TBA’s Legislative Updates podcast is new this week with attorney and TBA lobbyist Berkley Schwarz and Adams and Reese attorney and TBA lobbyist Ashley Harbin. This week they discuss HB2710/SB2254 (the TBA Conservatorship bill), HB2645 (the adoption birth certificate bill), HB2002 (removing two Shelby county judicial districts), HB2215/SB2448 (the Real Estate Fraud Reduction Act), and HB2644 (the adoption clean-up bill.) Legislative Updates airs each week on the TBA’s Facebook page. It is also released as a podcast on the same day and can be found on the TBA’s website or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Harriet Thompson was sworn in as Hardeman County General Sessions Court judge on April 1, making her the first woman to serve in that position in the county. Thompson was appointed by the Hardeman County Commission to fill the position after Judge Boyette Denton resigned due to ongoing health issues. A graduate of Vanderbilt University and Nashville School of Law, Thompson has been an attorney in the county since 1991 and has had her own practice in the county since the late 1990s. She has practiced in all court venues in the county and has tried a case before the Tennessee Supreme Court. Thompson has since announced she will be running as an Independent for the position in the Aug. 5 general election. Read more from the Bolivar Bulletin Times.

A group of Memphis law students filed suits against blighted property as a part of a program that helps them get hands-on experience while also helping clean up Memphis. Local Memphis reports that University of Memphis Neighborhood Preservation Clinic law students filed 15 lawsuits against neglected properties in Shelby County Environmental Court on March 14. North Memphis resident Roy Brownlee said the whole area is full of neglected homes, with many becoming targets for squatters and illegal dumping. “Especially when it's cold out and they might accidentally burn them down because they're trying to keep warm,” he said, noting that multiple homes did catch fire during the winter. Law professor Daniel Schaffzin says, “Because this lawsuit is filed against the property itself, and that property is in Memphis, even if the owner never appears, whether they’re living or not, unresponsive, we can still go forward.”

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti is joining a multistate lawsuit against Mariner Finance over widespread violations of multiple consumer protection laws. The suit alleges that Mariner Finance charged consumers for hidden add-on products that consumers were not fully informed about or, in some instances, did not agree to buy, and that Mariner engages in illegal, aggressive sales tactics to extend credit to new borrowers. Any consumer who believes they have been deceived by Mariner’s harmful practices can file a complaint with Tennessee.

Twice within the first six months of her employment with the state, Tennessee Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds signed forms certifying she had been a state employee for more than six months (the minimum requirement for free tuition eligibility for state employees) as she sought a tuition waiver for classes at the University of Tennessee at Martin, reports The Tennessean. In response to inquiries from the news outlet this week about the tuition waiver forms, the Department of Education said Reynolds filed the paperwork as the result of "an administrative error," and recently repaid the tuition money. Reynolds' qualifications to hold her position have come under scrutiny in recent months.

Vanderbilt University announced that it has hired Nashville attorney Aubrey B. Harwell Jr. to review the school’s response to a student demonstrations last week, as well as the campus media access policy. Nashville Scene reporter Eli Motycka was covering the student protest and was arrested by campus police. Four student demonstrators were also arrested and several others suspended. The Tennessean reports that Vanderbilt University Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said the university’s response to media on campus was a “rightful concern” and a “free speech issue.” The review comes after strong criticism of the arrests from community members and public officials.

A three-judge panel meeting in Nashville heard arguments on whether to issue a temporary injunction blocking the state's abortion ban for women who are suffering severe pregnancy complications or facing cases of lethal fetal conditions. The lawsuit, Blackmon v. State of Tennessee, was brought on behalf of several women by lawyers at the Center for Reproductive Rights and others. The Tennessean reports on the hearing, which was presided over by 20th Judicial District Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal, 10th Judicial District Criminal Court Judge Sandra Donaghy and 25th Judicial District Chancellor Kasey Culbreath. A recording of the proceeding is available to watch online.

Homeless advocacy group Open Table Nashville has filed an amicus brief in a U.S. Supreme Court case that could affect how cities and states address homeless encampments. The organization joins other service providers and legal advocates across the country in encouraging the Supreme Court to uphold a ruling that prevents cities from punishing people for sleeping outside when they have no access to adequate shelter. The brief comes in the case of Grants Pass v. Johnson, which involves an Oregon town seeking to enforce a ban on camping on public property. The U.S. 9th Circuit of Appeals previously ruled that such a ban violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. The Supreme Court will hear arguments on April 22, the Nashville Post reports. In 2022, Tennessee lawmakers made camping while homeless a felony.

Tennessee State University (TSU) is considering suing the state over 30 years of underfunding, WSMV reports. The move comes after the federal government found that the state owes TSU $2.1 billion. Leaders argue that funds meant for the school went to predominantly white schools across the state instead. The university has been in the news recently after the state legislature voted to vacate its board of directors and Gov. Bill Lee appointed new members. The news source notes that similar lawsuits filed by other historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have been successful.

Sessions from this year's Construction Law Forum are now available for purchase in the CLE Course Catalog. Topics covered include contracts, dispute resolution, liens, the Prompt Pay Act, ethical considerations for each of these topics and a legislative update. Check out the individual videos or purchase the convenient 1-Click CLE package.