today. The announcement noted that state services offered online remain available and state employees able to work from home were encouraged to do so. A number of courts across the state also were closed.

The Tennessee Supreme Court transferred the law license of Shelby County lawyer Gilbert Henry Jacobson to active status on Feb. 18. Jacobson was placed on disability inactive status more than five ago on June 18, 2019.