This week is Civic Learning Week and the American Bar Association and iCivics are celebrating by making resources available to help lawyers promote civics education. The designation of the week is designed to highlight the important role civics education plays in sustaining and strengthening constitutional democracy in the United States. To learn more, visit civiclearningweek.org. In related news, the theme for this year’s Law Day celebration has been announced. “The Rule of Law and the American Dream” embodies the idea that no person is above the law — a founding principle that ensures the rights of people to live their lives as freely as possible and to pursue their dreams. Learn more in the recent Law Day Launch program, which can be streamed online.

In a filing Thursday, the U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee laid out the government’s justification for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s detention of Nashville journalist Estefany Rodríguez. The brief was submitted in response to a show-cause order from District Court Judge Eli Richardson. In it, the prosecutor argues that Rodríguez has not exhausted all administrative remedies because she has not had a bond hearing yet, that agents did not arrest Rodríguez without a warrant, and that the arrest was not in retaliation for her work as a journalist. Read more from the Nashville Banner. 

Birmingham-based law firm Bradley, with offices in Knoxville and Nashville, has launched an Outside General Counsel Services team to provide businesses with day-to-day legal and compliance support. Dallas-based Corporate & Securities partner Jeffrey M. Harvey will lead the team. In a news release announcing the move, Harvey says the team will bring “right-sized resources to emerging or mid-size businesses with limited or no in-house legal resources” and strengthen existing legal teams to “ensure continuity and scalability.” The team will draw on the expertise of the firm’s more than 750 lawyers to offer a range of services including entity formation, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, risk mitigation, trade compliance, securities obligations, employment matters, intellectual property protection, and litigation management.

The Tennessee Department of Treasury is encouraging Tennesseans to check ClaimItTN.gov for missing money after businesses and organizations across the state turned over an additional $248.6 million in unclaimed property since July 1, 2025. Each year, the Unclaimed Property Division mails tens of thousands of letters to individuals at the last-known addresses provided when businesses and organizations — unable to locate the rightful owners — report unclaimed funds to the state. Funds can be from utility or healthcare refunds, uncashed paychecks, credit balances for overpayments, rental deposit refunds, gift certificates, securities and abandoned bank accounts. “I encourage all Tennesseans to search their names each year, even if you’ve checked before,” said State Treasurer David H. Lillard Jr. Read more in a news release from the department.

Growing Rutherford County faces competing taxpayer priorities over the construction of a $300 million jail and a $138 million high school, the Daily News Journal reports. County mayor Joe Carr wants to move first on replacing the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center and Sheriff's Office at 940 New Salem Highway in Murfreesboro. Most local officials agree that the overcrowded, aging jail needs replacing after costly repairs and inmate deaths, overdoses and escapes. Under tentative plans, a new jail with "modern" rehabilitation "principles" would be operational by Spring 2030. The paper explores the issues in a three-part series. Read the first and second installments here.

A years-long fight over a reform to protect domestic violence victims in Tennessee has come to an inconclusive end, WPLN reports. Advocates have been asking the Domestic Violence State Coordinating Council to alter the state’s firearms dispossession affidavit form, which is required in cases where an abuser is ordered by the court to give up their guns. The form currently does not require the name or address of the person receiving the guns, an omission that advocates say puts victims in danger. At its most recent meeting in March, the council debated whether it has the power in statute to change the form. In the end, it voted to write a letter to judges across the state recommending they amend their forms to require the name of the recipient. Investigative reporting by the station found that some counties already had begun amending their forms.

Between March 2 and April 30, Davidson County General Sessions Court will operate a Winter Storm Support Docket for tenants who cannot pay rent due to complications from January’s ice storm. The Nashville Banner reports that the docket will help individuals apply for community-based rent assistance to prevent evictions and remain in their homes. Tenants facing eviction who are defendants in detainer actions will appear on the regular docket, at which point the court may determine eligibility for the support docket. Tenants facing evictions for non-monetary reasons are not eligible.

The Tennessee Secretary of State’s Office has released the full lists of candidates for 2026 federal and state elections following closure of the filing deadline. In the race to replace term-limited Gov. Bill Lee, 11 candidates (six in the Democratic primary and five in the Republican primary) filed to run. In the U.S. Senate, Sen. Bill Hagerty is running for reelection and faces no primary challenger. Five Democrats are running to earn the nomination to face him in the general election while eight Independents also filed for the seat. In the U.S. House, all nine Tennessee seats will be on the 2026 ballot. Six will see primary races. For state legislative races, all 99 seats in the House and 17 in the Senate will be up this year. Of note, Rep. Vincent Dixie, D-Nashville, decided not to run in District 7, the Nashville Banner reports, and no candidate will appear on the District 93 primary ballot after incumbent Rep. G.A. Hardaway, D-Memphis, failed to obtain enough signatures. That will force candidates to mount a “write in” campaign, the Commercial Appeal reports. See all lists of candidates on the secretary of state’s website.

The federal judiciary is accelerating its move to a new case management system after repeated cyber attacks on the current system used for court filings, Bloomberg Law reports. Six district courts will start testing parts of the new system this year, according to a press release from the judiciary. An outside firm with cybersecurity expertise has been consulting on the project. Court officials also reportedly have been looking at upgrading PACER, the public-facing system used to find and view court filings, and using fees from that service to help fund the new case management system.

The TBA Access to Justice Committee is accepting nominations for the 2026 Public Service Awards. The annual awards recognize outstanding commitment to access to justice in three categories: work performed by an attorney employed by an organization primarily involved in providing legal representation to the indigent, pro bono work performed by a private or corporate attorney, and a strong commitment to pro bono service by a Tennessee law student or recent graduate. Nominations and supporting documents will be accepted through April 17. Awards will be presented during the TBA Annual Convention in June.