The Federal Trade Commission and 17 state attorneys general recently filed an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon.com, claiming the internet retailer has used illegal tactics to fend off companies that would have risen to challenge its monopoly, reports Reuters. The lawsuit has been expected after years of complaints that Amazon.com and other tech giants have abused their dominance of search, social media and online retailing to become gate keepers on the most lucrative aspects of the internet. The FTC asked the court to issue a permanent injunction ordering Amazon.com to stop its unlawful conduct and to consider "any preliminary or permanent equitable relief, including but not limited to structural relief, necessary to restore fair competition."

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a request by Alabama officials to halt a lower court's ruling that rejected the state's electoral map for being unlawfully biased against Black voters, reports Reuters. The court's action leaves intact a decision made on Sept. 5 by a federal three-judge panel in Birmingham which ruled that that state’s electoral map must be redrawn. That ruling was the second time the court has thrown out a plan enacted by the Republican-controlled Alabama state legislature. The panel noted in its ruling that they were "deeply troubled that the state enacted a map that the state readily admits does not provide the remedy we said federal law requires." More than one-quarter of Alabama's residents are Black. A court-appointed special master and cartographer will now oversee a new map ahead of next year's election.

The Tennessee foster parents of three immigrant children and a Memphis-based advocacy group have filed suit against the Department of Children's Services for failing to support their immigration needs, reports the Tennessean. The suit claims the state allowed youth in their custody to "age out" of the system without taking advantage of the Special Immigrant Juvenile Status program available to minors. The plaintiffs include a 15-year-old girl abandoned by her parents in Guatemala. DCS investigated her living situation last year, and she was removed from a relative's home after she became pregnant. She is now in a foster home, attending high school and raising her baby, the lawsuit states. Without legal status, she is at risk for deportation, though she wishes to stay in the U.S. with her child, a U.S. citizen.

This year’s Tennessee Supreme Court Boot Camp set for Oct. 4 will include two special elements not to be missed! As in past years, attendees will observe oral arguments in real cases and then engage in a discussion about the preparation and considerations for deciding to seek review in the court. But this year, attendees also are invited to see Justice Holly Kirby sworn in as the court’s newest chief justice prior to the CLE at the state capitol, and then hear former TBA president Bill Harbison present a special program on the history of the court at Holland & Knight after the Boot Camp. The TBA's Boot Camp program will kick off at 9:30 a.m. CDT at the Tennessee Supreme Court building in Nashville with oral arguments before the full court. An analysis and discussion will follow with Chattanooga lawyer Robert Parsley with Miller & Martin, and Nashville lawyers Donald Capparella with Dodson Parker Behm & Capparella, and Edmund Sauer with Bradley Arant Boult Cummings. The program will wrap up at 4:30 p.m. CDT.

The state’s indigent defense system is at a “breaking point,” a story in the Tennessean suggests. With the lowest indigent defense reimbursement rate in the nation ($50 an hour for non-capital cases), the paper says the funding is “so paltry it amounts to a theft of services from attorneys, who are at regular risk of losing money when appointed to the cases.” The reimbursement rate has only been raised $20 in the last 42 years, despite widespread calls for increases and a 2017 task force recommendation to pay between $75 and $125 per hour. Attorneys and judges interviewed for the story say the low rate is “squeezing the state’s judicial system” leading judges to increasingly rely on less experienced lawyers to handle cases. But even that pool of willing attorneys appears to be shrinking, judges say. Dawn Deaner, former Nashville public defender and current executive director at the Choosing Justice Initiative, says the system is in the worse shape "it's ever been."

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan said on Friday it would “be a good thing” for the court to adopt a code of ethics, even if it had to be slightly different than the one for lower court judges, Courthouse News Service reports. Speaking at Notre Dame Law School, Kagan said ethics guidelines would “help in our own compliance with the rules, and it would, I think, go far in persuading other people that we were adhering to the highest standards of conduct.” She went on to say there are legitimate concerns with the court just adopting the code of ethics applicable to lower courts but said the rules could be adapted to reflect certain differences.

House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, and Senate Speaker Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, have announced the formation of a working group to examine the possibility of the state rejecting billions of dollars in federal education funding. Rep. Debra Moody, R-Covington, and Sen. Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, will lead the group. House members include Reps. Ronnie Glynn, D-Clarksville, Timothy Hill, R-Blountville, John Reagan, R-Oak Ridge, and William Slater, R-Gallatin. Senators joining the group are Raumesh Akbar, D-Memphis, Joey Hensley, R-Hohenwald, Bill Powers, R-Clarksville, and Dawn White, R-Murfreesboro. The state receives $1.8 billion annually from the federal government for K-12 education, the Tennessean reports.

A three-judge panel last week ruled that a new state law designed to lower the threshold needed for Nashville leaders to approve improvements to the fairgrounds speedway violates the Tennessee Constitution and cannot be enforced. The law would have allowed the city to undertake demolition at the fairgrounds with a simple majority vote while the local charter requires a supermajority, the Associated Press reports. The state argued that the new law did not specifically single out Music City, but opponents argued that no other municipality fell within the statute’s definition.

A new study by the RAND Corporation, American Bar Association and National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals recommends that caseload guidelines for public defenders be updated to reflect modern-day realities. The current guidelines, issued in 1973, recommend that public defense lawyers devote an average of 13.9 hours to felony cases and 5.2 hours to misdemeanor cases. The new National Public Defense Workload Study recommends guidelines be increased to an average of 35 hours per felony case and 22.3 hours per misdemeanor case. It also increases the average time depending on the seriousness of the case, an element that was omitted from older guidelines. The ABA Journal has more on the study.

The Tennessee Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection met recently to consider claims from clients alleging financial loss due to the illegal actions of their lawyers. The fund approved two claims against Sullivan County attorney Jason R. McLellan: one in the amount of $5,500 and one in the amount of $3,500. McLellan is required to reimburse the fund for these payments. The Fund for Client Protection was established by the Tennessee Supreme Court to reimburse individuals for losses caused by dishonest conduct by attorneys. The fund is operated by a board, which meets quarterly to consider claims. In September 2022, the Tennessee Supreme Court amended Rule 25 to require the fund to notify the Tennessee Bar Association of claims paid. News releases on all actions also are posted on the fund's website.