The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) reports that a new database is giving victims of sexual assault real-time updates on the evidence in their cases. According to the Tennessee Lookout, the SAMS-Track system is fully operational through a web portal after TBI logged 3,036 kits into it. The system requires police, hospitals and laboratories to log the dates they handle evidence to mark the path of a rape kit throughout the chain of command. TBI also recently told state lawmakers that the backlog of kits has improved. The average turnaround time for is now about 18 weeks, compared to 45 weeks a year ago.

Are you still looking for ethics credits before Dec. 31? Look no further! We’ve got our 12 Days of Ethics coming in hot with innovative programming you won’t want to miss. Be sure to check our social media channels over the next 12 days to see which programs you can choose from. Visit Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn to get more information using the hashtag #TBA12Days. Or go to the TBA CLE Course Catalog to get a full preview of more than 200 CLE programs by Tennessee lawyers for Tennessee lawyers.

Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. is seeking a court order of protection against fellow commissioner Mickell Lowery in what appears to be a dispute from August about the timing of a recess during commission meetings. The Daily Memphian reports that Ford filed for the protection order, citing an argument during a Aug. 14 meeting over whether the group’s break was at 5 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. Two weeks later, Ford claimed in an open-commission session that there was almost “an alleged assault” but provided no details or names. The General Sessions Court Clerk’s office is not releasing the affidavit seeking the protection order on the advice of the county attorney’s office.

Today, the Tennessee Supreme Court temporarily blocked a lower court’s decision that lawmakers must redraw the state’s Senate maps. The ruling means that the current legislative districts will likely remain in place for the 2024 elections. In November, a three-judge panel ruled that new Republican-drawn maps were incorrectly numbered and violated the state constitution. The Associated Press reports the state argued that the plaintiffs in the case had no standing to sue and that the state wanted to exhaust all of its appeals options before having to reconfigure district lines. The Supreme Court’s ruling today sides with the state. The redrawn maps will stay in place as the appeals process runs its course.

“Big Law” firms are moving into Nashville at a steady pace. Several have merged with local firms or have started a new office from the ground up, staffing it with attorneys from established Nashville firms. As part of a series on Big Law’s movement to, and influence on, developing markets, The American Lawyer reports that with Nashville’s huge population growth, thriving health care sector and booming economic growth, national law firms have “an extra incentive to plunge into the market.” Local firms like Bass Berry & Sims and Baker Donelson continue to grow their practices and regional presence, which managing partners say gives them a competitive advantage with clients. Observers of Nashville’s legal market say that “clients don’t generally choose a law firm as much as they choose a lawyer and often remain with that lawyer, even if they move to another firm.”

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti yesterday joined six other states in filing a federal antitrust lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), challenging the group's transfer eligibility rule. The rule requires college athletes who transfer between Division I schools to wait one year before competing in games, unless the NCAA waives the rule for a particular athlete. The NCAA began automatically exempting first-time transfers from the regulation in 2021, but has continued to enforce the rule for subsequent transfers and to deny waivers. The lawsuit alleges the rule restrains college athletes’ ability to market their labor and control their education. Read the full press release.

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) in October fined Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles a $5,750 civil penalty for multiple campaign finance violations incurred during the 2021-2022 election cycle, including missing and late-filed reports, illegal contributions and insufficient reporting documents. According to the Nashville Post, the FEC says that fine has now been paid, and Ogles’ campaign has until Jan. 2 to set up a specific tracking and reporting process, and must undergo additional training with the FEC by October.

Tennessee House Democrats Wednesday sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) requesting that Attorney General Merrick Garland’s office investigate the 2019 passage of Gov. Bill Lee’s school voucher bill. Action News 5 reports there have been allegations of attempted bribery and coercion by then-Speaker Glenn Casada. The letter reads, in part, “Before taking a final tally, Casada held the vote open for 45 minutes, meeting with lawmakers on a balcony behind the speaker’s podium to try and change their mind." They note that "media outlets" have reported that during one of these meetings, Casada unsuccessfully offered former Rep. John Mark Windle, D-Livingston, a promotion from colonel to general in the Tennessee National Guard if he changed his vote, and point out that only the governor would have the power to make that type of promotion.

The Knoxville Bar Association (KBA) held its annual meeting today at which Carlos A. Yunsan of the University of Tennessee College of Law was sworn in as president. Executive Director Marsha S. Watson was recognized for her 33-year tenure at the helm of the KBA by the creation of a special lifetime membership for her and the renaming of the KBA’s conference room in her honor. New KBA Executive Director and former TBA President Tasha Blakney will step into the role full-time in mid-January. A press release from the KBA has more information, including new officers for the 2024 bar year and award winners.

The Memphis Law School National Moot Court team of Kelsey McClain, Thomas Fletcher and Derrick Shawver recently won the Region 7 round of the National Moot Court Competition. McClain won the award for Best Oral Advocate in the final round. The team will now advance to the national competition in New York City in January.