The Tennessee Supreme Court rejected an appeal from the Attorney General’s Office to take up a case involving a lawsuit challenging the state’s abortion ban, meaning the case is now likely to go to trial, the Nashville Banner reports. The plaintiffs in the initial lawsuit included several women who suffered medical complications during their pregnancies but were unable to receive medical care and doctors who were unable to give care under the law. The plaintiffs initially sued the state in September 2023. In October 2024, a three-judge panel ruled the state could not discipline doctors for giving medically necessary abortions. In October 2025, a three-judge panel declined to dismiss the suit. A two-week non-jury trial is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. on April 27.

The Tennessee Department of Revenue will host a free webinar on the Family-Owned Non-Corporate Entity (FONCE) exemption for the franchise and excise tax on Feb. 24 at 9 a.m. CST. Department staff will discuss eligibility criteria, application requirements and the annual renewal procedure for the FONCE exemption. The webinar is part of a free series the department offers to the public. Learn more and register here.

The American Bar Association (ABA) Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility has released a formal opinion that provides guidance on the ethical obligations of judges under the ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct when they are exercising administrative, employment and supervisory authority. Formal Opinion 521 states that the canons and rules governing impartiality, integrity and independence require judges to administer chambers and court staff with the same fairness and neutrality that guide adjudication. The opinion explains that ethical duties extend beyond the courtroom to include merit-based appointments, prevention of bias and harassment, and avoidance of favoritism and the appearance of impropriety in all administrative decisions. Read more in a release from the ABA.

Nashville native and retired General Sessions Judge John P. Brown was remembered for his legacy of service and compassion at services this week. Brown, who died on Feb. 14 at the age of 84, graduated from the University of Tennessee Pharmacy School in 1964 and joined the family business, J.P. Brown Drugstores. He later helped build the business into Nashville’s largest independent pharmacy. Brown earned his law degree from the Nashville YMCA Night Law School (now Nashville School of Law) in 1969 and opened a law office in Green Hills, handing a variety of civil and criminal matters. In 1982, he was elected to the Davidson County General Sessions Court and served there until retiring in 2006. After retiring, he continued to serve as a senior judge and spent a year in the Republic of Georgia training judges on the rule of law.

At its winter meeting last month, the TBA Board of Governors announced a vacancy in two board positions: West Tennessee Grand Division Governor (a one-year term) and 7th District Governor (a three-year term). The 7th District includes the counties of Benton, Carroll, Chester, Crockett, Decatur, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Henderson, Henry, Lake, Lauderdale, McNairy, Madison, Obion, Tipton and Weakley. To be considered for either of these positions, email a statement of interest and resume to TBA Executive Director Sheree Wright at barED@tnbar.org by March 3. The board will consider nominees at its March meeting. Read more about the 2026-2027 election on the TBA website.

Knoxville lawyer Mary Beth Maddox, a partner with Frantz McConnell & Seymour LLP, has been elected vice president of the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA). She will assume the role in June at the TBA’s Annual Convention and is scheduled to serve as president for the 2028–2029 bar year. A Tennessee native, Maddox has practiced law for more than 30 years, focusing on civil litigation, including labor and employment, workers’ compensation and tort matters. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia in 1991 and her law degree from the University of Tennessee (now Winston) College of Law in 1994.

Maddox has long been active in the TBA, previously serving on its Board of Governors as associate general counsel and as an East Tennessee governor. She is currently in her third year as the association’s treasurer and has also served two terms as co-chair of the TBA’s Leadership Law (TBALL) program, where she served several years as a Steering Committee member. She received the President’s Award in 2015 for her testimony on workers’ compensation legislation on behalf of the TBA before the General Assembly. Upon completing her year as vice president, Maddox will become president-elect in June 2027 and will assume the presidency the following year.

The TBA Criminal Justice Section and the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities on Monday, March 23 will provide a free webinar focused on working with clients who have developmental disabilities. This primer will kick off a series of deeper discussions about topics regarding developmental disabilities and how these disabilities are considered in Tennessee courts. One hour of general CLE credit is available for a $50 processing fee. Learn more here.

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, has asked Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to request additional assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) specifically for Shelby County, the Commercial Appeal reports. Cohen said the funding is “essential” to help the county recover from a winter storm that swept through the region last month and caused “extensive damages.” In January, President Donald Trump approved an emergency declaration for Tennessee and FEMA released $3.75 million to reimburse the state. Earlier this month, the president also approved an expedited major disaster declaration for 23 counties in the state. Cohen is seeking an additional request for public assistance funding for Shelby County, citing updated damage estimates of nearly $7 million.

Former Chattanooga accountant Jonathan D. Frost has pleaded guilty to three federal felonies, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the United States. According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, the scheme misused investor funds meant for a hydrogen gas facility but instead were converted to the personal use of Frost and his co-conspirators. Frost waived his right to a grand jury indictment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher H. Steger and agreed to a monetary judgment against him of at least $70 million. His sentence will be determined later by Chief U.S. District Judge Travis R. McDonough at a hearing set for Aug. 7. Frost faces up to a combined 45 years in federal prison. Victims of Frost's hydrogen plant scheme are encouraged to email the FBI and access case updates through this website.

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) cannot re-detain Kilmar Abrego Garcia now that a 90-day detention period has expired because the government has no viable plan for deporting him, the Associated Press reports. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis of Maryland wrote in her order that the government “made one empty threat after another to remove him to countries in Africa with no real chance of success. From this, the Court easily concludes that there is no ‘good reason to believe’ removal is likely in the reasonably foreseeable future.” Xinis also noted the government has “purposely — and for no reason — ignored the one country [Costa Rico] that has consistently offered to accept Abrego Garcia as a refugee, and to which he agrees to go.” Abrego Garcia’s attorney has argued the government cannot hold him indefinitely with no viable deportation plan.