Lawyers for Kilmar Abrego Garcia have asked a federal judge to dismiss his human smuggling case, arguing the prosecution is a retaliatory effort by the Trump administration for their client's successful challenge to removal to El Salvador. The Associated Press reports they cite public attacks from Donald Trump and top officials as evidence of “vindictive prosecution,” claiming the government is trying to punish him and reshape public opinion after deporting him in 2019 despite a judge’s order protecting him from gang violence. Abrego Garcia was returned to the U.S. under a Supreme Court order to face the smuggling charges. The case arose from a 2022 Tennessee traffic stop. The legal team is seeking at least a hearing on the government’s motives. The Hill also reports on the developments.

The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that internal investigations conducted by Jones Day and Squire Patton Boggs for FirstEnergy Corp. are likely shielded from disclosure under attorney-client privilege and the work-product doctrine. The ruling stayed a lower court order requiring disclosure in a shareholder lawsuit, citing the Supreme Court’s Upjohn decision, which protects internal legal investigations. The appeals court emphasized that privilege applies regardless of whether advice is later used for business purposes while the work-product doctrine covers materials prepared amid extensive legal and regulatory actions. The decision follows FirstEnergy’s involvement in a bribery scandal tied to the former Ohio state House speaker and a $230 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice in 2021. The ABA Journal has the story.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett praised collegiality in the legal profession as essential to a well-functioning judicial system during remarks Monday at the Seventh Circuit Judicial Conference in Chicago. Barrett, a former Notre Dame law professor and Seventh Circuit judge appointed to the high court by President Donald Trump in 2020, said lawyers learn to argue without letting disagreement consume relationships. She also credited that professionalism with enabling the system to work, according to Bloomberg Law.

A federal appeals court has overturned a judge’s finding of probable cause to hold Trump administration officials in criminal contempt for sending accused Venezuelan gang members to a prison in El Salvador despite an order to halt the deportations, Bloomberg Law reports. In a 2-1 ruling, U.S. officials will no longer face a contempt investigation or possible prosecution. In April, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington said officials acted in “willful disregard” of his orders to turn around planes carrying Venezuelans. Judge Greg Katsas, writing in support of the appeals court’s decision, said there was ambiguity in Boasberg’s initial order and that the government reasonably believed the ruling applied only to migrants physically leaving the U.S., which had already occurred by the time the order was issued.

A federal judge has struck down two Trump administration actions aimed at eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs at the nation's schools and universities. U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher in Maryland found that the Education Department violated the law when it threatened to cut federal funding from educational institutions that continued with DEI initiatives, National Public Radio reports. The guidance has been on hold since April when three federal judges blocked various portions. The ruling follows a motion for summary judgment from the American Federation of Teachers and the American Sociological Association, which argued the directives unlawfully expanded a 2023 Supreme Court decision restricting race-conscious decisions in admissions. The Associated Press reports on the initial actions.

A former Nashville police officer has been sentenced to one year of supervised probation after authorities said he participated in an adult video while on duty. Last week, Sean Herman entered a “best interest” plea in Nashville criminal court to one count of official misconduct, while a second count was dismissed, the Associated Press reports. The plea means he plead guilty while maintaining factual innocence. He also was granted judicial diversion. Herman was fired in May 2024 after detectives with the Specialized Investigations Division discovered the video and identified him by his police uniform. He was arrested the following month.

The Belonging Fund, a Nashville-based fundraising effort created in response to President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, has expanded its mission to cover legal services for immigrants, Axios Nashville reports. The fund, administered by the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, initially was designed to be a resource to help immigrant families with the cost of child care, housing, food and other needs. However, the fund’s website now states it will provide money for immigration-related representation and advocacy. Since its launch, the Belonging Fund has raised more than $525,000. To date it has distributed $98,000 through Conexión Américas to assist 132 families.

The state attorney general’s office has issued subpoenas seeking abortion-related information from four Tennessee hospitals as part of an ongoing lawsuit challenging the state’s abortion ban, The Tennessean reports. The subpoenas, filed earlier this year, request broad information including the number of abortions performed, policies and guidelines under the law, and documents and communications relating to abortion care. A protective order bars the information from being used outside of the lawsuits. The hospitals have objected to the subpoenas, citing patient privacy laws and other concerns. The lawsuit, filed in 2023 by a group of Tennessee women, argues their lives were endangered after they were denied emergency abortions under the state's ban. They say the law is vague and that physicians are refusing to perform medically necessary abortions out of fear of legal repercussions. The case is scheduled for trial next year.

Federal Public Defender (PD) Kelley Henry said Byron Black’s defibrillator did not activate during his Aug. 4 execution by lethal injection, Nashville Banner reports. Witnesses to the lethal injection said Black lifted his head off the gurney during the execution, groaned and said, “Oh, it’s hurting so bad.” It will be eight to 12 weeks before Black’s autopsy and toxicology reports are available, but Henry warned that the question of what was causing pain may go unanswered. The lethal dose of pentobarbital administered to Black should have rendered him unresponsive within seconds. Her team plans to submit public records requests to gather more information but a state motion to stay all proceedings would prohibit such discovery into the pentobarbital used. A hearing on the state’s motion is set for Aug. 22.

The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) has filed a lawsuit in Davidson County Chancery Court seeking access to records from a May immigration sweep in Nashville that led to about 200 arrests, Axios Nashville reports. The group claims the Tennessee Highway Patrol, which worked with federal immigration and homeland security agents on the operation, failed to release all requested records, denied the existence of some documents, and delayed producing video footage. TIRRC argues the actions violate the Tennessee Public Records Act, which ensures public access to information about state government operations.