The U.S. Supreme Court in a 9-0 decision authored by Justice Elena Kagan today ruled in favor of Jack Daniel's in a trademark dispute with a dog accessory company that sold a parody chew toy resembling the distiller's widely recognized black-label whiskey bottle, reported Reuters. The ruling threw out a lower court's opinion that the pun-laden "Bad Spaniels" vinyl chew toy sold by VIP Products LLC is an "expressive work" protected by the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment. Kagan wrote that the 9th Circuit erred in applying the Rogers trademark test allowing for artistic relevance, concluding that "it is not appropriate when the accused infringer has used a trademark to designate the source of its own goods.” Read our previous coverage in TBA Today.

Tennessee Republican Rep. Diana Harshbarger and Mikie Sherrill, D-NJ, have introduced the Expanded Telehealth Access Act, a bipartisan bill that will make permanent Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services waivers that allow for all Medicare-eligible healthcare providers to furnish telehealth services to patients, the Citizen Tribune reports. After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the CMS waived requirements that specify the types of healthcare providers that are eligible to bill telehealth services to Medicare, with waivers expiring at the end of 2024 following an extension by Congress. The new legislation would expand the range of healthcare providers that may provide telehealth services to Medicare patients to include physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, and any additional provider participating in Medicare that furnishes a telehealth service.

Supreme Court justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito have received an extension to file their mandatory annual financial disclosure, Reuters reports. Seven of the nine justices disclosed their outside income and gifts from 2022. Food and other "personal hospitality" such as lodging at an individual's residence is generally exempt from disclosure, although the Judicial Conference, the policymaking body for the broader federal judiciary, has tightened its regulations related to the exemption, including requiring transport by private jet to be disclosed.

The U.S. Supreme Court in a 5-4 ruling today affirmed a lower court's decision that an Alabama electoral map diluted the voting power of Black residents in violation of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, Reuters reports. The map was approved in 2021 by the Republican-controlled state legislature and featured one majority-Black district and six majority-white districts. In Thursday’s ruling, two consolidated cases before the Supreme Court involved challenges brought by Black voters and advocacy groups accusing Alabama of violating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. A three-judge federal court panel sided with the challengers in 2022, blocking the map as a "substantially likely" violation of Section 2 and ordering an additional district where Black voters make up "a voting-age majority or something quite close to it." Alabama appealed to the Supreme Court.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a lower court's ruling that allowed the wife of Gorgi Talevski, a nursing home resident diagnosed with dementia, to sue Health and Hospital Corp of Marion County over claims it violated her husband’s civil rights, reported Reuters. The ruling preserved the ability of people to sue for civil rights violations under Section 1983, a law enacted as part of the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 to protect the rights of Black Americans by granting people the power to sue in federal court when state officials violate their constitutional or statutory rights. In a 2019 lawsuit, Gorgi’s wife, Ivanka Talevski, said her husband was subjected to harmful psychotropic drugs and unlawfully transferred to an all-male facility. He died in 2021, while the litigation was pending.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti is investigating Nashville-based AllianceBernstein and other asset managers related to their climate change work, Reuters reports. The probe is seeking information about environmental, social and governance investing policies at the companies as well as partnerships with climate coalitions like Climate Action 100+ and Net Zero Asset Managers. Other companies involved are Invesco Ltd. and the Jennison Associates arm of Prudential Financial. According to the news source, the attorney general’s office is looking for “unfair or deceptive acts or practices” under the state’s 1977 consumer protection law. Skrmetti’s office told Reuters that it is “highly concerned with corporate collusion.” The Nashville Post has more on the story.

The state Supreme Court today permanently disbarred Virginia lawyer Robert R. Rexrode from the practice of law in Tennessee. The court took the action after the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility found that Rexrode engaged in the unauthorized practice of law in West Virginia, knowingly engaged in conduct involving dishonesty, and failed to cooperate in the investigation of a disciplinary complaint. His actions were determined to violate West Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct 5.5 (b)(2), 8.1 and 8.4(c) and (d).

Shelby County will open a new Youth Justice and Education Center within the next month, the Daily Memphian reports. The 85,626-square-foot facility located at 3420 Old Getwell Rd. in Oakhaven will feature 146 beds, nine classrooms, an indoor basketball court, a new dental office and a courtroom. The facility sits on more than 10 acres of land and also will feature an outdoor recreation area for basketball, volleyball, soccer, yoga, gardening and more. The county purchased the building from CoreCivic in 2020 and spent $31.5 million renovating it. The new center will replace a downtown facility, which was built in 1935.

Gov. Bill Lee said Monday that he will not consult with Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti about a recent court decision striking down the state’s drag law, Tennessee Lookout reports. At an event promoting his transportation modernization plan, Lee said the next move “falls into the realm of the judicial branch and the attorney general will determine next steps from there.” He went on to say, “That bill was created to protect children in this state. I’ll continue to do that whenever we can. But the attorney general will make the decision about that particular piece of legislation.” Some confusion continues to exist as to whether the decision affects just Shelby County or is in force more broadly. Skrmetti told the Commercial Appeal that the law remains in effect in Tennessee’s other counties. Others contend the ruling applies to all counties in the Western District of the state, while others suggest it applies to the entire state.

The Metro Nashville Employee Benefit Board voted this week to not provide medical insurance coverage for gender-related surgeries, Axios Nashville reports. Mayor John Cooper had urged the board to support the procedures for transgender employees and their beneficiaries over the age of 18. He argued the benefit would help improve employee recruitment and retention while opponents cited a number of concerns about the proposal. The board had previously voted against such coverage in 2021.