A detainee at the Shelby County Jail died early in the morning today, a spokesperson with the Shelby County Sheriff's Office confirmed. According to the Commercial Appeal, Coltral Pondexter, who was detained at the main jail at 201 Poplar, experienced a medical emergency. The Memphis Fire Department was called and transported the inmate to Regional One Health. Pondexter was pronounced dead at the hospital. The spokesperson said the sheriff's office was investigating Pondexter's death. Last year, 13 inmates reportedly died in custody at the jail.

A new study from Stanford Law School found that law professors preferred artificial intelligence-generated responses over answers written by fellow professors when evaluating common first-year law student questions. According to Reuters, professors from 14 law schools compared responses from faculty members and two AI platforms and selected the AI-generated answers as more beneficial to students 75% of the time. Researchers said the findings suggest AI is capable of sophisticated legal reasoning and could serve as an effective tutoring tool for law students. 

The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents about a phone scam accusing them of shirking jury duty. A recent victim told the department that an unknown caller threatened them with arrest and used real personal information to pressure them into compliance. The sheriff’s office says real officers will never demand cash payment to avoid arrest, issue a “gag order” over the phone or threaten additional charges for hanging up. They urge residents who receive suspicious calls to hang up and reach out directly to the sheriff’s office. News Channel 5 has more on the scam.

Metropolitan Nashville-Davidson County General Sessions Court has announced the hiring of its first court social worker, Laura Frazier, a move court leaders say will help connect individuals with critical services while navigating legal proceedings. Fox17 reports that Frazier's responsibilities include helping connect individuals with resources such as housing assistance, food programs, health care, mental health services, employment support and other community-based services. Presiding Judge Robin Kimbrough Hayes said in a statement, "Social workers bring vital human context to the adversarial court system. ... By bridging the gap between legal proceedings and human needs, they advocate for clients, provide holistic assessments, and guide vulnerable individuals through the complexities of the justice system." Frazier previously worked with Nashville's Shelter Court, where she helped people experiencing homelessness access services and community programs.

OpenAI has hired Ironclad co-founder and former CEO Jason Boehmig to lead a new legal vertical, marking the AI company's direct entry into the market for legal-specific tools. Boehmig, a former corporate attorney who co-founded contract management platform Ironclad in 2014 and recently transitioned to executive chairman there, said he sees the legal industry as more dynamic than ever as firms, in-house teams and law schools all grapple with generative AI. The move follows similar pushes into legal tech by Anthropic, which launched a suite of legal plug-ins for Claude earlier this year, and Microsoft, which released an AI legal agent within Word in April. Law.com has more on the story.

Senior Judge Don R. Ash has been assigned to oversee the cases of 11 current and former Knox County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) employees, including former Sheriff Jimmy "J.J." Jones, indicted on charges of conspiring to illegally spend drug funds and misuse department staff time. According to WBIR, Ash was assigned because Knox County judicial personnel have personal connections to several defendants. Knox County District Attorney Charme Allen similarly recused herself, and Steven Crump, executive director of the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference, has been appointed district attorney general pro tem. The indictments — stemming from a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation probe built on a prior federal investigation — came shortly after a county Republican primary in which two of the defendants ran for sheriff. That race ultimately was won by a KCSO employee who was not among those charged. Knox News has more on the case.

Starting July 1, the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission will begin enforcing a 2025 law that effectively will ban THCA and similar popular hemp-derived products. The Tennessee Lookout reports that the ban is expected to heavily impact an industry that had grown significantly since 2018. Experts project severe economic consequences — including a drop in state hemp tax projections from over $55 million to under $10 million — given that THCA alone accounts for roughly 75% of hemp sales. Meanwhile, broader uncertainty looms as federal reclassification of marijuana from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3 and removal of a state provision that would have triggered a medical marijuana review leave Tennessee's long-term cannabis policy unresolved. The news outlet reports that medical marijuana legislation is anticipated to be introduced when the state legislature reconvenes in January 2027.

Each year the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) recognizes outstanding service by attorneys, law students and legal advocates who demonstrate an exceptional commitment to increasing access to justice for underserved individuals and communities in Tennessee. This year, TBA will honor these award recipients at the 2026 Public Service Breakfast set for June 11 as part of the TBA’s Annual Convention in Knoxville. One of the awards, the CASA Volunteer of the Year Award, will be presented to Tracy Farmer who has worked with Williamson County CASA for the past 14 years. The award is given each year by the TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD). This year, it will be presented by TBA YLD Middle Tennessee Governor Alix Rogers, who is the assistant dean for career and professional development at Belmont University College of Law. Read more about Farmer in TBA's press release.

A survivor of the shooting at Antioch High School has filed a lawsuit against the companies behind the school's artificial intelligence gun detection system, alleging the technology failed to identify the weapon used in the attack, NewsChannel 5 reports. Antonyous Henin, who was injured during the shooting that killed student Josselin "Dayana" Corea Escalante, filed suit against Omnilert, the maker of the detection technology, and Systems Integrations Inc., which allegedly installed the system. The lawsuit claims the companies misrepresented the capabilities of the technology and asserts claims including defective design, negligence, failure to warn and violations of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act. Henin is seeking compensatory damages, with the amount to be determined at trial, as well as additional damages, attorneys' fees and court costs.

Each year the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) recognizes outstanding service by attorneys, law students and legal advocates who demonstrate an exceptional commitment to increasing access to justice for underserved individuals and communities in Tennessee. This year, TBA will honor these award recipients at the 2026 Public Service Breakfast set for June 11 as part of the TBA’s Annual Convention in Knoxville. The Ashley T. Wiltshire Public Service Attorney of the Year Award will be presented to Jennifer Egelston, an attorney in the Knoxville office of Legal Aid of East Tennessee (LAET). Egelston was selected for her work on several complicated family law cases and for using her experience handling cases involving Abrial’s Law to educate other attorneys on utilizing the protections it offers to parents and children. The Law Student Volunteer Award recognizes the efforts of a student enrolled at or recently graduated from a Tennessee law school who provided dedicated and outstanding pro bono service while working with an organization primarily engaged in providing legal representation to indigent clients. This year, TBA is honoring Sierra Sidoti, a student at the Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law. Since the summer of 2024, Sidoti has served as a pro bono law clerk in the Knoxville office of LAET. Read more about both of these award winners in the TBA's press release. Learn more about the awards and see past recipients on the TBA website.