Nashville is appealing a Tennessee Court of Appeals decision that upheld a 2023 state law cutting its city council in half to the Tennessee Supreme Court, WPLN reports. The ruling from a three-judge panel of the appeals court overturned a lower court ruling that the law was unconstitutional under the state's Home Rule amendment, which prohibits legislation that specifically targets one local government. If the law ultimately is upheld, the council would be reduced from 40 to 20 members for the 2027 election.

The U.S. Senate voted 46-42 on Monday to confirm Whitney Hermandorfer to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, Bloomberg Law reports. Hermandorfer will replace Judge Jane Branstetter Stranch, who announced plans last year to assume senior status upon confirmation of a successor. Hermandorfer directs the strategic litigation unit for the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office. She has been on the forefront of a number of high-profile state cases including a near total ban on abortion, prohibition on certain medical treatments for transgender minors, and a challenge to the Biden administration’s rule extending anti-sex discrimination language to transgender students. She also signed Tennessee’s amicus brief in support of President Donald Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order and against universal injunctions. Prior to joining the attorney general’s office, Hermandorfer worked at Williams & Connolly and clerked for Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Amy Coney Barrett, and now-justice Brett Kavanaugh when he was on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Davidson County Chancellor Russell Perkins heard testimony this week from a medical expert on just how excruciating Byron Black’s execution could be. Black is scheduled to die on Aug. 5, an event made more complicated by the fact that he has a cardioverter-defibrillator that was implanted in his chest last year due to congestive heart failure, the Nashville Banner reports. The doctor testified that as pentobarbital works its way through Black’s system, there is a high likelihood that the device would repeatedly shock him. Black’s legal team is seeking a court order to have the device reprogramed to turn off that function. Read more from the Banner’s July 15 newsletter.

Three candidates are seeking to replace Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Paula Skahan, who stepped down from the bench. Jahari M. Dowdy, Raymond "Ray" J. Lepone and Kenya N. Smith will make a case for why they should be appointed to the role during a public hearing this week. Dowdy, a criminal defense attorney and owner of her own law firm, has focused on criminal defense for 20 years and is applying for a judgeship for the first time. Lepone, former deputy district attorney and juvenile court magistrate, brings years of prosecutorial experience. He recently joined the Tennessee attorney general’s office. Smith is a Shelby County judicial commissioner and longtime prosecutor. Read more about each of the candidates in the Commercial Appeal.

Tennessee’s annual sales tax holiday weekend will take place Thursday, July 25, through Sunday, July 27, according to a release from the Department of Revneue. During the holiday, Tennesseans can save nearly 10% on qualifying clothing, school supplies and computers. Clothing and school supplies priced at $100 or less will be tax-free, and computers priced at $1,500 or less also will be tax-free. Qualifying items may be purchased online and in stores. For more information about the sales tax holiday, including a list of qualifying items, visit the Department of Revenue’s website.

Dr. Ralph Alvarado stepped down as commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health on Friday after nearly three years in the role. According to the Daily Memphian, Gov. Bill Lee has appointed Tennessee State Epidemiologist John Dunn as interim commissioner, effective immediately. Nashville native Dunn joined the department in 2005 and previously served as deputy state epidemiologist and state public health veterinarian. He has been the state epidemiologist since 2019. He also is an adjunct professor at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. “John is a committed public servant with decades of service to Tennesseans,” Lee said. “I appreciate his leadership during this time of transition and am confident he will serve with integrity.”

The attorneys representing Tyré Nichols’ family and estate want the trial over their civil rights lawsuit against the city of Memphis pushed to late 2026, the Daily Memphian reports. On Friday, the attorneys filed a late-night motion for miscellaneous relief. The filing included a new proposed scheduling order that would move the potential trial date for the case to November 2026. According to the plaintiffs, the proposed change is due to the city releasing reams of evidence near the end of the deadline for them to do so. They claim the documents and videos are not labeled and that a team of 10 staffers has to search through each video and match it to an incident description. U.S. District Judge Sheryl Lipman has been assigned to the case after Judge Mark Norris recused himself. Lipman set a status conference for July 23.

A recently released report finds Tennessee is among the states where unemployment claims have grown the most — almost a 100% increase in recent weeks, according to Knox News. WalletHub released its findings on unemployment claims in each state over the past year, and Tennessee was among the 24 states that saw more unemployment claims week over week when compared with last year. The study used data from the U.S. Department of Labor. While full unemployment rates for June will not be released until later this month, Tennessee has shown a decline in its unemployment rate so far in 2025, dropping from 3.7% in January to 3.5% in May, significantly lower than the national rate of 4.2%. The recent uptick in week-over-week claims could point to more changes to come in the unemployment rate, according to the paper.

The country music singer who was driving when attorney Dorothy “Dot” Dobbins was struck and killed in the Nashville neighborhood of Germantown has been charged with a misdemeanor. According to WKRN, Conner Smith has been charged with failure to yield the right of way resulting in death, a Class A misdemeanor. The Metro Police Department Traffic Division issued the citation last Thursday night. Authorities said officers did not find any evidence of impairment or distracted driving by Smith. He is scheduled to be booked on Aug. 7. Dobbins was remembered at a celebration of life on June 18. Memorial donations may be made to The Alternatives To Violence Project Inc. (AVP-USA), 2136 Ford Parkway, Saint Paul, MN 55116. 

In this month’s episode of BarBuzz, TBA staff sit down with Brant Harrell, Zac Oswald, Kyle Stack and Anne-Louise Wirthlin to dive deeper into “Access to Justice in the Age of AI,” the cover story in the May/June Tennessee Bar Journal. Each guest contributed insights and experiences for the article, including how they’re using technology — from AI tools to the Justice Bus — to expand legal access, bridge rural gaps and keep client data secure. Join TBA’s Communications Coordinator Azya Thornton and Access to Justice Director Liz Slagle Todaro for the July podcast to learn more. Missed a past episode? Check them out in the BarBuzz archive.