Open government advocates are seeking to expand access to the Tennessee Code Annotated, the comprehensive version of Tennessee state law including relevant history and judicial review notes. Public.Resource.Org and Nashville law professor David Hudson sued LexisNexis in Davidson County Chancery Court last week, asking the court to force the company to offer the complete and current electronic version of the TCA, Nashville Post reports. The state says it does not have an electronic copy of the code and LexisNexis has denied previous requests. The advocates argue that LexisNexis “is the functional equivalent of state government for purposes of its work producing the TCA” and should therefore have to comply with public records laws.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has announced its process for interviewing the six applicants for attorney general and reporter. The court will begin its consideration of the candidates on Aug. 8 in the Nashville Supreme Court Building, starting at 9:30 a.m. CDT. The proceedings also will be livestreamed on the court’s YouTube channel. The day will start with a general overview of the process. Then each applicant will have 10 minutes to introduce himself to the court. After introductions, members of the public may speak in opposition to any applicant for three minutes, and applicants will have three minutes to respond. The court will then conduct formal interviews of each applicant. At the end of the interview process, the court will deliberate on next steps. The process is expected to conclude on Aug. 9, pending completion of background checks.

Ronnie Presley, 43, of Bethpage pleaded guilty on Thursday to a charge of “interfering with a law enforcement officer during a civil disorder.” According to court records, Presley entered the U.S. Capitol “through the Upper West Terrace doorway,” moved to the Rotunda and shouted, “Fight for this!” Then, as “multiple law enforcement officers attempted to clear the Rotunda of rioters, Presley disregarded verbal commands from the officers to leave” and “physically confronted” two officers. Presley was arrested in Nashville in March 2021 after an investigation by the FBI, Tennessee Lookout reports. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

NashvilleSites.org has launched a new driving tour centered on sites related to the civil rights movement, Tennessee Tribune reports. The tour includes stops at the location of sit-ins, the beginning of school desegregation at East Nashville High School, the bombing of lawyer Z. Alexander Looby’s house, and swim-ins at the Centennial Park Swimming Pool. Each stop has audio narration, a map and historic images. The tour was researched and written by Dr. Lea Williams with the Tennessee State University, Dr. Brandon Owens with Fisk University and Linda Wynn with the Tennessee Historical Commission. Wynn, a graduate of TSU and retired Fisk professor, narrates the tour, which can be taken virtually or in-person.

Nearly eight months after the American Civil Liberties Union and Shelby County advocacy groups threatened to sue the county for its bail and pretrial detention practices, the county is poised to change those practices and create a bail hearing room for arrestees. According to the Commercial Appeal, the county commission will consider the proposal at a meeting on Wednesday. If approved, the county would fund a $2 million bail hearing room and agree to only impose bail on arrestees if their release on recognizance or unsecured bail would not "reasonably assure” their return to court. Judicial commissioners also would be required to consider an individual’s ability to pay when determining bail.

President Joe Biden nominated three attorneys on Friday to fill U.S. attorney posts in Tennessee. In the Eastern District, Biden nominated Casey Arrowood, who has been an assistant U.S. attorney in the district since 2018. He previously held that same position in the Western District of North Carolina and was also a trial attorney in the Counterintelligence & Export Control Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. In the Middle District, Biden nominated Henry Leventis, who focuses on litigation and dispute resolution at Spencer Fane’s Nashville office. He previously was an assistant U.S. attorney in the district and was a trial attorney in the criminal section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. In the Western District, Biden nominated Kevin Ritz. He is a longtime assistant U.S. attorney in the district, serving since 2005. A spokesperson for U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tennessee, said the senator would support the candidates, Bloomberg Law reports. U.S, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, did not comment for the story.

The overall employment rate for 2021 law school graduates came in at 91.9% — a 15 year high — according to new data released by the National Association for Law Placement (NALP). The 2021 figure represents a 3.5% increase from the class of 2020, which stood at 88.4%, according to Reuters. The strong employment rates were driven by the largest law firms' hiring activity, said James Leipold, executive director of NALP. Read more from the association.

Former Tennessee Valley Authority Chair Joe H. Ritch could soon be returning to the TVA board a decade after he first joined the federal utility, Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. President Joe Biden nominated Ritch, an Alabama attorney, to the post on Wednesday. Ritch was first appointed to the board in 2012 by then-President Barack Obama and was elected in 2014 as the chair. He was renominated for another term in 2016 but the U.S. Senate did not vote on the nomination before Obama left office. Ritch practices law with the firm of Dentons Sirote, with a focus on government contracts, corporate and tax law. He also has served as chair of the Redstone Regional Alliance, a coalition of communities in north Alabama and south-central Tennessee that support the growth of military facilities in the area.

The Board of Judicial Conduct last week suspended 13th Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Jonathan Lee Young for 30 days. The board found that Young made improper comments about an opioid case and although the comments were made outside of court, they were serious enough to void a ruling he entered against an opioid company. The board also cited comments Young made to a woman in an adoption case filed in his court. In that case, the board found that Young requested explicit photos of the woman and met her multiple times outside of court, including at a hotel, and that he gave her advice on an unrelated custody matter in another court, including how to get the judge disqualified. According to reporting by the Tennessean, Young lost his Republican primary election in May and the suspension runs to the end of his term Aug. 31. He had previously been reprimanded in 2020 for sending inappropriate messages to women on social media platforms.

The overall employment rate for 2021 law school graduates came in at 91.9% — a 15 year high — according to new data released yesterday by the National Association for Law Placement (NALP). The 2021 figure represents a 3.5% increase from the class of 2020, which stood at 88.4%, according to Reuters. The strong employment rates were driven by the largest law firms' hiring activity, said James Leipold, executive director of NALP. Read more from the association.