A new Tennessee law now in effect adds new requirements before a student can receive corporal punishment at school. News Channel 9 in Chattanooga reports that under HB 0995/SB 0972, before any kind of corporal punishment can happen, teachers are required to have acted to address the student’s behavior, provided consequences to the student, consulted with the student’s parents about their behavior and considered the need to evaluate whether the student has a disability. Corporal punishment against a student with a disability is prohibited unless the punishment is permitted by the local education agency and the parent agrees in writing.

A new study, published in the Illinois Law Review, finds that the majority of incoming law students are not able to accurately predict their grades. Reuters reports that 95% of the more than 600 surveyed students believed they would end up in the top half of the class, while more than 22% of students predicted they would be in the top 10%. Study authors surveyed incoming law students at the school about their expected class rank between 2014 and 2019, then compared those predictions with their actual rank at the end of their first year.

Tennessee residents who have felony convictions and want to vote now must obtain a pardon or have all citizenship rights restored, and show they have paid all restitution and court costs from their conviction, and are current on child support payments, according to guidance from the state coordinator of elections. The Tennessee Lookout reports that the guidance from Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins applies to people convicted in Tennessee, another state or in federal court. The policy builds upon a June 29 ruling by the Tennessee Supreme Court on the voting rights of Ernest Falls, who currently lives in Tennessee and was convicted and then granted clemency in Virginia.

The Franklin Ethics Commission has found that Alderman Gabrielle Hanson violated two provisions of the city’s ethics code and recommended that she be censured. WPLN reports that the commission found that Hanson used her position as an elected official to attempt to solicit gifts and secure privileges for the African American Heritage Society, violating sections I-805 and I-808 of the Franklin Municipal Code. The hearing stems from an email that Hanson sent in early June to Nashville International Airport (BNA) President Doug Kreulen. Hanson asked the airport to withdraw financial support from a Juneteenth festival put on by the Franklin Justice and Equity Coalition — an organization she characterized as “radical” and anti-police — or send an equal donation to the African American Heritage Society.

For years, dozens of criminal cases in Davidson County were dropped because the person arrested was found not mentally competent to stand trial. Davidson County Judge Melissa Blackburn, who oversees the Mental Health Court, says, "That was happening every single day with anyone deemed incompetent ...” Blackburn’s office found that over an 18-month period, 182 people had been declared not competent to stand trial and two thirds of those were re-arrested within three months. A $600,000 grant from Metro Nashville is helping by funding an incompetency docket and providing additional treatment, NewsChannel 5 reports. Read more about the program.

The TBA House of Delegates has vacancies in several of its districts. In accordance with Article 29 of the TBA Bylaws, if no candidate files a declaration of candidacy for district delegate in a district or if there is no district delegate by reason of death, declination or other cause, the officers of the House of Delegates may fill the vacancy with the term to commence at the time of appointment.

The following seats covering these counties are available: 7th Judicial District (Anderson); 9th Judicial District (Loudon, Meigs, Morgan and Roane); 14th Judicial District (Coffee); 15th Judicial District (Jackson, Macon, Smith, Trousdale and Wilson); 17th Judicial District (Bedford, Lincoln, Marshall and Moore); 20th Judicial District (Davidson); 22nd Judicial District (Giles, Lawrence, Maury and Wayne); 23rd Judicial District (Cheatham, Dickson, Houston, Humphreys and Stewart); 24th Judicial District (Benton, Carroll, Decatur, Hardin and Henry); 26th Judicial District (Chester, Henderson and Madison); 28th Judicial District (Crockett, Gibson and Haywood).

If you would like to be considered for any of these positions, please fill out this form with your interest by Aug. 11.

The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts will livestream a hearing on a motion for temporary injunction in the Nashville and Davidson County v. Bill Lee "airport case" tomorrow at 1 p.m. CDT. This case is being heard before a three-judge panel in the ground floor jury assembly room of the Metropolitan Nashville Courthouse. Go here for the livestream.

Metro Human Relations Commission Chair Maryam Abolfazli today filed an ethics complaint against two Metro Employee Benefit Board members, reports the Tennessean. Abolfazli has requested a formal review of Edna Jones and Harold Finch by the city's Ethical Conduct Board for comments they made before voting against expanding coverage for gender-affirming care last month. The complaint argues the two members abused their public positions by discriminating against a certain class of Metro employees. The Metro Employee Benefits Board voted 5-3 last month against covering gender-affirming surgeries for adults as part of the city's health benefits.

A city court judge found that former state legislator Jeremy Durham violated Hendersonville’s short-term vacation rental ordinance nearly a dozen times between Dec. 26, 2022, and April 15, 2023, reports the Hendersonville Standard. Durham's company J and J Ventures LLC has been ordered to pay court costs and a $550 fine for illegally operating a vacation rental property. Durham has 10 days to appeal the ruling to Sumner County Circuit Court. The city defines a short-term or vacation rental as a unit or structure rented and/or used exclusively by a person or group for lodging for less than 30 days.

Circuit Court Judge Mark Rogers will retire Aug. 31, the Tennessean reports. Rogers has presided over the 16th Judicial District for 19 years, hearing cases in Rutherford and Cannon counties. He was appointed to the seat in 2004 by former Gov. Phil Bredesen, replacing retired Circuit Court Judge Steve Daniel. Rogers won three eight-year terms starting in 2006 as a Democrat and in 2014 and 2022 as an independent. The Tennessee Trial Court Vacancy Commission will conduct screening interviews with applicants for the seat on Aug. 30 at 9 a.m. CDT at the Rutherford County Courthouse in Murfreesboro. The commission will choose three finalists for Gov. Bill Lee to consider for appointment to finish Rogers’ term.