TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Julia Wilburn on Mar 23, 2023

A Shelby County judge has ruled that a class-action lawsuit seeking damages related to 12,000 untested rape kits can move forward. The Commercial Appeal reports that Circuit Court Judge Gina Higgins’ ruling is the latest in a nearly nine-year journey through the court system, including last-minute motions from both plaintiff and defense attorneys that pushed back Higgins' ruling since October 2022. The lawsuit was originally filed in 2014 after the Memphis Police Department disclosed the existence of some 12,000 untested rape kits with forensic evidence taken from victims of sexual assault between the 1980s and 2012. The ruling was delayed two weeks after last-minute filings from plaintiffs' attorneys, city attorneys and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.