Attorneys for former Chattanooga Police Chief Celeste Murphy on July 12 entered a not guilty plea on her behalf in response to a 17-count indictment related to issues about her residency. Chattanoogan.com reports that her appearance in court was waived. The charges stem from a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) probe. Murphy's next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 19.

The Memphis City Council on July 9 approved the renaming of a portion of Front Street between Poplar Avenue and Beale Street in honor of Bernice Donald, who retired from the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals last year as the first Black woman to serve on the court. Donald became the first Black woman judge in Tennessee when she was elected to the Shelby County General Sessions Criminal Court in 1982, and the first Black female bankruptcy judge in the nation when she was named to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Tennessee in 1988. She also was the first Black woman to serve as a federal judge in the state after she was nominated to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee by former President Bill Clinton in 1995. She now practices at Burch, Porter & Johnson. Tannera Gibson — Memphis’ city attorney and chief legal officer and attorney at Burch, Porter & Johnson — spoke about the path Donald has set for Black women, saying, “Walking a path like this one, to have someone like you blaze the trail ... you’ve always done it with such grace, such even temperament in a way that I strive [for].” The Daily Memphian has the story.

The American Bar Association (ABA) released a statement Friday expressing concern about congressional funding for federal public defenders. The group notes that federal courts have requested $1.69 billion in FY 2025 to meet the constitutional requirement of providing public defenders to every criminal defendant who cannot afford a lawyer. The U.S. House of Representatives, according to the association, has proposed $1.5 billion in funding. Although this represents a 3.4% increase over current funding, it falls short of what is needed, the ABA says.

A group of about 20 individuals gathered in downtown Nashville this past weekend chanting and handing out flyers, WPLN reports. The flyers identified them as members of the group Goyim Defense League, a loose network of antisemites and white supremacists. Nashville police said they arrested a "neo-Nazi protester" after the individual allegedly used a Nazi flagpole to hit a bartender who had been in a physical altercation with group members. The protester was charged with felony aggravated assault and disorderly conduct, Axios Nashville reports in today’s newsletter. After last week’s demonstration downtown, Gov. Bill Lee said that Tennesseans should stand against antisemitism.

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell announced Saturday that he has asked the Metro Nashville Police Department’s Cold Case Unit to reopen an investigation into three segregation-era bombings, the Nashville Banner reports. The news came during an event with Betsy Phillips, author of the new book “Dynamite Nashville: Unmasking the FBI, the KKK, and the Bombers Beyond Their Control,” which raises questions about why bombings at Hattie Cotton Elementary, the Jewish Community Center and the home of civil rights lawyer Z. Alexander Looby were never solved. In making the announcement, O’Connell said, “For 64 years, the question of who is responsible for three bombings has gone unresolved. The book doesn't have all the answers, but it can be the beginning of new discovery and a new conversation.”

A panel of the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Friday upheld a Tennessee policy prohibiting transgender individuals from changing the sex marker on their birth certificates. In a 2-1 decision, a three-judge panel of the court ruled that Tennessee’s policy is constitutional, writing that "there is no fundamental right to a birth certificate recording gender identity instead of biological sex." The majority called the policy "a nondiscriminatory form of government speech embraced by some states about an undeniable historical fact.” An attorney from Lambda Legal, which is representing the plaintiffs, said the group was disappointed in the decision and is considering next steps, the Tennessean reports. State Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti released a statement after the ruling, saying in part, “Whether someone can change the sex on their birth certificate is a matter for each state to decide … We are grateful that the Court of Appeals agreed … that any change in Tennessee's policy can only come from the people of Tennessee.”

A federal judge in Florida has dismissed the criminal case accusing Donald Trump of illegally keeping classified documents after leaving office, the Associated Press reports. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon ruled that Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is leading the prosecution, was unlawfully appointed to his role and did not have the authority to bring the case. Smith, a former Nashville attorney and acting U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, was named special counsel in November 2022.

Tennessee lawyers should have received an email on Friday with a link to the TBA's 2024 Survey. The email came from Avenue M Group LLC, an independent market research firm and our partner for this survey. The survey, which should take about 10 minutes to complete, is intended for both current members and nonmembers and is designed to better understand attorneys' professional needs. Feedback is critical to ensure TBA can best support lawyers now and into the future. If you did not receive the survey or have questions, please contact Membership Director Mindy Thomas.

In interviews with NewsChannel 5 and WSMV, the chief deputy clerk of Davidson County’s criminal courts acknowledged errors occurred during the release of a man, who days later was charged with killing his girlfriend Lauren Johansen in Mississippi. Bricen Rivers, who had been arrested in Nashville in December for allegedly beating Johansen, was released on bond with conditions including GPS monitoring and restrictions on travel outside the county. A mistake in the clerk’s office, however, omitted those conditions from documents sent to jail officials. Rivers was eventually fitted with a monitoring device but left the county before the tracking company was informed that he was not allowed to do so. Within a week he had returned to Mississippi and allegedly killed Johansen. Chief Deputy Clerk Julius Sloss says his office is looking at ways to prohibit such an oversight from happening again and that the employee who made the mistake will face disciplinary action.

Chicago-based law firm Segal McCambridge has announced that it will open of its newest office in Memphis at 6000 Poplar Ave., Ste. 250, 38119. Shareholder Nelson T. Rainey, a University of Memphis School of Law graduate, will oversee the office and will be joined by shareholder Michael S. Litrenta and associates Angel T. Davis and Jaime K. Quezon. Rainey focuses on construction, health care liability, commercial litigation, real estate, family law and civil rights matters. Litrenta focuses on commercial litigation; Davis focuses on product liability, trucking, and medical malpractice litigation; and Quezon focuses on residential and commercial litigation insurance practice. Read more in a release from the firm.