A new report shows students at California law schools not accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) had a pass rate of just 21% on the July 2022 bar exam. Reuters reports that according to the state bar’s first-ever comprehensive Law School Profile released Friday, graduates of ABA approved law schools had a pass rate of 67%. The report also showed that California law schools unaccredited by the ABA have cheaper tuition and more diverse student bodies than their ABA-accredited counterparts. The report raises policy questions about the future of law school regulation in California. The state bar said it plans to conduct further research on the trends identified in the new report.

A special report looking at the state of the Shelby County Criminal Court has found a significant decline in the number of annual trials and an increase in the length of time it takes for cases to come to trial. The Commercial Appeal looks at the findings of former Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Bobby Carter, who was asked to conduct the investigation by Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland. Carter found that fewer than 40 trials occurred this year compared to years past when some 200 trials took place. Carter also found that the length of time it takes cases to reach trial has made plea deals less attractive to defendants, amplifying the backlog of cases. Read the full report and Carter’s recommendations for addressing these challenges.

The mother of a 17-year-old girl says her daughter was "body slammed" by two male counselors from Youth Villages after she refused to strip in front of them during an appointment at the Shelby County Health Department and later was beaten by at least 12 counselors at the facility. Youth Villages strongly denies the accusations, and in the case of the first incident, says Alegend Jones was accompanied by two women to the department. According to the Commercial Appeal, Jones went to the facility after her mother asked the Department of Children's Services (DCS) to take over as guardian to help with mental health struggles. Her death was described by the center as an "incident" and "medical emergency." The mother has retained civil rights attorney Ben Crump. DCS says it also is investigating the death.

Mike Dunavant, former U.S. attorney for the Western District of Tennessee and former elected district attorney general of the 25th Judicial District, has been named deputy executive director of legal services and policy at the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference (TNDAGC). In his new role, Dunavant will oversee four divisions: Legislative, Legal Services, Training and Child Support. He also will serve as the liaison between Tennessee’s 32 elected district attorneys general and the agencies and officials of the executive and legislative branches. Dunavant first joined the TNDAGC in 2006 when he was elected as the district attorney general for Lauderdale, Tipton, Fayette, Hardeman and McNairy counties. He was reelected in 2014 and served in the position until his 2017 appointment as U.S. attorney. He left that office and joined the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury’s Division of Investigations in 2021. Read more in a press release from the group.

WSMV Investigates yesterday published a piece highlighting one family’s experience with Tennessee’s current system of court-appointed representation in the juvenile and criminal courts. A shortage of court-appointed attorneys representing the indigent in Tennessee has led to people languishing in jail despite having not been convicted of a crime, the news outlet reports. Part of that shortage is due to the low reimbursement rate for these court-appointed attorneys. Tennessee's rate is the lowest in the country at $50 per hour and has not changed in more than 25 years. The Administrative Office of the Courts announced in October that it would ask the state legislature to increase compensation for court-appointed attorneys in the juvenile and criminal courts.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) today announced that Tennessee’s decades-old aggravated prostitution statute violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The Associated Press reports that Tennessee is the only state in the nation that imposes a lifetime registration requirement on a “violent sex offender” convicted of engaging in sex work while living with HIV, regardless of whether the person knew they could transmit the disease. The DOJ is calling on Tennessee to not only stop enforcing the law, but also remove those convicted under the statute from the sex offender registry and expunge their convictions. In October, several groups — including the ACLU of Tennessee, Transgender Law Center, OUTMemphis and several Jane Does —also filed suit over the law.

The Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference (TNDAGC) announced that, beginning today, Meghan Fowler will serve as the conference’s new West Tennessee pro tem prosecutor. The TNDAGC Legal Services Division facilitates the processing — and in some cases prosecution — of all criminal cases for which a local district attorney general or judge has identified a conflict of interest that requires recusal. Fowler is a career prosecutor who has previously served as an assistant district attorney in both Tennessee and Mississippi. Read the group's press release.

Three of the nine corrections officers indicted in the beating death of Shelby County Jail inmate Gershun Freeman allegedly beat another inmate, Corey Lurry, days before Freeman’s death. Lurry filed a pro se motion in Memphis federal court on Nov. 12, alleging a violation of his civil rights. The Daily Memphian reports that the motion requests the court to review camera footage of the attack, to hold jail staff accountable for “unjust actions” and award $15 million for “physical, mental and emotional stress/PTSD” that the alleged attack caused.

Chancellor Russell T. Perkins yesterday filed a temporary injunction against musician John Oates, who is trying to sell his shares of Whole Oats Enterprises to third party publisher Primary Wave Music. Daryl Hall, the other half of the music duo Hall & Oates, filed a lawsuit in Davidson County Chancery Court on Nov. 16, alleging the sale violates a business agreement between the musicians. The Tennessean reports that the injunction blocks the sale until a private arbitrator hired to weigh in on the dispute decides whether a restraining order in the arbitration is appropriate, or until Feb. 17, 2024, at 1 p.m. CST, whichever comes first.

The Tennessee Court of Appeals today ruled in favor of Covenant parents in their lawsuit to block the release of documents related to the March 27 shooting at the school, WKRN reports. Covenant families have fought for months to withhold release of the shooter’s writings. The court noted the Covenant School and Covenant Church, as well as parents of Covenant School students, have filed motions to intervene in the release of the documents, citing confidential information including school security and personal information of students and employees.