The Memphis suburb of Germantown and a city resident have reached a settlement in a federal lawsuit over the use of giant skeleton decorations in holiday displays. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), which represented resident Alexis Luttrell, and the city agreed to a $24,999 settlement in exchange for the dismissal of Luttrell’s First Amendment lawsuit, according to a news release. FIRE told The Commercial Appeal the settlement came shortly after the Germantown Board of Mayor and Aldermen unanimously approved the final reading to repeal the city’s holiday decoration ordinance during its April 28 meeting. The board did not discuss a new ordinance. In March, Germantown voluntarily dismissed charges against Luttrell for keeping skeletons in her yard beyond the 30-day limit set by the city’s property maintenance code, less than a month after FIRE filed the lawsuit.

Nashville School of Law (NSL) Dean William C. Koch Jr. announced Nashville attorney Marlene Eskind Moses as a new member of the NSL Board of Trust. Moses is a partner in the family law section at Gullett Sanford Robinson & Martin (GSRM Law) where she specializes in family law litigation, mediation, arbitration and collaborative law. Moses has been a staunch advocate of NSL since she graduated in 1980. “I am thrilled to be a board member at the Nashville School of Law," Moses said. "I owe the school a lot in terms of how it has propelled my life both professionally and personally." Koch stated, "Marlene’s national and international leadership in the field of family law demonstrates that NSL’s law degree enables our graduates to reach the heights of our noble profession.” Moses is a regular columnist for the Tennessee Bar Journal, coauthoring the Family Matters column with her associate, Ansley Owens Tillett. Read a press release from the law school.

Gov. Bill Lee will preside over the investiture of Judge Valerie L. Smith to the Tennessee Court of Appeals on May 19 at 2 p.m. CDT at the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, located at 1 North Front Street in Memphis. A reception will follow the ceremony. Guests are asked to RSVP to emily.rhea@tncourts.gov.

A federal judge in California on Wednesday ruled that Apple violated a U.S. court order requiring the company to allow greater competition for app downloads and payment methods in its App Store and will be referred to federal prosecutors. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said in an 80-page ruling that Apple failed to comply with her prior injunction, which was issued in an antitrust lawsuit filed by video game maker Epic Games, Reuters reports. In her ruling, Rogers said Apple is immediately barred from impeding developers' ability to communicate with users and must stop levying its new commission on off-app purchases. Apple has denied any wrongdoing.

The Trump administration has restored federal family planning funding to Tennessee and Oklahoma. The Biden administration cut off the funding in 2023, citing violations of federal rules requiring providers to offer abortion counseling. The Department of Health and Human Services reinstated the funds while simultaneously withholding nearly $66 million from other clinics in the Title X program, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. For more than 50 years, Title X has provided sexual and reproductive health services nationwide.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday directing the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) to launch a program to use free legal assistance from law firms to help police officers accused of wrongdoing. According to the order, the program will “provide legal resources and indemnification to law enforcement officers who unjustly incur expenses and liabilities for actions taken during the performance of their official duties to enforce the law.” Bloomberg Law notes that major law firms have committed $940 million in legal services in a series of deals with Trump, seeking to avoid punitive executive orders. The firms pledged to take up a range of issues, including supporting military veterans and law enforcement officers, as well as “ensuring fairness” in the justice system. Bloomberg has more on the order.

President Donald Trump has nominated Whitney Hermandorfer, director of the Strategic Litigation Unit in the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office, to serve as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. The vacancy was created when Judge Jane Branstetter Stranch announced she would take senior status following confirmation of a successor. It is Trump’s first judicial nomination since returning to the Oval Office and is expected to be one of more than 100 federal court appointments he could make over the next four years, according to Reuters. Trump praised Hermandorfer’s background, noting that she has clerked for three current members of the U.S. Supreme Court: Justices Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti called Hermandorfer “an outstanding nominee,” adding in a statement, “Whitney Hermandorfer's unwavering commitment to the rule of law, her exacting analytical rigor and her unshakeable optimism will serve our country well.”

Belmont University School of Law's Board of Advocates ranked in several national competitions throughout the 2024-2025 advocacy competition season. Three types of teams compete throughout the year: moot court, mock trial and transactional. Under the leadership of Amy Moore, professor of law and director of advocacy, the Board of Advocates provides students with opportunities to hone their legal advocacy skills through competitive experiences before entering the profession. These activities further supporting Belmont Law’s commitment to developing practice-ready lawyers, according to the school. Read this profile of Moore and the advocacy teams.

The National Center for Juvenile Justice last month released data that shows that Black and American Indian children are significantly more likely to be incarcerated than white children, despite similar rates of criminal behavior across races. Observers contend that the disparity stems from over-policing in communities of color and unequal treatment at every stage of the justice process. Additionally, although overall youth incarceration has dropped, those who remain — mostly children of color — tend to stay in detention longer, which increases their risk of long-term negative outcomes according to the study. NPR has the story.

Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) leaders recently met with the members of the state’s congressional delegation in Washington, D.C. TBA participants included President-elect Heidi Barcus, YLD President Sean Aiello, ABA House of Delegates Chair Jonathan Cole and Executive Director Sheree Wright. Nashville attorney John Weber also joined in for some meetings. The group met with Sen. Marsha Blackburn and staff from Sen. Bill Hagerty's office. On the House side, the group met with 3rd District Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, 4th District Rep. Scott DesJarlais, 5th District Rep. Andy Ogles and 8th District Rep. David Kustoff, a TBA member. The group also met with the staff of several other members. TBA members traveled to D.C. to participate in the American Bar Association's (ABA) annual Day on the Hill, which brings together state and local bar leaders from across the country to advocate for issues important to the legal profession. See photos from the event.