More contraband believed to be connected to criminal justice advocate Alex Friedmann — who hid weapons inside the walls of the Downtown Detention Center while it was under construction — was recently discovered in the center, the Tennessean reports. The latest discovery comes more than six months after Friedmann was sentenced to 40 years in prison for felony vandalism in connection to the weapons. Employees found the additional items in a mechanical room in a non-secure area of the jail. The packages, found in the room’s ductwork, included a uniform, $100 cash and a pair of black shoes, one of which had a handcuff key hidden in the sole.

The Tennessee Innocence Project will open a new office in Memphis in September, the Daily Memphian reports. The nonprofit organization, headquartered in Nashville, also has hired two new employees to assist with Memphis cases. Gordon Pera will serve as a staff attorney of the new office while Katie Hagan will serve as senior legal counsel. Pera, a former Shelby County public defender, previously represented indigent clients. Hagan, a Nashville native, has practiced criminal law for 20 years. Previously, she worked at the Nashville District Attorney’s Office and was a partner at Hagan & Todd Law Offices. She will be based in Nashville. Tennessee Innocence Project executive director and lead counsel Jessica Van Dyke said the organization is thrilled to bring its mission to Memphis and “fight for justice and exoneration alongside the Memphis community.”

It was not long ago that North Carolina had the highest personal and corporate income tax rates in the Southeastern United States, but state legislators have been systematically cutting business and individual taxes, Forbes reports. This year, legislators turned their attention to the professional privilege tax, with the state House passing a budget that repeals the tax. The final budget is being negotiated but if the tax is repealed in the Tar Heel state, Tennessee would be among just five states that still levy a privilege tax. Tennessee House Majority Leader William Lamberth tells Forbes that state leaders agree with the goal of completely doing away with the tax but are moving judiciously. "It should never have been put in to begin with and on every single profession," he said. Jim Brown, NFIB state director in Tennessee, tells the magazine that “No one should be taxed just to go to work” and that “Paying the state $400 a year is a burden on many and frankly an insult” for those who “take care of the needs of so many Tennesseans.”

More than 200 general counsel and chief legal officers have signed a letter of support for Legal Services Corporation (LSC) funding, the corporation reports. The letter urges Congress to strengthen its investment in equal justice and emphasizes the important role legal aid plays in creating financial stability for families who form “the foundation of a resilient middle class and healthy consumers” and maintains the “strength of the American workforce.” The corporation also reports that similar letters have been signed by 37 state attorneys general, 93 law school deans, 184 law firm leaders, and the presidents of the Conference of Chief Justices and Conference of State Court Administrators.

A federal judge last week dismissed a lawsuit brought by a group of Tennessee-born transgender plaintiffs hoping to compel the state to change the sex designations on their birth certificates. The plaintiffs had sought to overturn a 1977 law that generally prohibits such changes, the Tennessean reports. The group, represented by Lambda Legal, argued that the law discriminates against transgender people and leads to possible harassment and violence when birth certificates do not match gender identities. U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson wrote in his decision that while there are varying definitions of "sex," the term "has a very narrow and specific meaning" for the purpose of birth certificates: the "external genitalia at the time of birth." Read Richardson's opinion.

The Tennessee Bureau of Workers' Compensation announced Katherine "Kitty" Boyte as the fifth recipient of its Sue Ann Head Award for Excellence in Workers' Compensation. The award was presented to Boyte at a luncheon ceremony during the group's educational conference on June 15 in Murfreesboro. The award honors a professional who has or is currently making a lasting, positive impact on Tennessee’s workers’ compensation system.

Tennessee’s Community Corrections program for felony offenders is set to be renewed when a new law takes effect July 1. According to the Tennessee Lookout, the Department of Correction is believed to be assessing the program to determine its next step. The measure, sponsored by Rep. Andrew Farmer, R-Sevierville, and Sen. Ed Jackson, R-Jackson, placed “community-based supervision” back into state law and will allow Community Corrections to provide intensive probation, treatment and supervision for convicted felons who, otherwise, could be headed to prison.

Above the Law has released its annual Top 50 Law School Rankings. Vanderbilt Law School has dropped two places to seventh on the list, while the University of Tennessee College of Law has moved up five places to 43. See the full list of rankings here.

Former Memphis Police officers Justin Smith and Tadarrius Bean have filed motions to have their cases tried separately from the other three officers who are charged in the beating and death of Tyre Nichols. The Commercial Appeal reports that both motions point to every officer being charged with two counts of aggravated kidnapping — which were assessed for each of the scenes at which officers interacted with Nichols — and some of the officers were not at both scenes. 

Undocumented Tennesseans are no longer able to access basic reproductive services like family planning and birth control at health clinics that formerly relied on federal Title X funding. According to the Commercial Appeal, Tennessee lost millions in federal money due to noncompliance with a key Title X requirement that providers had to offer information on all options for pregnant patients, including information about abortion access. Tennessee's post-Dobbs policy stated patients "must be provided information and counseling regarding all options that are legal in the State of Tennessee." While the state has budgeted funds to replace the lost federal dollars, its policies do not allow the money to be used to provide services for undocumented families and individuals.