Shelby County General Sessions Court Clerk Tami Sawyer was suspended on June 17 after being charged on six federal counts including wire fraud, money laundering, theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, and interstate travel in aid of racketeering enterprises. The Daily Memphian reports that all 15 General Sessions Court judges signed the order suspending Sawyer. She will be paid and receive benefits during the 60-day suspension, which began at the end of the day Wednesday, but must forfeit her badge, keys and access to computer systems. “The outcome of your legal matters will determine whether or not these items and access will be returned and restored,” judges wrote in the order. The judges also appointed Ed Stanton Jr., a former General Sessions Court clerk, to run the office in the immediate interim.

Federal Judge Katherine Crytzer denied fired University of Tennessee (UT) professor Tamar Shirinian's request for immediate reinstatement to her position, citing a shifted legal landscape following her February firing and a new state law expanding chancellors' disciplinary authority. Meanwhile, Magistrate Judge Jill McCook approved Shirinian's amended lawsuit naming UT officials, state Rep. Chris Todd, R-Jackson, and U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Knoxville, as defendants over claims including First Amendment violations and defamation. Knox News reports that Shirinian was fired after a Facebook comment about Charlie Kirk's assassination drew online backlash and pressure on UT leadership, including a donor's threat to pull a $10 million gift unless she was terminated. Shirinian also is seeking to unmask that donor's identity. A trial in the case is scheduled for Jan. 19, 2027.

Memphis attorney Adam Remsen snagged his fifth straight Jeopardy! win on Thursday, earning $27,000 and bringing his four-day total of winnings to $99,601. According to the Commercial Appeal, Remsen was the only contestant to answer the Final Jeopardy question correctly. With this win, he has qualified for the game show's Tournament of Champions. He will try for a sixth victory on Friday.

The TBA offices will be closed Friday for Juneteenth, a federal and state holiday in the United States commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. Specifically, it marks the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, finally learned they were free, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. The TBA will reopen on Monday at 8 a.m. CDT. Staff information, including emails and direct phone lines, is posted on the TBA website and TBA CLE can be accessed at any time!

Adams & Reese has announced the launch of a Blockchain & Digital Assets Practice, led by partner Mike Henson. The new practice will advise clients on legal and regulatory issues involving blockchain technology, cryptocurrency, digital assets, fintech, Web3, NFTs, smart contracts and other emerging technologies. Henson, who recently joined the firm's Nashville office, is a registered patent attorney known for his work at the intersection of intellectual property law and emerging technology. He will work with startups, emerging-growth companies, financial institutions, technology companies, investors, developers and established businesses integrating blockchain technology into their operations. “Clients are looking for practical guidance that helps them innovate while managing legal, regulatory and commercial risk,” Henson said in a press release. “Our Blockchain & Digital Assets Practice will help clients address the full range of issues that arise as blockchain and digital asset technologies continue to develop.”

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has moved to intervene in and dismiss a lawsuit filed by the NAACP and the Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP against Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI, according to the Commercial Appeal. The lawsuit alleges violations of the Clean Air Act related to the use of gas turbines at xAI’s Southaven, Mississippi, facility. In court filings, the DOJ argued that xAI’s Grok artificial intelligence model is important to national security and that disrupting operations at the company’s power plant could hinder the development of future AI systems. The motion also cites concerns raised by Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves that an injunction could negatively affect the state’s economy. The NAACP and the Southern Environmental Law Center, which represents the plaintiffs, criticized the filing, arguing it would undermine the public’s ability to challenge alleged environmental violations.

A federal judge recently approved a class-action settlement with Google that provides hundreds of millions of U.S. account holders with a new way to limit the sharing of personal information in real-time bidding (RTB) advertising auctions, according to a release from Stranch, Jennings & Garvey, a Nashville law firm that is a member of the plaintiffs' executive committee. The lawsuit challenged Google's practice of sharing user data with hundreds of third parties through RTB auctions, which plaintiffs alleged was not adequately disclosed to users and occurred billions of times each day. As part of the settlement, Google introduced a new RTB Control that allows users to limit the information and reduce tracking within auctions. The control also is available online for certain signed-out users. The settlement also requires Google to provide enhanced disclosures about RTB auctions and available privacy options.

Country music artist Jelly Roll has donated nearly $300,000 and pledged an additional $300,000 to support the Judge Dinkins Education Center, a Nashville nonprofit school founded by Criminal Court Judge Jim Todd that provides education and trade-skills training to at-risk youth, the Tennessean reports. More than two decades after Todd prosecuted Jelly Roll as a juvenile offender, the two have partnered to help students facing challenges such as housing instability, mental health issues and involvement with the justice system. Since opening in 2023, the school has graduated 19 students, many of whom have gone on to earn trade certifications and secure jobs in construction and other skilled trades.

The same day Democratic plaintiffs dropped their lawsuit challenging Tennessee’s new U.S. House map, the Tennessee State Conference of the NAACP petitioned a federal judicial panel to block the map while its case proceeds, the Tennessee Lookout reports. The motion seeking an injunction argues that the map violates the 14th and 15th amendments and constitutes intentional racial discrimination designed to dilute the voting power of Black voters in Memphis. The suit has been consolidated with a challenge filed by the League of Women Voters and is one of two cases still pending against the map. A separate state lawsuit filed by the NAACP was dismissed last month. The other remaining challenge, filed by the ACLU, also alleges the map unlawfully discriminates against Black voters.

Knoxville lawyer Mary Beth Maddox took office as vice president of the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) last week during the group’s Annual Convention in Knoxville. She will advance to the position of president-elect in June 2027 and to the presidency in June 2028. Maddox, a partner with Frantz McConnell & Seymour LLP, has practiced law for more than 30 years, focusing on civil litigation, including labor and employment, workers’ compensation and tort matters. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia in 1991 and her law degree from the University of Tennessee (now Winston) College of Law in 1994. She has long been active in the TBA, previously serving on its Board of Governors as treasurer, associate general counsel and as an East Tennessee governor. She also served two terms as co-chair of the TBA’s Leadership Law (TBALL) program, where she served several years as a Steering Committee member. Read more about her career in the TBA's press release.