Four inmates at the Shelby County Jail died in a seven day span from Jan. 31 to Feb. 7. The Commercial Appeal reports that two of the deaths were from suicide and an apparent fentanyl overdose, though how the fentanyl got into the jail is unclear. The other two deaths are being investigated. According to the Daily Memphian, State Rep. John Gillespie, R-Memphis, and state Sen. Raumesh Akbari, D-Memphis, have proposed a bill allowing Shelby County to ask voters if they want to raise the local-option sales tax from 2.75% to 3.75% to help fund a new jail. If the bill clears the Tennessee General Assembly, voters would still have to pass the sales tax hike through a referendum. The jail has faced much criticism over the past several years regarding conditions ranging from broken doors and inadequate living conditions in intake to lack of beds and overcrowded holding cells. Commissioners approved $10 million in emergency repairs funding in September.

Federal agents on Monday removed a group of workers from Memphis taco truck TacoNGanas. Video footage shows four men in hoodies enter the food truck and usher employees outside. In a social media post, TacoNGanas wrote that it was not aware of what prompted the incident. “We have heard from the employees. They’ve been told they’re being detained by ICE,” the post reads. “We don’t know if the men you see in the video work for ICE or for someone else. You’ll see they have no uniforms, do not show any badge or ID, and did not leave any identifying information or paperwork.” The city of Memphis released a statement, saying, "Although these matters don’t fall under our jurisdiction, we reached out to federal authorities out of concern. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) confirmed that this action was carried out by federal agents." The Daily Memphian has the story.

In his seventh State of the State Address, Gov. Bill Lee unveiled a $59.5 billion budget proposal Monday that focuses on core government services including education, public safety, infrastructure upgrades, farmland grants, nuclear energy and increased investments in trade schools. Axios reports the breakdown includes $37.9 million for the Tennessee Highway Patrol, which would cover 100 new state troopers; $3.4 million in funding for 22 new positions at the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation; $1 billion to the Tennessee Department of Transportation; and $275 million for a newly created emergency operations center. According to the Nashville Banner, in addition to the $145 million for his private school voucher program, Lee’s budget proposal includes more than $580 million in public school investments, including both one-time teacher bonuses and teacher pay increases promised during the special session. See a detailed breakdown of the proposed budget.

Members of the 2025 TBA Leadership Law (TBALL) class gathered last weekend in Nashville for the program's opening retreat. The event featured sessions providing an introduction to the program and the chance to hear from some of Tennessee’s top leaders. Speakers included TBA President-elect Heidi Barcus, Abby Rubenfeld, Byron Trauger, DarKenya W. Waller, Deb Varallo, Donna Yurdin, Emily Heird, Emily Landry and Maureen Holland. The class also heard from a range of judicial leaders including U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Kevin Ritz, Tennessee Court of Appeals Judges Kristi Davis and Jeffrey Usman, Tennessee Circuit Court Judge Joel Wallace, General Sessions Court Judge Danielle Mitchell and Judicial Commissioner Christopher Ingram. View pictures from the event. TBALL strives to equip participants with the vision, knowledge and skills necessary to serve as leaders. Learn more about the program.

Belmont University College of Law has been named one of 10 finalists in Bloomberg Law’s third annual Law School Innovation Program, exemplifying a holistic approach to legal education. Belmont Law’s Extended Enneagram Training was selected from more than 30 program applications and was the only program chosen in Tennessee. Bloomberg Law focused on career resilience for its 2024-2025 program, asking law schools what they are doing to counteract burnout and build fortitude for a fulfilling, long-term legal career. Intentionally designed by Deborah Farringer, associate dean for academic affairs and associate professor of law, and Kristi Arth, assistant dean for experiential learning and assistant professor of law, the Extended Enneagram Training falls into the well-being finalist category. Read more in a release from the law school.

The Washington County Bar Association (WCBA) announced its 2025 officers on Friday. They are: President Jerome Cochran, President-elect Brady Smith, Vice President Hunter Shepard; Secretary Thomas J. Smith; and Treasurer Jesse J. Campbell. In addition, three board members were elected. They are: Nora Koffman, Sarah Larkin and Solange McDaniel.

A third federal judge said today he would block President Donald Trump’s effort to curtail automatic birthright citizenship for babies born to undocumented parents. According to Reuters, U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Laplante in New Hampshire  issued a preliminary injunction preventing the executive order from taking effect. The move comes after federal judges in Maryland and Washington state issued separate injunctions last week blocking the order's enforcement nationwide. A lawyer for the ACLU, which brought the case, argued the order violated the 14th Amendment's citizenship clause and a 1898 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that recognized citizenship regardless of parents' immigration status. A U.S. Justice Department attorney contended that the plaintiffs were relying on non-binding parts of the ruling, which only guaranteed citizenship for children of parents who permanently resided in the country.

Gov. Bill Lee will deliver his annual State of the State address this evening before the Tennessee General Assembly, discussing the state’s past successes and future challenges, WBIR News reports. He will speak from the House Chamber, and the address will be streamed live on his official Facebook page and YouTube channel. The speech is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. CST. In advance of the speech, the governor outlined his themes in a release and accompanying video.

U.S. law firms saw an 11.5% increase in profits in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared with the previous year, reaching near-record highs, according to Reuters. The report found that while law firm services grew more than 3% in the quarter, demand slowed, lawyer productivity declined by 0.4% and both direct and overhead expenses increased due to year-end bonuses and significant technology investments. The Thomson Reuters Institute, which tracks financial metrics from 195 large and mid-sized law firms, suggested firms may face more challenges in 2025 as transactional growth may not offset declining demand in counter-cyclical and other practices.

TBA member and Tennessee licensed-attorney Thomas West is suing the state of Tennessee over the professional privilege tax. West, who resides in Kansas, argues that the tax should be declared unconstitutional facially, or at least a violation of the Interstate Commerce Clause when applied to attorneys living outside the state. The tax, a flat $400, applies the same to attorneys regardless of where they live. But, he argues, attorneys outside the state will not have nearly as much Tennessee business and therefore the authorization to practice law in the state is not as valuable. He cites Amer. Trucking Assns. v. Scheiner, 483 U.S. 266, 296 (1987), in which the U.S. Supreme Court found that “… imposition of the flat taxes for a privilege that is several times more valuable to a local business than to its out-of-state competitors is unquestionably discriminatory, and thus offends the Commerce Clause … If each State imposed flat taxes for the privilege of making commercial entrances into its territory, there is no conceivable doubt that commerce among the States would be deterred.” West filed his suit with a three-judge panel constituted to hear challenges to state laws. That panel ruled on Feb. 4 that the tax is constitutional. Read the decision. He now has appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals and filed a motion with the Tennessee Supreme Court, asking it to assume jurisdiction.