Tennessee election finance officials have fined former Republican operative Cade Cothren $80,000 — the maximum allowed — for using a former Vanderbilt student as a figurehead treasurer to conceal his own role running the Faith Family Freedom PAC during the 2020 election cycle. The case stems from an October 2020 whistleblower complaint and was complicated by a separate federal prosecution in which Cothren and former House Speaker Glen Casada were convicted on money laundering and fraud charges before receiving pardons from President Donald Trump in November. The Nashville Scene reports that Cothren declined to respond to a subpoena or testify in his own defense during the ethics proceedings and says he is disputing the fine.

The late Rev. James M. Lawson Jr. was a Memphis pastor who served as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s chief tactician and strategist during the pivotal 1968 sanitation workers strike, the events surrounding which ultimately led to King's assassination. Lawson, a lifelong advocate of nonviolent resistance, was remembered at a Feb. 20 book launch event at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis as a "tactical creator and spiritual leader" of the civil rights movement. The event marked the release of his memoir, "Nonviolent: A Memoir of Resistance, Agitation, and Love," co-written with Memphis author Emily Yellin, whose own family had deep roots in documenting the events of 1968. Lawson died in June 2024 at age 95, but his son described the memoir as an accurate reflection of his father's voice and legacy. The Commercial Appeal has more on the event.

Attorney Curtis Bowe has been selected as the new judge for Collegedale following the death of Judge Kevin Wilson in December, Chattanoogan.com reports. Bowe will serve as city judge until the next election in 2030. He was the only eligible applicant after the city received three applications, two of which were disqualified because the candidates did not meet residency requirements established by the Tennessee Supreme Court in March 2025. Those rules require city judges to have lived in the city for at least one year and in Tennessee for five years preceding the election. City Attorney Sam Elliott tells the paper he plans to draft a letter to state legislators seeking changes to the residency requirement, which also have affected the cities of Red Bank and East Ridge in Hamilton County.

Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti will not intervene in an ongoing lawsuit over the state’s ban on religious charter schools, leaving the Knox County Board of Education to defend the policy against claims of religious discrimination, Chalkbeat reports. The Wilberforce Academy of Knoxville sued the school district late last year in federal court. The school is challenging the constitutionality of Tennessee’s charter school law. According to Chalkbeat, under federal regulations, state attorneys general must be notified and given the option to intervene in lawsuits involving constitutional challenges. Skrmetti did not weigh in on the suit but his office pointed to his November legal opinion questioning the constitutionality of the law. In the opinion, Skrmetti argued there was “no compelling interest” in excluding religious charter schools from participating in a “public benefit.” Last week, a federal judge denied Wilberforce’s request for a ruling that would immediately block the school board from enforcing the ban. A trial on the issue is scheduled for January 2027.

Memphis Police Department Chief C.J. Davis outlined a significant and continued drop in crime Tuesday, the Daily Memphian reports. The department saw a 48% decrease in Part 1 crimes — homicide, rape, murder, burglary, robbery, larceny and car theft — in January 2026 compared with January 2025, falling from 3,709 incidents to 1,908. February 2026 saw a 38% drop from the same month the year before, according to data the department provided to the city council. Further data show motor vehicle thefts are down 68% year to date compared with the same period in 2025. The city recorded 344 motor vehicle thefts through Feb. 24, compared with 1,097 in the same period the year before.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says that a Nashville plumber arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Feb. 17 did not present a driver’s license during a traffic stop, resisted officers and was found to have two prior arrests for driving without a license, though both cases were dismissed. The family of Mexican national Juan Martin Espindola Ramirez disputes that story saying he has no criminal background, holds a driver’s license and work permit, was previously granted a U visa after assisting law enforcement, and has applied for a green card. The arrest has sparked concerns about the situation and has led some to donate to a GoFundMe page for legal expenses and to support his partner and their two sons.  ICE says Ramirez remains in custody in Louisiana pending immigration proceedings. The Tennessean has more.

Former Metro Nashville Council member and mayoral aide Bob Mendes has joined the Nashville office of Epstein Becker Green. According to the Nashville Post, Mendes’ practice will focus on corporate reorganization and complex governance matters. Mendes served as chief development officer for Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell during the mayor’s first two years in office, stepping down in September. Prior to his appointment as a mayoral aide, he served two terms as an at-large member of the Metro Council. Epstein Becker Green says it is expanding in health care markets, including Nashville, with a focus on adding attorneys focused on financial restructuring and corporate governance. Read more from the firm.

On this month’s episode of BarBuzz, TBA Communications Coordinator Azya Thornton sits down with Knoxville attorney E. Michael Brezina III to examine the rapidly evolving world of college sports law, from name, image and likeness deals to high-profile eligibility litigation involving University of Tennessee athletes. Brezina discusses his NIL representation of athletes, the legal implications of recent cases challenging NCAA eligibility rules, including those involving SEC quarterbacks, and how antitrust arguments are reshaping the conversation around athlete compensation. The episode also explores Tennessee’s aggressive NIL landscape, institutional involvement and revenue-sharing risks as well as broader sports law issues, offering practical insight for litigators, business lawyers and attorneys interested in the future of college athletics. Listeners can catch past episodes of the podcast anytime in the BarBuzz archive.

In honor of National Consumer Protection Week, the Tennessee Attorney General’s (AG) Office Division of Consumer Affairs (DCA) on Monday announced the top 10 complaint categories for 2025. In addition, DCA announced that it helped Tennessee consumers recover more than $3.6 million in cash, merchandise and services in 2025 through its voluntary mediation program. Last year, DCA received 9,938 formal consumer complaints and worked to route each to the appropriate agency or mediate disputes directly between consumers and businesses. The division’s informal mediation process provides a free, good-faith pathway to resolve disagreements involving purchases of products or services for personal or household use. “Our goal is simple — help Tennesseans resolve disputes and protect their hard-earned money,” said AG Jonathan Skrmetti. “In 2025, that work translated into real results for thousands of families across the state.” Read more in a press release.

The family of Matthew De'Marcus Williams, a 22-year-old shot and killed during a Memphis Allies SWITCH program meeting on April 9, 2025, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Youth Villages seeking $35 million in damages. SWITCH enlists people whom it identifies as being at the highest risk for engaging in gun violence; Williams was a participant. The Daily Memphian reports that attorneys for Williams' family allege the organization ignored multiple warning signs — including a known conflict between rival gang members attending the same sessions and the shooting death of another participant just two days prior — and failed to take additional safety precautions. In a statement, Youth Villages maintained that safety has always been a top priority, noting that metal detectors, armed security and other measures were in place that day, and that the organization has evaluated and enhanced its security protocols since the incident.