The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights today announced that Memphis-Shelby County Schools violated federal civil rights law by not adequately responding to complaints of sexual harassment and assault of students over a three-year period. Chalkbeat reports that district documents reflect reports that teachers or substitute teachers sexually assaulted students in seven incidents across three school years at all school levels in the district. Documents also show 53 more cases of reported staff-to-student sexual harassment, not including sexual assault, as well as a total of 88 cases of student-to-student sexual harassment during the same time period.

A study by the Law School Admission Council found that the number of law school applicants rose nearly 6% this year, making it the second-largest applicant pool of the past five years. Figures show that 3,478 more people sought admission to the 197 American Bar Association-accredited law schools this year. Applicants of color accounted for nearly 48% of the pool, up from about 47% in 2023. The number of Black applicants increased 7.4%, while Hispanic applicants rose 9.6% and Asian applicants were up 6.7%. White applicants posted an increase at 3.3%. According to Reuters, the increase resulted from a stronger push by the council and individual law schools to promote legal education to historically underrepresented groups, said Susan Krinsky, interim president of the council. The current application cycle suggests the national applicant pool could expand again in 2025, with the number of people who took the LSAT earlier this month up 21% over the previous year. Registrations for September’s test are up 14%.

Nashville lawyer Brooks R. Smith, a partner at Bradley, has authored a new treatise on Tennessee real property law, providing comprehensive guidance on topics such as estates, deeds, leasing and title insurance. According to Legal Newsline, Smith's treatise will be a valuable resource for legal professionals and real estate practitioners. Smith has extensive experience in real estate transactions. He has served as group leader of Bradley’s Real Estate Practice Group and is a past chair of the Tennessee Bar Association’s Real Estate Section. The firm has more on the publication.

Henry Beecher Hicks III, the former CEO of the National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM), has filed a lawsuit alleging that he is owed close to $300,000 of promised payments as part of a separation agreement with the museum. NMAAM disputes that claim, telling the Nashville Business Journal, "We are continuing to gain a clearer picture of Mr. H. Beecher Hicks III's fiscal management practices during his tenure." Hicks led the museum from 2013 to 2023, which included the museum's opening in 2021 at the prominent Fifth + Broadway development in downtown Nashville, capping a planning effort that lasted more than two decades.

Tennessee Ethics Commission members reviewed an ethics complaint against Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds in a closed-door session on Thursday, the Tennesean reports. The complaint, filed by Rep. Caleb Hemmer, D-Nashville, alleges that Reynolds accepted paid travel from her former employer ExcelinEd for two out-of-state trips after being named to the state position. After the complaint surfaced, Reynolds repaid approximately $2,000 in travel expenses and was reimbursed by the state. Reynolds’ attorney argues that the travel was covered by ExcelinEd, not ExcelinEd Action, and thus was not a violation of the law. In a letter to the commission, Hemmer criticized Reynolds’ repayment as a reactive measure rather than a genuine correction, citing previous issues with tuition reimbursements as evidence of a pattern of non-compliance. He also is calling for formal reprimands and civil penalties to address and deter the alleged unethical behavior.

Tennessee Democratic Party (TNDP) chair Hendrell Remus will not seek another term when party leadership elections happen in January. The Nashville Banner reports that Remus was elected in 2021 as the first Black chair of the TNDP and reelected in 2023. In his two terms, he says he focused on making the party function as “a political operation, not a social club” and has sought more than short-term wins. Remus told the news outlet that the final test of whether his tenure was effective would be this year’s general election when the party aims to exceed the Democratic voter turnout seen during the 2020 presidential election and flip at least two state house seats.

Following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that raised the standard for obstruction charges, federal prosecutors have decided not to pursue a similar charge against Joseph Fischer, a former police officer involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. According to Reuters, the court’s 6-3 decision requires prosecutors to prove that obstructing an official proceeding impaired or attempted to impair the integrity of documents or records. The ruling is reported to affect over 250 cases from the Capitol attack. The U.S. Justice Department has dropped obstruction charges in more than 60 cases, but plans to continue to pursue them in specific cases where the stricter standard can be met, such as those involving direct tampering with documents.

The Hamilton County Criminal Court Clerk's Office has launched a new smartphone app, Hamilton County Judicial Services, to help reduce recidivism rates and improve communication with residents. Developed by GovApp, the app provides quick access to information such as court dockets, payment options and upcoming court dates. The app is expected to save taxpayers money by reducing the failure to appear rate and associated costs, according to Chattanoogan.com.

Davidson County Juvenile Court Judge Sheila Calloway today delivered the closing plenary for the 2024 Equal Justice University (EJU), lauding the state's access to justice community as “compassionate, zealous advocates” and sharing a call to action for these “brave leaders” to continue to make systemic change every day. DarKenya Waller, executive director of Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands, introduced Calloway, describing her as a leader who is serious about changing the lives of young people. Calloway also spoke about the new Nashville Youth Campus for Empowerment (NYCE), a 14-acre facility that broke ground this month and will replace the current juvenile detention center. NYCE will be the nation's first family-oriented, trauma-informed center with resources and agencies on site that can provide immediate services to young people and their families.

In addition, three awards were presented. Amy Willoughby Bryant with the Metro Nashville Office of Conservatorship Management received the B. Riney Green Award, which recognizes those who promote state-wide collaboration on a project strengthening access to justice across Tennessee. Stewart Clifton, who is retired from the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services (TALS), received the Lifetime Achievement Award. Lucinda Smith with Bass Berry & Sims received the Janice M. Holder Award, which recognizes a professional whose work in private practice, corporate practice, public service or other social service makes significant contributions in advancing the quality of justice statewide by ensuring the legal system is open and available to all. Finally, the staff of West Tennessee Legal Services received the 2024 EJU Spirit Award. See photos from the event.

The Memphis City Council today announced it is suing the Shelby County Election Commission to allow gun regulation questions to be put on the November ballot, reports the Commercial Appeal. On Tuesday, in response to pushback from state legislators and the state coordinator of elections, the Election Commission announced the previously approved questions would not appear on the ballot. The Daily Memphian reports that Council Chair JB Smiley Jr. said, "We won’t back down and ... sure won’t be bullied ... They [referring to state legislators] know that over 70% of Tennesseans want gun reform." The lawsuit asks a Shelby County chancellor to force the election commission to place the referendum questions on the ballot, and seeks a temporary and permanent injunction against the election commission for refusing to do so. Memphis Mayor Paul Young said that the suit is "futile" and could endanger the city’s attempts to work with the Republican supermajorities leading the Tennessee legislature.