Tami Sawyer will be the Democratic nominee for Shelby County General Sessions Court clerk, the Commercial Appeal reports. Sawyer, a former Shelby County commissioner and Memphis mayoral candidate, ran on a platform of modernizing the General Sessions Court system and reducing the case backlog. Incumbent Joe Brown, who came in second in the primary, had denied a backlog existed. "My opponents are giving out misinformation. I wanted to let you know that General Sessions Civil or Criminal do not have a backlog of cases," Brown said in an email to the paper. Sawyer will face former Shelby County Criminal Court clerk's office employee and Republican nominee Lisa Arnold in August for the general election. Arnold says she has worked in the court system for her entire career and wants to make customer service a priority in the courts.

Republican House Speaker Cameron Sexton says he will meet with the chamber’s chief clerk and legislative leaders over Nashville Democratic Rep. Justin Jones’ unexcused absences from the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, TN Journal reports. Committee records show that Jones missed three of six Agriculture Committee meetings before the panel’s meeting on Wednesday, which he attended.

Various state House subcommittees acted on legislation under their jurisdiction this week. In the House Departments and Agencies Subcommittee, a bill that would have banned cold beer sales was amended to establish a drunken driving task force. The 12-member task force will study drunken driving trends in Tennessee over the next year and recommend ways to decrease impaired driving, repeat offenders and underage drinking. In the Higher Education Subcommittee, members rejected a bill that would have banned diversity, equity and inclusion programs at Tennessee public universities and colleges. The Tennessee Journal reports on these actions. In the Population Health Subcommittee, members defeated a bill designed to protect in vitro fertilization treatments. Bill sponsors argued the measure was needed after the Alabama Supreme Court found that fertilized embryos have similar rights to children, WKRN reports. Republicans opposed the measure saying it was more confusing than current law and could allow for “selective abortion during IVF.” State Rep. Bryan Terry, R-Murfreesboro, also said the bill was not needed because a 2022 opinion from the Tennessee Attorney General already found that the state’s Human Life Protection Act does not apply to IVF treatment.

Franklin trial attorney and former police officer David Veile won the Republican primary for the 21st Judicial District Circuit Court seat yesterday, defeating incumbent appointee Erin Nations. He will advance to the general election, but with no Democratic opponent currently on the ballot, he likely will be unopposed. Veile is a former TBA Board of Governors member and former president of the TBA Young Lawyers Division. Gov. Bill Lee had appointed Nations to the court following Judge Michael Binkley’s retirement in September 2023. Nations said she will support Veile’s transition into the role, according to the Williamson Herald.

Stephen Hatchett won a three-way race for the Republican nomination for district attorney in the 10th Judicial District, defeating incumbent appointee Shari Tayloe and fellow challenger and former state lawmaker Jeff Miller. Hatchett won more than 36% of the total vote in the district that serves Bradley, McMinn, Monroe and Polk counties. Tayloe netted 34% while Miller drew about 30%. Gov. Bill Lee appointed Tayloe in July after longtime DA Stephen Crump resigned to take over as executive director of the Tennessee District Attorney General's Conference. No Democratic candidates were on the ballot for the seat, so Hatchett will be unopposed in August and sworn in Sept. 1, Chattanooga Times Free Press reports.

Hamilton County General Sessions Judge Alex McVeagh yesterday won the Republican nomination for a Circuit Court judge seat according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press. McVeagh and Chattanooga attorney Michele Coffman were both seeking the nomination in the race to replace former Circuit Court Judge Marie Williams, who stepped down from the bench six years before her term was set to expire. McVeagh received 17,365 votes to Coffman's 12,599. See all county primary election results.

Stephanie Williams yesterday won the Democratic primary for the Davidson County Circuit Court Division IV judge seat, which is responsible for divorces and adoptions. With no Republicans in the race, Williams effectively won the August general election as well, the Nashville Post reports. She defeated Tusca Alexis, Audrey Anderson and Stan Kweller, who had been appointed to the position in January 2023 by Gov. Bill Lee following the death of Judge Philip Smith. Kweller finished in fourth place with 9% of the vote. He will remain in the seat until the general election. In Robertson County, Ashleigh L. Travis won the Republican primary for Circuit Court judge Part VI. She was unopposed, the Tennessean reports.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti recently joined a coalition of 26 other state attorneys general in sending a letter to Meta Platforms Inc. demanding that Instagram stop “monetizing child exploitation content.” The group cites recent articles in The Wall Street Journal and New York Times that suggest Meta promoted minor accounts to “likely pedophiles.” In announcing the move, Skrmetti said, “My office is already suing Meta for its harms to children's mental health, and this latest report only adds to my concern about the risks Meta poses to Tennessee kids. Meta needs to do a better job of using its vast resources to protect our vulnerable youth.”

The writing section of the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) will get an overhaul this summer with a greater emphasis on gauging analytical skills, according to Reuters. Currently, LSAT takers have 35 minutes to write an argumentative essay on a provided topic designed to demonstrate their logical reasoning. The updated writing section will give examinees 15 minutes to read different positions on a debatable topic, after which they will have 35 minutes to write an argument in which they take a position and address the strengths and weaknesses of the various ideas presented. The writing section, which is taken separately from the rest of the test, will debut on July 31, eight days before the first LSAT without logic games.

The U.S. Supreme Court is seeking $19.4 million in federal funds to increase security for the nine justices and assign protection of their homes to its own police force rather than the U.S. Marshals Service, citing "evolving" risks faced by the nation's top judicial body, reports Reuters. That funding would include $5.8 million to expand the security activities of the Supreme Court Police, its in-house security force, and $13.6 million to let the court's police take over the duties currently served by the Marshals Service of protecting the justices' homes. Serious threats against federal judges rose to 457 in fiscal year 2023, from 224 in fiscal 2021, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.