The Red Bank City Commission has appointed attorney Bryan Hoss to serve as city judge until a special election on Aug. 6 to fill the remainder of Judge Johnny Houston’s term following his medical disability, Chattanoogan.com reports. Hoss, who had been serving in an interim capacity, said he has picked up qualifying papers and plans to run in the election. Hoss has more than 20 years of legal experience, including work in criminal defense, civil litigation and appellate advocacy. He is a graduate of the McCallie School and the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law.

The Kingsport Board of Mayor and Aldermen unanimously approved a recommendation Tuesday to name the courthouse at the Kingsport/Sullivan County Justice Center in honor of the late Judge John S. McLellan III, who died Feb. 11 at the age of 80. A graduate of the University of Tennessee (now Winston) College of Law, McLellan practiced for 24 years as a general practitioner and served as the Sullivan County attorney, city attorney for Mt. Carmel and judge of the Kingsport City Juvenile Court. In 1994, Gov. Ned Ray McWherter appointed him to the 2nd Judicial District Circuit Court, where he served for 30 years. McLellan served as director of the Tennessee Trial Judges Association from 1996-1997 and joined the Court of the Judiciary in 1999. In 2004, his fellow judges elected him president of the Tennessee Judicial Conference. The TimesNews reports that the $14.4 million justice center expansion is expected to modernize court and police facilities and improve safety and accessibility for staff and the public.

The death of a Shelby County Jail inmate last year was caused by a drug overdose, according to an official autopsy report. According to the Daily Memphian, Marcel Hutton was found unresponsive around 7 p.m. CST Dec. 21 and was pronounced dead less than an hour later. Hutton was one of 13 inmates who died at the jail in 2025. He was in custody on a second-degree murder charge related to a 2024 shooting in his Millington home. According to reports, his cellmate said Hutton had been smoking K2 liquid, a form of synthetic marijuana, prior to his death. It remains unclear how drugs and other contraband entered the jail, though guards have been charged with smuggling items inside in the past.

The Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) and Tennessee’s American Inns of Court are accepting nominations for the 2026 Judge Pamela L. Reeves Tennessee Professionalism Award until May 8. The annual award is presented to a lawyer or judge whose life and practice display sterling character and unquestioned integrity, coupled with ongoing dedication to the highest standards of the rule of law and the highest standards of the legal profession in Tennessee. This year's award will be presented to a lawyer or judge residing in the Eastern Grand Division. Nominees must be alive when nominations are submitted but they need not be an active member of an American Inn of Court or the TBA. The award will be presented at the TBA's Annual Convention, which will be held in Knoxville June 10-13. See past recipients of the award.

Rutherford County Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh said the county is developing a plan to build a new jail to address ongoing overcrowding, the Rutherford Source reports. The process is expected to take about five years. The current detention center, built in 1998 for 500 inmates, now houses more than 1,000 and is considered full at 834. Fitzhugh said more than 100 inmates sentenced to state prison remain in local custody because of limited space in the Tennessee Department of Correction, with the county spending about $92 per inmate per day while receiving $42 in state reimbursement. He also addressed the sheriff’s office agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and noted deputies’ salaries remain about $15,000 lower than those of city police officers despite recent increases. He concluded his remarks with an announcement that he plans to retire Sept. 1 after serving as sheriff since 2017.

The nonprofit organization Common Cause has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for collecting sensitive voter data — such as Social Security numbers, home addresses and voter histories — to create a centralized record system, according to the Nashville Banner’s newsletter, Tennessee was one of at least 12, and as many as 19, states that voluntarily complied, according to the DOJ. The department also has sued non-compliant states. Suits have been dismissed in five of those states. The DOJ says the effort is intended to check voter rolls for noncitizens and deceased individuals, according to NPR. Common Cause called it a “a blatant, partisan power grab” in a press release. In addition to requiring the DOJ to stop collecting data, the suit asks the court to require the DOJ and anyone who has received sensitive voter information to delete it.

The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the constitutionality of a nearly 158-year-old federal ban on home distilling,  creating a split with the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which recently struck down the law. According to Reuters, in a 2-1 decision, the 6th Circuit said the ban is a “necessary and proper” means of enforcing federal excise taxes on distilled spirits, rejecting a challenge brought by an Ohio brewery owner who sought to produce whiskey at home for personal use. Read the opinion. The ban, enacted in 1868 to curb tax evasion, carries potential penalties including fines and prison time. Attorneys for the plaintiff said they plan to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Administrator Troy Haley has named Peter Frech of Nashville as the newest judge on the Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims, according to a blog post from the court. Frech will replace Judge Thomas Wyatt of Chattanooga, who will retire at the end of June. Frech focuses exclusively in workers’ compensation and has experience as both a plaintiff and defense lawyer. He also has worked for many years in family law. He earned his law degree with a focus in advocacy and dispute resolution at the University of Tennessee Winston College of Law in 2012. “He [Frech] brings stellar and wide-ranging experience, having represented both employees and employers, before the Court and the Appeals Board. He has a deep knowledge of the Workers’ Compensation Law, and a commitment to fairness and following the law,” Haley said. Frech will sit in both Nashville and Murfreesboro. His term will begin on July 1.

The Tennessee Board of Law Examiners recently released statistics about the state's February 2026 bar exam. According to the board, 240 individuals — 97 first time test takers and 143 repeaters — took the exam. They represent 60 different law schools and saw an overall pass rate of 43.75%. First-time test takers saw a pass rate of 60.82%. For first time test-takers at Tennessee law schools, Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law saw the highest rate with 77.78% followed by Vanderbilt University Law School at 66.67% and University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at 50%. Three schools — Belmont University College of Law, Nashville School of Law and University of Tennessee Winston College of Law — each had just a few first-time applicants and none of those individuals passed. See all statistical information released by the board or see the list of those who passed. In related news, due to an oversight, statistical information for the July 2025 bar exam was not included in TBA Today last year. Download that data packet here.

Samuel Scott Minton, whose conviction was vacated in January 2025 after spending more than 30 years in prison, has sued Bradley County, former Bradley County Sheriff Dan Gilley, former detective William Burtt and the estate of former detective Anthony Benefield. Minton alleges that the officials violated his civil rights, engaged in coercion and fabricated evidence in his case, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. The defendants deny wrongdoing. Minton was convicted in a 1994 jury trial following the rape and death of a Cleveland woman. He says he confessed to the crime without an attorney present but that many of his statements were made by a detective. The suit describes Minton at the time as a "vulnerable and functionally illiterate 20-year-old man with an intellectual disability." A confirmed alibi later proved that he was an hour away from the crime scene.