During recent budget hearings, Gov. Bill Lee addressed the need to fill correctional officer roles. According to Lee, Tennessee prisons are experiencing a 26% vacancy rate in these positions with 651 current vacant positions. There were 1,200 officers hired this year; however, high turnover rates have left prisons struggling with long-term retention, WSMV reports. Lee floated the idea of setting up a retention specialist in each prison to help officers transition from the training academy to the job. He also announced that in about a month, the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville will begin a pilot program to shuttle employees from larger cities to the facility.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is sounding the alarm about a Venezuelan gang it says is operating in major cities across Tennessee, News 5 reports. In its budget request to the governor, the agency warned about the rising threat of Tren de Aragua, a violent criminal group. "We know they are on a pathway to more violence," TBI Director David Rausch said at a budget hearing on Tuesday. "They are back in all our major cities. They are running human trafficking operations." Rausch said the gang was first identified in the state years ago in a human trafficking bust but many of the members fled after the operation. He said there's been no sight of them since until recently.

The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments will consider three applicants when it meets next month to select nominees for a vacancy on the Tennessee Court of Appeals, Eastern Section. They are: Sevierville lawyer Bryce W. McKenzie, Greeneville lawyer Willie Santana and Knoxville lawyer Steven W. Sword. A public hearing is scheduled for Dec. 5 at 10:30 a.m. EST in the courtroom of the Tennessee Supreme Court Building, 505 Main St., Knoxville 37902. Any member of the public may attend the hearing and can express, orally or in writing, objections concerning applicants for the vacancy. Following the interviews, public hearing and deliberations, the council will vote on which candidates to forward to the governor. More information on the applicants is available in a release from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Personal and business bankruptcy filings rose 16.2% this year compared to 2023, according to statistics released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Business filings increased 33.5% in 2024, while non-business bankruptcy filings rose 15.5%. Bankruptcy totals for the previous 12 months are reported quarterly. According to the report, total filings steadily declined for more than a decade, from a high of nearly 1.6 million in September 2010 to a low of 380,634 in June 2022. Filings have increased each quarter since then, but they remain well below historical highs.

The American Bar Association (ABA) has approved a new process allowing law schools to admit students without requiring the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) or other standardized test, Reuters reports. The ABA’s Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admission to the Bar on Friday voted to create a new process that would allow schools to apply for a variance to bypass the LSAT requirement for up to 100% of their incoming classes for a period of three to five years. The Law School Admission Council supports the move, which is seen as a way to improve diversity in legal education and reduce financial burdens on applicants, according to the news outlet. The new variance is the latest development in debates over whether the ABA should continue to require law schools to use the LSAT or other standardized tests.

The Davidson County District Attorney’s Office has started a pilot program that diverts the cases of “survivor-defendants” away from the criminal justice system and towards resources offered to other Nashvillians facing domestic violence. The program is a partnership with the YWCA of Nashville and Middle Tennessee and since June 1, around 40 individuals have had their cases diverted through it, according to the Nashville Banner. Nashville was selected by the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys (APA) to be one of two pilot sites for similar programs. The APA will provide guidance and oversight along with data analysis to evaluate whether Nashville’s program is effective. For now, the program is only offered to people charged with a misdemeanor.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is proposing a $3 million pilot project to test sewage from Knoxville-area high schools, college dorms and other locations for illicit drugs, the Tennessee Lookout reports. If the budget for the project is approved, testing will initially begin on wastewater from 12 public high schools and 16 college dorms, with 120 Knoxville locations potentially also being selected for testing at the TBI’s discretion. Results of school and dorm-based wastewater testing can help keep parents and school administrators informed about student drug use, the paper reports. Testing sewage for illicit drug use is underway in 70 U.S. cities as part of a National Institute on Drug Abuse-funded program intended to help guide cities in where they need to focus resources in preventing overdose deaths.

Last weekend the TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD) hosted a wills clinic with the Williamson County Bar Association. Nineteen first responders from the Franklin Police Department were assisted by 10 attorney volunteers and five nonattorney volunteers. Special thanks to TBA YLD District 11 representative Charles Ferguson for organizing the clinic. See a photo from this event.

The Department of Children's Services (DCS) is requesting $6 million to expand its contract with Youth Villages, whose “Intercept” program brings intensive three-day-per-week services into the homes of families in crisis to address problems that include parental substance abuse, kids in trouble at school and child neglect, reports the Tennessee Lookout. That is an increase of $189 million over last year's budget. DCS says it will use $6 million of the total to expand the program to families in rural Tennessee counties, saying those areas experience the highest rates of children being removed from their families. The additional funds in the request include $8 million for privately-contracted social workers, $41 million for residential care for kids with medical and psychiatric needs and $1.5 million for nurses.

The Tennessee Trial Court Vacancy Commission met in Sevierville to select nominees for a circuit court judge in the 4th Judicial District, which includes Cocke, Grainger, Jefferson and Sevier counties. After holding a public hearing and conducting public interviews, the commission voted to recommend Dandridge lawyer Jeremy D. Ball, Rutledge lawyer S. Lane Wolfenbarger and Knoxville lawyer Luke A. Shipley to Gov. Bill Lee for his consideration. Read more about the candidates from the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts.