The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) podcast “Talk Justice” recently featured experts discussing the potential role of generative AI in expanding the reach of legal services and promoting access to justice. Podcast co-host and Vanderbilt Law professor Cat Moon was joined by Sam Flynn, COO and co-founder of the no-code automation platform Josef; Natalie Anne Knowlton, founder of Access to Justice Ventures; and Tom Martin, CEO and founder of the no-code AI platform LawDroid. Despite a lot of unknowns and concerns around AI, the group expressed hope that its growing popularity will lead to user-centered solutions that promote access to justice. “Talk Justice” episodes are available on the LSC’s website and on Spotify, Apple, Legal Talk Network and other podcast apps.

A third former deputy in the office of the Davidson County Circuit Court Clerk is suing the city and court leaders alleging that her dismissal was related to her reluctance to support the campaign of Deputy Clerk Joseph Day in his bid to succeed longtime Clerk Richard Rooker. Christy Anna Allen filed suit against Day, Rooker, Metro Government and two other clerk’s office employees, the Nashville Post reports. She is represented by Paul Forrest Craig, a Memphis attorney who is also representing former deputy clerks Veronica Edmondson and Annecia Donigan. All three allege that court employees were expected to support and work on Day’s campaign to succeed Rooker and that they were fired for not doing so.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has filed a notice of appeal of the injunction issued by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee in the case of Friends of George, Inc. v. Mulroy. The notice is the first step in appealing the decision from earlier this month. Skrmetti said that the language “harmful to minors,” which the court found to be unconstitutionally vague, has appeared in various parts of Tennessee code for 33 years. Read his full statement.

In other news from the AG's office, Skrmetti has joined with attorneys general from other states on a number of lawsuits and regulatory comments in recent weeks. These include a suit against 20 polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) manufacturers for advertising and selling products with harmful chemicals, and a suit against the Biden administration’s proposed new “Circumvention of Lawful Pathways” immigration rule. Regulatory comments include support for the Federal Communications Commission’s move to apply the National Do Not Call Registry to text messages but expressing concerns about a proposed rule regarding prior express written consent under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act; opposition to proposed Environmental Protection Agency regulations that would affect sterilization of medical devices; and opposition to the president unilaterally raising the debt ceiling. Skrmetti also recently announced a settlement with Adore Me Inc. regarding deceptive advertising and billing practices.

Changes to the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure and Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure, approved by the General Assembly in April, took effect July 1. The changes were originally proposed by the Tennessee Supreme Court in August 2022 based on recommendations from the Advisory Commission on the Rules of Practice & Procedure. The court originally included amendments to Rule 41 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure but after a comment period decided to send that section back to the commission for further consideration.

More than 170 laws passed this year by the Tennessee General Assembly are set to become effective tomorrow. The Tennessean looks at several, including new school security requirements, liability protections for gun manufacturers, business tax changes, restrictions on the sale of Delta-8 THC products, penalties for book publishers and distributors who send or sell obscene materials to public schools, stronger penalties for those who desecrate houses of worship, and paid family leave for state employees and teachers. Action News 5 has its own list, including new requirements tied to the state’s “Move Over” law, a 30-day requirement for death sentences to be carried out after all appeals are exhausted, and restrictions on universities using state funds for activity that “endorses or promotes a divisive concept.”

Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp has been appointed to investigate complaints concerning the Shelby County Clerk's office and County Clerk Wanda Halbert. A news release from the Shelby County District Attorney's office said that Wamp was appointed by Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Chris Craft at the request of District Attorney Steve Mulroy, who believed that an outside, independent prosecutor was needed because of the politically sensitive nature of the inquiry. 

Chancellor Louis Oliver III has ruled that a lawsuit filed by the Sumner County Election Commission against the county’s mayor and the county commission will be allowed to continue. The Tennessee Lookout reports that the lawsuit was filed in May after members of the Sumner County Commission sought to evict election officials from their offices and warehouse space used to store voting machines — potentially leaving machines unsecured and out of easy reach of election officials who need ready access to them.

Sumner County has officially eliminated its Human Resources Department. According to the Tennessee Lookout, this week’s 19-4 decision is part of an ongoing approach to “streamline government and decrease bureaucratic function,” Commissioner Jeremy Mansfield said in advance of the vote. Commissioner Baker Ring was among those opposed to the measure, noting that the county is currently facing multiple lawsuits over policy actions taken by the county commission since a turnover in membership ushered in a majority of members who campaigned on limiting government in the last election.

The Jabari Bailey Highway Safety Act, named after a Memphis teen who was injured while pulled over along the highway, will add more requirements to Tennessee’s “Move Over Law” when it goes into effect Saturday. WATE in Knoxville reports that the act, sponsored by Knoxville Republican Sen. Becky Duncan Massey, requires motorists to change lanes and move away from any vehicle that is stationary on the side of the road with its hazard lights on. The previous “Move Over Law” only applied to emergency vehicles pulled over on the side of the road; this amendment is also intended keep road work crews safer.

A federal judge issued a temporary partial injunction a Tennessee’s law banning certain gender-affirming care for transgender minors. The law, which was set to take effect July 1, would have banned transgender youth from accessing puberty blockers or hormone replacement therapy, reports WPLN. Judge Eli Richardson wrote that limiting gender-affirming care for transgender children, but not for cisgender or intersex children, “imposes disparate treatment on the basis of sex.” The state argued that gender-affirming treatment does not improve mental health, but the judge’s ruling refutes this argument. The Daily Memphian reports that Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti filed an emergency motion asking the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee to reverse the preliminary injunction and notified the court that it would appeal the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.