A settlement was reached in a lawsuit against the Knox County Sheriff’s Office saying deputies arrested the wrong man with the same name. According to Knox News, Justin Clark was arrested March 17 and stayed jailed for three days without anyone checking to see if deputies had the right man, according to his lawsuit. He sought $100,000 in compensatory damages and settled for $10,000, according to records from the Knox County Law Department. Clark’s lawsuit was originally filed in Knox County Circuit Court but was moved to U.S. District Court in early April. He sued the sheriff’s office and several unnamed deputies for false arrest and false imprisonment and violations of his constitutionally guaranteed Fourth and 14th Amendment rights.

Diversity Lab, a legal industry organization focused on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, is shutting down after facing funding pressures tied to scrutiny from the Trump administration, according to Bloomberg Law. The closure comes nearly four months after the group paused a core DEI program and furloughed most staff, citing depleted operating funds as it responded to federal actions. Diversity Lab, founded in 2013, is best known for the Mansfield Rule, which encouraged law firms to consider at least 30% of qualified underrepresented attorneys for hiring and promotion opportunities. The Trump administration has targeted DEI initiatives broadly, including the Mansfield Rule, arguing such programs may unlawfully consider race or sex in hiring decisions. Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson has also warned law firms about participation in the program, while critics of DEI efforts have argued they are inconsistent with federal anti-discrimination laws.

Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, and Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn are criticizing a proposed $735,000 allocation in Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell's fiscal year 2027 budget for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), according to the Tennessean. In a social media post, Sexton said the Tennessee Comptroller's Office and the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference are reviewing the funding for compliance with state law while Blackburn is urging Nashville council members to reject the funding, describing TIRRC as a "pro-illegal alien nonprofit." TIRRC officials and the mayor's office are defending the allocation, noting the organization provides legal services and support for immigrants and refugees and has received city funding for years.

Knox County Board of Education members voted 5-4 on Friday to ask the Tennessee General Assembly to revise the state's Age-Appropriate Materials Act after the law led to the temporary removal of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "Roots" from school libraries, according to Tennessee Lookout. The resolution requests that lawmakers restore contextual review of challenged books, extend the review period from 60 to 90 days, and create age-specific standards for library materials. The action follows Knox County Schools Superintendent Jon Rysewyk's decision to reinstate "Roots" after determining legal experts disagree on how the law should be interpreted. The novel had been removed after a review committee found that a passage depicting the rape of an enslaved woman met the law's criteria for prohibited content.

A federal judicial panel last week approved a rule change designed to help make judges aware of situations when they must recuse themselves from cases. Reuters reports that the U.S. Judicial Conference's Committee on Rules of ‌Practice and Procedure approved a final rule designed to address concerns that judges were not being adequately informed that they might have a potential financial interest that would warrant ​recusal. The panel endorsed amending Rule 7.1 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to ​require parties in a lawsuit to disclose directly or indirect ⁠ownership by a publicly held business organization or parent entity with a 10% or more stake. The proposal was prompted in part by concerns that judges were not always aware of ownership structures involving large corporations. The rule change now moves to the Judicial Conference of the United States for review before consideration by the U.S. Supreme Court and Congress. If approved, the amendment would take effect Dec. 1, 2027.

A lawsuit filed Friday filed Friday in Davidson County Circuit Court alleges that a fire in a downtown parking garage last June resulted from negligence by the Nashville Downtown Partnership, the Nashville Banner reports. The suit, brought by Metro Nashville's insurer, Travelers, claims the Nashville Downtown Partnership and one of its contractors used the garage to store combustible materials and allowed employees to smoke inside the facility. The suit seeks more than $10 million in damages. In a statement, the Nashville Downtown Partnership said it was aware of the filing but could not comment on pending litigation. The garage, which is owned by Metro Nashville and operated by the Nashville Downtown Partnership, remains closed as a result of the fire. Travelers is represented by attorney Gail Vaughn Ashworth of Wiseman Ashworth Law Group.

Renew your TBA membership online today to avoid receiving the final print membership dues statement. Attorneys not participating in the TBA's firm billing program can log in and renew through their MyTBA dashboard. Questions about member benefits? Reach out to membership@tnbar.org.

Several states are weighing an American Bar Association (ABA) led push to encourage attorneys handling intellectually disabled and elderly clients to consider alternatives to legal guardianships, Bloomberg Law reports. The ABA House of Delegates approved revisions to Model Rule 1.14 earlier this year, updating guidance for lawyers representing clients with limited decision-making abilities amid concerns that guardianship has too often become a default solution. Supporters of the changes say they could help address longstanding problems in the guardianship system, including inadequate oversight and instances of abuse, while others argue that ethics rule revisions alone are unlikely to curb exploitation in the system. Michigan is already moving to adopt the revised language, and bar officials in several other states are exploring similar changes.

The University of Tennessee Winston College of Law (Winston Law) has selected the inaugural Frank Winston Public Interest and Business Law Fellows. Winston Law’s signature scholarship program is designed to attract exceptional students committed to serving the public good in the areas of public interest law and business law. Made possible through a transformational gift from The Bill Gatton Foundation, fellows receive full tuition and fees, a generous annual stipend, summer internship funding, faculty mentorship, research opportunities, personalized career advising and access to a variety of academic professional development programming. “The Winston Fellows program is modeled after other notable, longstanding scholarship programs such as Emory’s Robert W. Woodruff Scholars and Fellows Program and NYU’s Root-Tilden-Kern Scholars Program,” noted Winston Law Dean Lonnie T. Brown Jr. Read more in a press release from the law school.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a class action lawsuit in federal court challenging Section 1 of HB1704, which makes it a Class A misdemeanor for noncitizens to remain in Tennessee within 90 days of a final removal order, according to NewsChannel 5 Nashville. The law will go into effect July 1, and a Class A misdemeanor carries a maximum sentence of 11 months and 29 days in jail and a maximum fine of $2,500. The suit asks the court to prevent the state from enforcing Section 1 of the bill and to declare it unlawful, and names Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security Commissioner Jeff Long and several district attorneys as defendants. The filing alleges that hundreds or thousands of individuals could face arrest, detention and prosecution if the law takes effect.