Shelby County Juvenile Court Judge-elect Tarik Sugarmon has assembled a transition team to assist him with recruiting leadership and assessing current operations in the juvenile system, according to News Break. His team includes business leaders, local government officials, public and private education leaders, those working in the criminal justice field, and children and youth advocacy groups. Key appointments include Chief Public Defender Phyllis Aluko, state Sen. Raumesh Akbari, and local attorneys Blake Ballin, with Ballin & Fishman, and solo practitioner Kamilah Turner. The team will help identify the best talent for leadership roles in the court and work with transition committees to assess operations of the court and make recommendations for changes. Sugarmon, the first Black juvenile court judge elected in the county, will take office Sept. 1.

In addition to announcing student loan debt relief, President Joe Biden also has proposed changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, the ABA Journal reports. The program, which offers loan forgiveness for those who work in qualifying public service jobs, has been plagued by challenges such as complex eligibility restrictions and implementation failures. The new plan announced this week would allow more payments to qualify for the program and would allow certain kinds of deferments and forbearances to count toward the program. The proposed changes would build on temporary changes announced last year that added additional loan plans to the program. Under those changes, borrowers have to apply to consolidate their loans into a direct loan by Oct. 31 to qualify. The U.S. Department of Education has more on that requirement.

Ann Pruitt, the former director of the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services, has been named a recipient of an American Legal Technology Award for 2022 in the Access to Justice Category. Winners will be recognized at a gala on Oct. 9 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville. TikTok legend Alex Su will co-host the event, along with the co-founders of the awards: Nashville legal academic Cat Moon; Tacoma, Washington, law firm founder Patrick Palace; and Tom Martin, CEO of LawDroid. The awards recognize excellence in creative innovation and technology in the legal industry.

Williamson County District Attorney Kim Helper issued an arrest warrant for family law attorney Connie Reguli earlier this month, charging her with aggravated perjury, Williamson County Homepage reports. According to the indictment, Reguli intentionally made a false statement or submitted false information under oath about a payment to Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). Reguli appeared for booking on Aug. 12 and was released. She will return to court on the charge on Aug. 31. The action comes after Reguli was convicted of custodial interference in April. Her 30-day jail sentence and two years’ probation has been stayed while she appeals that case.

President Joe Biden has unveiled his long-awaited student loan forgiveness plan, which erases $10,000 from the balance of qualifying federal loans — including law school debt — and $20,000 for those who received Pell grants as undergraduates. The initial reaction from law graduates has mostly been: “$10K doesn't make a big difference,” Reuters reports. And for some that is true. Law school graduates average up to $138,500 in debt, and many starting salaries will surpass the $125,000 income cap for participation. But experts say, solo and small firms lawyers could benefit, and other provisions — such as an income-based repayment option and planned elimination of negative amortization — could save attorney borrowers far more over time.

The Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law has promoted Bianca White to associate director of the law library and assistant professor of law. White has been on the faculty since 2019 as the law assessment librarian, serving on various faculty committees and teaching courses such as legal research. In her new role, White will work closely with the director of the law library to oversee planning, developing and evaluating reference activities and outreach initiatives. She also will supervise other law librarians, including the library’s new diversity fellow.

The U.S. Department of Justice won an order temporarily barring enforcement of Idaho’s near-total ban on abortions when women endangered by pregnancy complications require emergency care, Reuters reports. The ruling by U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill now sets up a conflict with the decision from U.S. District Court Judge James Wesley Hendrix in Texas, who blocked the emergency care guidance from being implemented there this week. Winmill said the Idaho law conflicts with the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, which is designed to ensure patients receive emergency "stabilizing care" at hospitals, while Hendrix found the guidance went too far afield of the law. The rulings, depending on how they are decided on appeal, could require the U.S. Supreme Court to settle the question.

The Tennessee NAACP is calling for a federal investigation into the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) following a recent incident in which MNPD shared altered body-cam footage with Metro’s Community Oversight Board. “We call on Mayor Cooper and the Metropolitan Nashville Council to invite the U.S. Department of Justice to Nashville for a top-to-bottom review of MNPD practices,” a statement from the group reads according to the Nashville Scene. Beyond the body cam issue, the group also references instances of gender discrimination, sexual assault and harassment within MNPD, as well as alleged surveillance of the oversight board’s director.

A trial date of Oct. 25 has been set for former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada, WPLN reports. The Williamson County Republican pleaded not guilty Tuesday in federal court to involvement in a kickback scheme that funneled money from the General Assembly. Casada is facing charges alongside his former chief of staff, Cade Cothren. Both were indicted Tuesday on federal charges and pleaded not guilty at their initial court appearances.

Video obtained by Tennessee Lookout confirms that a U.S. Department of Homeland Security agent stepped on the neck of a worker who was face down on the floor with another agent on his back during a raid of a Grainger County slaughterhouse in April 2018. Additional videos and depositions obtained also show that federal agents seized, searched, cursed, handcuffed and detained Latino workers without any proof of wrongdoing, while allowing white workers to go free without further investigation. The news source said it gained access to the video after U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher Seger unsealed the footage. The incident in question occurred at the Southeastern Provision slaughterhouse in Bean Station. The workers at the plant are suing the government for violation of their rights.