Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti is joining Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares’ bipartisan coalition of 40 state attorneys general in urging the Supreme Court to rule in favor of James Rudisill in Rudisill v. McDonough. Rudisill, a decorated army veteran, had used the GI Bill to complete his undergraduate degree. After being accepted into the Yale Divinity School, Rudisill was denied further benefits, even though veterans with multiple requisite periods of service can earn up to 48 months of educational benefits. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the decision. You can read the brief here.

A group that led the successful U.S. Supreme Court challenge to affirmative action in college admissions has sued two major U.S. law firms over their minority fellowships, reports Reuters. The American Alliance for Equal Rights, founded by conservative activist Edward Blum, has accused the firms Perkins Coie and Morrison & Foerster of unlawfully discriminating against white candidates by limiting which law students could be considered for paid fellowships geared toward promoting diversity. The lawsuits allege the fellowships violate the Civil Rights Act of 1866, a federal law adopted after the Civil War that bars racial bias in private contracts.

U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr says he would not enforce his recent ruling requiring lawyers for Southwest Airlines to attend "religious liberty training,” Reuters reports. Starr will decide whether to pause the ruling pending a misconduct complaint filed last week by Fix the Court, a judicial reform advocacy group. Starr is accused of violating the judicial code of conduct by assigning Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal group not involved in the case, to carry out attorney sanctions related to a religious bias case brought by a flight attendant against the airline.

President Biden has named former federal prosecutor and Chicago lawyer Ed Siskel as the new top White House lawyer, replacing Stuart Delery. Reuters reports Siskel will begin his post next month. Siskel previously served in the White House counsel's office under President Obama, where he helped manage the legal response to Republican congressional investigations into Solyndra and Benghazi, CNN reports. Siskel also served in the Department of Justice as senior counsel to the deputy attorney general and associate deputy attorney general.

Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy has dropped up to 40 cases because they involved the five police officers charged in Tyre Nichols’ death. Mulroy also has reduced charges in about 10 cases that involved the same officers, the Daily Memphian reports. The DA's office said the decision followed a review of about 100 cases. He cited a “lack of credibility” from the officers. All five officers have pleaded not guilty to a number of criminal charges, including second-degree murder.

Secretary of State Tre Hargett has named Bledsoe County native and Chattanooga resident Christina Temple as the department’s new chief of staff. Temple will serve as a senior adviser to Hargett and handle legislative affairs. Additionally, Temple will play a critical role in strengthening the department’s relationships within state government. Temple served as the New Hampshire state director for the Republication National Committee during the 2022 election cycle. Before that, she worked as coordinator on the delegates and party organization team on former President Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign. As a political consultant at Hill City Strategies, Temple has worked on various political campaigns.

U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Julia Smith Gibbons plans to take senior status, Bloomberg Law reports. Gibbons was appointed to the court by President George W. Bush in 2002. She previously had served on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, having been appointed to that court in 1983 by President Ronald Reagan. She was the youngest district judge in the country at the time. Gibbons' decision to take a reduced workload will allow President Joe Biden to appoint a new judge. It will be the fourth opening on the court he has filled.

The Tennessee Bar Foundation has announced important dates for the 2024 IOLTA grant application process. The grant application is now available on the foundation’s website, which also has tips for drafting successful applications. Funding is available for projects that improve the administration of justice or provide legal services. Completed applications must be submitted in hard copy via U.S. mail with a visible postmark dated no later than Sept. 13. IOLTA awards are made possible from the interest earned on lawyers’ pooled trust checking accounts. The foundation predicts that the total grant amount for 2024 will increase significantly over the 2023 total and encourages all organizations, but especially new applicants, to apply.

The ABA’s legal education arm has advanced a proposal that would require all law schools to have written free speech policies as part of the accreditation process, Reuters reports. Schools would develop their own policies but such policies would have to protect the rights of faculty, staff and students to communicate controversial or unpopular ideas; safeguard robust debate or protests; and forbid disruptive activities that hinder free expression or interfere with law school functions. A member of the ABA Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar said the proposal was born out of two concerns: legislative efforts to restrict the teaching of certain subjects and controversial speakers not being allowed to express their opinions on campus.

The Commercial Appeal take a deep dive into what it says is an increasing mortality rate at the Shelby County Jail. The paper found that 52 individuals have died in custody since 2016, and that in just the past three years, the mortality rate has gone up sharply compared to the average population. The majority of deaths have been attributed to cardiovascular issues, followed by suicide and then by drug use. One individual was killed by a fellow inmate. The paper also looks at nationwide trends on inmate deaths and the lack of reliable information when deaths occur.