Some immigrants who previously were required to check in at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in Knoxville must now travel to Nashville, Knox News reports. The appointments are part of the process for immigrants who were released into the U.S. or are awaiting the result of their asylum claim. Some individuals who had scheduled appointments with the office on April 23 were told to report to the Nashville office, while others checked in as normal and were given their next appointment time. One man was detained on a removal order. The previous week, 13 were detained. The Knoxville ICE office oversees immigrants living in 23 counties. The office has been closed for routine check-ins since last month. The paper reports that multiple calls and emails to the office have gone unanswered.

The American Bar Association (ABA) sued the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) last week claiming the department illegally terminated federal grants in retaliation for the organization’s public criticism of the administration. It is seeking a temporary restraining order to block the government from terminating the funds. According to Reuters, on April 10, DOJ terminated $3.2 million in grants used to train lawyers to represent victims of domestic and sexual violence. The ABA says it has received grant funding for that purpose since 1995. The suit also notes that the group has lost a total of $69 million in federal grants since the new administration took office, which has led it to lay off 300 employees. In separate reporting, Reuters says DOJ is terminating another $811 million in grant programs, including those for victim services and police training.

Several national events and activities are being planned for this year's Law Day, which has been observed in the United States since 1958. This year’s Law Day theme, “The Constitution’s Promise: Out of Many, One,” celebrates what unites Americans as a country and a people. Tomorrow, the American Bar Association (ABA) will release results from the seventh annual Survey of Civic Literacy, which measures the public’s civics knowledge. On Thursday, the group will hold a virtual Law Day event with retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and multiple panelists. Register here to receive the link. Finally, a special edition of the Civics 101 podcast, recorded live this month, is now available to stream. The program was sponsored by Civics 101, Discovering Justice, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts and the ABA Division for Public Education. Learn more about each of these programs, get resources for planning a Law Day event, or watch the Law Day launch program, which is now available to stream.

Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Paula Skahan has announced that she will retire in June, the Daily Memphian reports. Skahan has served on the bench since 2004 when she was appointed by former Gov. Phil Bredesen. In a letter notifying Gov. Bill Lee of her retirement, Skahan said, “…it has been an honor and pleasure to serve our citizens for the past 20 years. I am truly grateful for the experience and memories it has given me during this time.” Before being appointed as judge, Skahan worked as a criminal-defense attorney, a prosecutor and a public defender in Shelby County. She graduated from the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis.

The Tennessee Supreme Court issued two rulings today. In the first case, the court ruled that a lawsuit against Life Care Center in Tullahoma may proceed, despite the plaintiff's death. The case involves an elderly woman, Annie Jones, who was on camera while being bathed by a nursing home employee who also was conversing on a personal video call. Jones’s daughter filed a lawsuit alleging the nursing home committed the tort of intrusion upon seclusion, a privacy violation. Life Care argued that the suit should end due to Jones’s death. The court disagreed, stating that most tort lawsuits, including privacy claims, can continue even after the plaintiff's death. In the second ruling, the court held that the state’s collateral estoppel doctrine prevents a plaintiff from relitigating the issue of class certification in a refiled case. In this case, plaintiffs sought to certify a class action over TennCare’s $50 cap on non-emergency services. The court ruled that because the issue of class certification had already been denied in an earlier case, it could not be revisited.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is restoring more than 1,500 foreign students' visa registrations following recent lawsuits. According to The Hill, the agency filed notice today that it will reinstate student records to the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), a system that provides international student data to the Department of Homeland Security. ICE also announced it is creating a new "framework for SEVIS record terminations" and, until that framework is in place, all student records will be maintained. Several Tennessee schools — including the University of Tennessee, University of Memphis and Christian Brothers University — had reported in the past few weeks that international students on their campuses had been impacted. Knox News reports on what the move means for UT students, while the Commercial Appeal looks at the University of Memphis.

The City of Nashville has sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) over recent public health funding cuts, which the city argues are unconstitutional. According to The Tennessean, the lawsuit alleges the cuts were illegal and lacked congressional approval because the funds previously were reviewed and approved by Congress. Nashville joined three other local governments in filing the suit in federal court in Washington, D.C. In March, HHS cut $11 billion in public health funding as part of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) review effort. The Trump administration characterized the funds as COVID-era relief, but Nashville’s suit contends that Congress repeatedly reviewed and renewed some of the grants well after the peak of the pandemic.

The Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) Duncan School of Law will host Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Dwight E. Tarwater as its 2025 commencement speaker on May 8. He will be the first sitting justice to speak at the law school's commencement. Tarwater joined the state’s high court in September 2023 following his nomination by Gov. Bill Lee and confirmation by the Tennessee General Assembly. Tarwater co-founded the Knoxville law firm of Paine Tarwater Bickers LLP and gained national recognition for handling complex litigation in state and federal courts across more than 20 states. “We are honored to have Justice Tarwater speak to our graduates and their families at our upcoming commencement exercises,” said LMU Law Vice President and Dean Matt Lyon in a press release. The law school’s 13th graduating class is the largest in its history.

The Tennessee Board of Parole on Tuesday recommended a pardon for country music star Jelly Roll, a Nashville native who has spoken openly about his criminal record. The board’s unanimous, nonbinding recommendation now leaves the final decision to Gov. Bill Lee. The rapper-turned-country singer is seeking a pardon so he can more easily travel internationally to perform and share his message of redemption, after spending time behind bars as a young person. The Associated Press reports that his most serious convictions include a robbery at age 17 and drug charges at 23. Due to his record, Jelly Roll told the board, it “takes a team of lawyers and a mountain of paperwork” to travel abroad. The board began reviewing his application in October 2024, marking at least five years since his sentence expired. Lee has issued more than 90 pardons since taking office in 2019, all of them since 2021.

Nearly all counties in Tennessee reported unemployment rates below 5% in March, according to newly released data from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Only four of the state’s 95 counties recorded unemployment rates of 5% or higher, with the highest at 5.7%. Unemployment rates decreased from February to March in 70 counties, remained the same in 17, and increased in eight.