Mike Fletcher, Memphis' deputy chief legal officer, will retire at the end of 2024, reports the Daily Memphian. Fletcher has been in his position since 2017 and has represented the city in court and other legal matters for a total of 33 years, both in private practice and from City Hall. Odell Horton Jr. has been appointed to fill the vacancy. Horton most recently served as general counsel for Memphis Shelby County Schools. He previously worked as vice president and general counsel for Memphis Light, Gas and Water, and was vice chancellor for university relations at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.

Vanderbilt University quarterback Diego Pavia has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee against the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA). The suit claims rules that count junior college years toward NCAA eligibility are an antitrust violation, and that he should have at least one more year of eligibility in 2025 — and potentially two. Pavia, who played two years at New Mexico Military Institute before moving on to New Mexico State for two years and then Vanderbilt this year, argues in the complaint that the rule restricts the name, image and likeness (NIL) earning ability of college athletes. The Associated Press has the story.

TBA’s Group Health Insurance, provided by BlueCross BlueShield, offers guaranteed issue coverage, with no health questions and no pre-existing condition exclusions. The Nashville law firm Sherrard Roe Voigt Harbison made the switch. Here is what firm administrative assistant Leah Atkinson says about the program: "Our firm joined the TBA group health insurance in 2024. We could not ignore the fact that it would be cost effective with a significant savings of about $25,000 on our monthly premiums. The transition to the new medical plan was seamless. The team held enrollment meetings with our group and answered any questions we had about the plan. We are committed to providing our employees with the best possible health care coverage but then to pass on savings to our employees, it was an easy decision to make for our group." Find out more or get your quote now.

Veterans are campaigning to mainstream psychedelic therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder, despite the Food and Drug Administration's rejection of an ecstasy-based treatment back in August, Axios reports. While psychedelics have been classified as controlled substances since 1970, interest has grown in their potential to treat mental health conditions, particularly among veterans. About 29% of veterans who served in Afghanistan and Iraq are expected to develop PTSD, and veteran suicide rates are higher than the general population, according to the paper. In 2017, the FDA granted fast-track review to a PTSD treatment combining ecstasy and talk therapy. The Veterans Affairs Department began funding psychedelic therapy research this year, and Congress passed legislation directing the Pentagon to study the treatments. However, the FDA's August rejection of the fast-tracked therapy, citing safety concerns and allegations of misconduct in clinical trials, set back those efforts. Veterans have continued to advocate for changes at the state and federal level with mixed results. Oregon and Colorado have legalized psychedelic mushrooms, while Massachusetts voters recently rejected a similar proposal.

A federal judicial committee on Friday agreed to develop rules to regulate the use of certain evidence generated by artificial intelligence (AI), Reuters reports.  The U.S. Judicial Conference's Advisory Committee on Evidence Rules said it would press ahead with developing policies to help judges deal with claims that a piece of audio or video evidence is a "deep fake." The meeting comes amid broader efforts by federal and state courts nationally to address the rise of generative AI and its ability to learn from large datasets and then generate text, images and videos. According to the committee, the rules will address concerns about the reliability of the processes used by computer technologies to make predictions or draw inferences from existing data, akin to how courts have addressed the reliability of expert witness testimony. According to Reuters, judges are looking at the possibility of subjecting computer-generated evidence to the same reliability standards as expert witnesses. Interested in learning more about the impact of AI on the law? Don't miss the TBA's Conference on Artificial Intelligence & the Law on Dec. 6.

Recent legal filings include new allegations of public corruption on the part of Johnson City police, Tennessee Lookout reports. These include claims that the department knew as early as July 2020 of specific allegations that Williams had sexually abused children; that the police department failed to gather, test, investigate and disclose evidence of Williams’ crimes, and in some cases altered police reports and destroyed evidence; and that some officers received hundreds of thousands of dollars in unaccounted-for income. The new accusations come as part of a federal suit against Williams, in which his alleged victims accuse the Johnson City Police Department of failing to protect them. Previous allegations have included accusations that police collected, extorted or stole money from Williams while turning a blind eye to his crimes. In addition to several lawsuits, the U.S. Department of Justice is conducting a public corruption probe into the police department's handling of the case. Williams is currently in federal custody awaiting trial on child pornography production charges.

Racist, anonymous text messages invoking slavery were sent to Black students across the country last week, including at Fisk University in Nashville and the University of Tennessee (UT) in Knoxville. According to the Associated Press, the messages generally used a similar tone, but varied in wording. Some instructed recipients to show up at an address at a particular time “with your belongings,” while others mentioned the incoming presidential administration. Fisk issued a statement calling the messages “deeply unsettling.” Messages sent to UT students told recipients they had been selected to pick cotton at a nearby plantation with instructions on how to report to work. The FBI said it is in touch with the U.S. Justice Department, and the Federal Communications Commission said it is investigating the texts “alongside federal and state law enforcement."

A federal judge on Thursday struck down a Biden administration policy designed to ease the path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who are married to U.S. citizens. The initiative known as “Keeping Families Together” allowed undocumented spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens to apply for a green card without first having to leave the country.  Texas-based U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker put the policy on hold in August after Texas and 15 other states filed a legal challenge. This week he found that the administration overstepped its authority by implementing the program and stretching the legal interpretation of relevant immigration law, National Public Radio reports.

The Nashville Metro Council has approved a resolution to accept a grant to process rape kits faster, which in turn will help close cases faster, WSMV4 reports. The DNA Capacity Enhancement for Backlog Reduction (CEBR) Program grant from the U.S. Department of Justice will provide $250,000 to pay for the outsourcing of sexual assault kit processing to private vendors. A statewide backlog in rape kit processing was brought to light two years ago when Eliza Fletcher was attacked and killed in Memphis. Since then, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has ramped up testing and outsourcing.

The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS) confirmed on Thursday that due to insufficient in-state resources children are being placed with out-of-state providers, WSMV4 reports. As of October, 229 children had been placed out of state due to lack of resources. DCS says it is working to address the issue by recruiting more providers in Tennessee, expanding its placement network and implementing a real estate plan to create additional capacity. To help families maintain connections during this time, the department says it is providing financial assistance to offset travel costs.