Tennessee is prepared to provide the U.S. Department of Agriculture with personal data on low-income recipients of federal food stamp aid according to a spokesperson with the state Department of Human Services. Tennessee Lookout reports that the Trump administration made the 50-state data request in May, seeking the names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and total dollar value of benefits received for each individual enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) over the past five years. As of April, 687,000 Tennesseans received the benefit, which provides a monthly cash allotment loaded onto a debit card to be used for food purchases only. The federal request, along with work by the Department of Government Efficiency to cut spending, stems from a presidential executive order. Advocacy groups filed a lawsuit May 22 challenging the administration’s authority to demand the data. Some states have refused to comply, while others have signaled they will provide the information.

Hamilton County Juvenile Court Judge Rob Philyaw has named Keith Harding Grant as the new administrator of the court. Grant is a graduate of East Tennessee State University and earned his law degree from Louisiana State University. He is admitted to practice in all Tennessee state courts, has practiced law for 24 years and is a partner at the law firm Robinson, Smith & Wells PLLC, according to Chattanoogan.com. “I am extremely excited to join the Juvenile Court team,” Grant said. “I am looking forward to the challenges and opportunities that await. I have always thought that Judge Philyaw doesn’t have a job as Juvenile Court judge; he has a calling. I look forward to joining him in that calling, working with the outstanding men and women who already serve Hamilton County’s citizens so well.” Read more about Grant from his firm's website.

U.S. District Court Judge Loren AliKhan ruled Friday that President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting Susman Godfrey violates the U.S. Constitution and must be permanently enjoined. AliKhan found that the order “constitutes unlawful retaliation against Susman for activities that are protected by the First Amendment, including its representation of certain clients, its donations to certain causes, and its expression of its beliefs regarding diversity.” It was the fourth ruling finding in favor of law firms targeted by executive order, Bloomberg Law reports. The firm sued over the order in April. In related news, the U.S. Justice Department said this week it will appeal another judge’s decision to strike down an executive order targeting Perkins Coie. In early May, U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell ruled that order violated the constitution. Both AliKhan and Howell serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) will soon transition from physical mail to scanned, digitized personal mail for inmates at three facilities beginning Aug. 1. According to a press release, mail will be received at an off-site, centralized facility, where it will be processed, scanned and delivered in a digital format to inmates on their TDOC-issued tablets. The new process aims to reduce contraband and increase security while providing faster, more reliable mail delivery. Privileged mail — including correspondence from attorneys, court clerks, legal aid clinics and government officials or agencies — will not be affected and should continue to be sent directly to the facility where the inmate is incarcerated. Privileged mail sent to the scanning facility will be forwarded to the facility, and outgoing inmate mail will not be affected.

The Child Advocacy Center of Rutherford and Cannon Counties has secured a $1 million commitment to help fund a building project. The Rutherford County Commission on June 12 unanimously approved the capital funding for the center, which provides free services for children who have been victims and supports prosecution of child rape and abuse cases, The Tennessean reports. The decision followed a unanimous recommendation from the seven-member Rutherford County Budget, Finance and Investment Committee. The center contributes to prosecutions by providing trained experts to interview children, who tell their stories on video recordings.

U.S. District Judge Mark Norris has removed himself from the pending civil rights lawsuit over Tyré Nichols’ death. U.S. District Judge Sheryl Lipman has been assigned to the yearslong case, the Daily Memphian reports. Norris’ recusal follows his earlier withdrawal from the federal criminal case against the five former Memphis Police Department officers charged in connection with Nichols’ 2023 death, which led to the cancellation of their federal sentencing hearings. His order to recuse himself was filed Thursday, but the reason for his decision remains unclear.

Puerto Rico has enacted new lawyer ethics rules that allow nonlawyers to have an ownership interest in law firms, the American Bar Association (ABA) Journal reports. Although Puerto Rico’s new ethics rules are modeled on the ABA Model Rules, the provision allowing nonlawyer ownership is a key change. Nonlawyers may not own more than 49% of the shares in law offices, which must be operated by lawyers licensed in Puerto Rico. The rules also state that nonlawyers cannot interfere with lawyers’ independent professional judgment or provide services to the law offices. The Puerto Rico Supreme Court plans to assess the rule’s effectiveness after three years. Other jurisdictions that allow nonlawyer ownership of law firms include Arizona and the District of Columbia, while Utah permits it under the restrictions of its regulatory sandbox program. The ABA released Formal Opinion 499 in 2021, which ruled that a lawyer generally may invest passively in a law firm that includes nonlawyer owners in jurisdictions that permit such alternative business structures.

Chattanoogan.com will begin offering legal notice publication services on July 1 under an amended Tennessee law that now requires public notices to appear in both print and qualifying online news outlets. According to the Chattanoogan, publisher John Wilson said the online news site, which has maintained a legal notice section in anticipation of such legislation, meets all requirements under the new law. While foreclosure and election notices are exempt, other legal notices must now run in established online sources if available in the county. Legal notices placed with Chattanoogan.com will cost $1.50 per word, capped at $75, and include up to four weeks of publication.

Metro Nashville Council members are reviving the legislative body's Black Caucus, which has been inactive since 2011. According to Axios Nashville, the Black Caucus traces its roots to 1951, when the city's first Black council members, Z. Alexander Looby and Robert Lillard, were elected. Metro Council member Jennifer Gamble will now chair the caucus, which includes 11 members. According to a news release, the Black Caucus “recognizes that there are issues unique to Black Nashvillians that require a more targeted focus.”

Attorneys for Byron Black, a man on Tennessee’s death row, are asking the Tennessee Supreme Court to order a lower court to consider whether he is mentally competent to be executed. Black was sentenced to death in Nashville in 1989 for the murders of his girlfriend and her daughters. He is scheduled to be executed on Aug. 5. In court filings, Black’s attorneys have said he has an intellectual disability, progressive dementia and brain damage, which leave him incapable of grasping why he is being put to death. They argue that the trial court and Court of Criminal Appeals erred when they declined to consider competency. Nashville Public Radio has more on the story. In 2022, Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk agreed that Black should be removed from death row.