The Vanderbilt Project on Unity & American Democracy is hosting an event at Vanderbilt University’s Student Life Center Ballroom to examine the potential impact of recent Supreme Court decisions on the perceived politicization of federal courts. Panelists with experience as White House counsel in Republican and Democratic administrations are expected to discuss the intricacies of the federal judiciary’s nomination and confirmation process. Additionally, this expert group, including CBS News’ chief judicial correspondent, will highlight which decisions will generate headlines in the coming year and what effect, if any, the major decisions of 2022 had on the midterm elections. The free event will be held Nov. 29 at 11 a.m. CST. Advance registration is required. 

Almost 550 guests joined the Tennessee Innocence Project for an evening of music and inspiration at the Inspired by Innocence fundraiser on Oct. 27. It was the Tennessee Innocence Project's largest event since its founding in 2019, raising more than $340,000. Guests lit up the Music City Center with tea lights — 95 lights each representing one year wrongfully served in prison by each of the organization’s four exonerees — Shane Garrett, Joyce Watkins, Charlie Dunn and Claude Garrett. An additional 318 lights were later lit, each symbolizing one year lost in prison by the organization’s 12 current clients waiting to be exonerated. In total, 413 lights represented the 413 years served in prison by TIP clients. Read the full press release and see photos from the event.

FedEx pilots, represented by the Airline Pilots Association, and FedEx Express sat down for their first session with a federal mediator last week to assist in ongoing contract negotiations. The pilots and FedEx have been in negotiations for the past 18 months, “with pilots seeking adjustments to their pensions and other quality-of-life benefits.” The Commercial Appeal has the story.

The Chattanoogan reported Friday that the bridge at Exit 11 on Interstate 75 will be renamed in memory of the late Mike Carter, Hamilton County judge and state legislator. The dedication ceremony will take place Friday at 11:30 a.m. EST and will be led by State Rep. Greg Vital.

A 13-year-old resident of Hollis Academy, a facility for teens in state custody, is suing the facility and its parent company for neglect, stemming from an October 2021 incident. The Tennessean reports that a fight on the basketball court escalated quickly, and the youth cracked his head on the concrete while another resident punched him in the face and head. He was flown from the hospital in Waynesboro to Vanderbilt Medical Center because doctors feared his injuries could result in paralysis. The suit alleges that the staff knew the teen was in danger after being threatened by another resident and needed to be removed from the facility.

Officials paused in-person family visitation at Nashville jails because of the COVID-19 pandemic but now it looks like this change might be here to stay. Even as state prisons have gone back to in-person visiting, the local sheriff says he thinks incarcerated people are more comfortable seeing their loved ones on screens. But lawyers and families say a lot is being lost. “COVID has taught us all that video conferencing is no substitute for in-person conversations” says Dawn Deaner, the city’s former public defender and now executive director of the Choosing Justice Initiative. She also notes that jail calls with family and friends are recorded and can be monitored, which can affect free and open conversation. WPLN looks at how the policy is affecting some families.

Swearing in ceremonies for new lawyers continued on Wednesday of this week in Jackson with a small group. Former TBA Young Lawyers Division President and Jackson attorney Terica Smith was on hand to welcome the students to the practice of law. See photos from the event.

Memphis Area Legal Services (MALS) has named Heather Staggs as its is new managing attorney of pro bono programs. Staggs previously worked with West Tennessee Legal Services in its Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation Section. In her new role, she will oversee the organization’s pro bono projects and clinics, including the bi-weekly Shelby County Courthouse Pro Bono Clinic and the Second Saturday Benjamin Hooks Main Library Pro Bono Clinic. Staggs earned her law degree from Villanova University School of Law in 2015 and was licensed to practice law in Tennessee in 2017.

The U.S. judiciary’s administrative office is asking the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to hear a case involving political activity by its staff. A three judge-panel of the court previously found that rules preventing employees from engaging in political activity violated their constitutional right to free speech. The judiciary argues that such rules are necessary to protect the third branch’s “reputation for impartiality and nonpartisanship.” The rules, implemented in 2018, prohibit donations to political campaigns, attendance at partisan rallies and expressions of political views on social media. Bloomberg Law has more on the case.

U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman struck down President Biden’s student loan forgiveness program yesterday, declaring it unlawful. He said the executive action by the president was “an unconstitutional exercise of Congress’s legislative power,” The Hill reports. The Biden administration has argued it has authority to forgive student loans under the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003. Pittman rejected this argument finding no “clear congressional authorization” for the program. The ruling comes in a lawsuit filed by the Job Creators Network Foundation on the behalf of two borrowers who are ineligible for different benefits of the plan.