A new report from from nonprofit Prison Policy Initiative recommends that Shelby County address management of the current jail before spending $1 billion to build a new facility. According to The Daily Memphian, the report argues that issues with processing and staffing are at the heart of problems inside the jail, and that while the jail might need replacing, a lack of capacity is not the issue. According to the findings, many of the jail’s issues — including long booking delays, preventable in-custody deaths and high staff vacancy rates — stem from poor management and staff culture rather than overcrowding or deteriorating infrastructure. The report recommends the county focus on improving hiring practices, oversight and diversion strategies to reduce the jail population before considering construction of a new facility.

Skyler Philippi, 24, of Columbia, pleaded guilty today to attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction and attempting to destroy an energy facility, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Tennessee. “For months, Philippi planned what he had hoped would be a devastating attack on Nashville’s energy infrastructure. He acquired what he believed to be explosives, surveilled his target and equipped a drone to attack an electrical substation. Motivated by a violent ideology, Philippi wanted ‘to do something big.’ Instead, the FBI disrupted his plans, and Philippi now awaits sentencing,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. Philippi is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 8, 2026. The Tennessean also reports on the developments.

David Stein has been appointed assistant professor of law at Vanderbilt University Law School, where he will teach courses related to law and technology. He comes to Vanderbilt from Northeastern University, where he was an assistant professor of law and assistant professor of computer sciences. Stein studies the interplay between legal institutions and technical infrastructures. His research spans multiple disciplines. In addition to his law review articles, he has published peer-reviewed work in robotics, rocket science and computational linguistics and is the named inventor on seven patented digital identity and database management technologies. Read more in a press release from the law school.

Not long after taking the bench in Gibson County, General Sessions Court Judge Bradley Owens observed that many of the defendants before him did not understand the legal consequences of their choices. “I see all of these adults, even with violation of probation, even after they would get arrested and get an opportunity, they would violate their probation over and over,” he said. He created a class called Choices & Consequences open to students in grades 8 through 12 with the goal of educating them about the legal consequence of making poor choices. During the class, students observe a live General Sessions Court session. Once court concludes, Owens meets with the students to discuss the cases. He explores the choices made by the defendants and the real-world consequences. Read more in this profile from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Residents of Scott County, Tennessee, and McCreary County, Kentucky, are mounting a grassroots fight against a proposed 700-acre landfill and rail transfer station, citing environmental risks, government inaction and lack of transparency. Two citizen groups — Cumberland Clear and the Transparent Bridge Initiative — have organized petitions, livestreamed government meetings, retained legal counsel and lobbied state officials, but have mostly been advised to talk to local government officials. State Sen. Ken Yager, R-Kingston, in August sent a letter to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) voicing his "strong opposition to this pending permit and expanding the landfill operation on that adjacent property." Recently, TDEC acknowledged that Scott County may have been opted into the Jackson Law, a Tennessee legal provision that allows counties to restrict landfill development. WUOT has the story.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has formed a three-member committee to review procedures for handling complaints against district attorneys (DAs) and public defenders (PDs), after repeated misconduct allegations against Shelby County DA Steve Mulroy by state Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Eads. According to the Daily Memphian, the court in July appointed William Koch, dean of the Nashville School of Law; Victor “Torry” Johnson, Belmont College of Law professor; and Lang Wiseman, former chief counsel to Gov. Bill Lee, to the new review committee. In addition, Justice Mary Wagner will chair a committee that will make recommendations on a disciplinary board for court clerks. Mulroy disputes Taylor’s claim that the panel is investigating him personally, noting that five of Taylor’s prior complaints have already been dismissed, including one about sharing juvenile records that was legal under a new law Taylor sponsored. Action News 5 reports on the dismissal of that complaint.

TaxProf Blog, a 21-year-old staple of the law professor blogosphere founded by Pepperdine Law Dean Paul Caron, is shutting down after its host platform Typepad announced it will close on Sept. 30. Reuters reports that Caron said he does not plan to restart on a new platform but hopes to preserve the blog’s archive of nearly 56,000 posts, which have long chronicled developments in tax law, law school rankings and legal education. The closure also casts uncertainty over the future of about 60 other law professor blogs in Caron’s Law Professor Blog Network, many of which also rely on Typepad.

CoreCivic on Sept. 6 announced the appointment of Allen Beard Jr. as senior warden at the Trousdale Turner Correctional Facility. The Nashville Post reports that Beard replaces Guy Bosch, who was named warden in April after then-warden Vince Vantell was placed on administrative leave and soon resigned. Beard is the former director of the security threats and intelligence unit at the Tennessee Department of Correction. The facility has come under scrutiny in recent years due to its reputation of prison deaths, riots, assaults, mismanagement, high staff turnover and a pending investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD) launched its fall visits to Tennessee law schools this week with a session at Vanderbilt University Law School. Thanks to YLD members Lorne Hiller, John Murphy, Jennifer Safstrom, Darius Walker Jr. and Kristen Walker for their contributions to this kickoff event. See photos from the day. During this year's visits, YLD leaders will speak with students about their entry into the profession and share information about TBA member benefits. Membership, which is free to law students, provides access to continuing legal education that can increase students' professional knowledge, opportunities to network, and savings on school supplies and insurance. Students also will be encouraged to apply for the 2026 Rural Judicial Fellowship program and the Class of 2026 DLI program.

The Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services (TALS) presented its annual Access to Justice Awards to five legal community leaders from across the state at the Equal Justice University in Murfreesboro. Chay Sengkhounmany, lead immigration attorney at Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee & the Cumberlands (LAS), received the B. Riney Green Access to Justice Award for her commitment to promoting successful inter-program cooperation across the state. Scott County Family Justice Center Executive Director Christy Harness was recognized with the Janice M. Holder Access to Justice Award for her contributions to advancing the quality of justice statewide by ensuring the legal system is open and available to all. Finally, TALS recognized three attorneys as New Advocates of the Year. They are: Michael Davis, managing attorney of the Knoxville Eviction Prevention Program at Legal Aid of East Tennessee; Jake Old, who serves as West Tennessee Legal Services' Consumer Unit manager; and Patricia Sellers, a staff attorney with LAS. The new advocate award recognizes those who use their legal skills in active and creative ways that produce outstanding benefits for individual clients and the communities in which they live. Read more about the annual awards on the TALS' website.