The federal courthouse building located at 167 N. Main St. in Memphis was renamed for the late U.S. District Judge Odell Horton in a ceremony this week. The renaming, approved by the U.S. Congress last year, removes the name of Congressman Clifford Davis, who was known as a segregationist and Ku Klux Klan member. Horton was the first Black federal judge and the first Black assistant U.S. attorney in western Tennessee. U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, sponsored the legislation to remove the Davis name. The Commercial Appeal has more on the story.

Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Mark Fishburn received the Jack Norman Sr. Award at the annual Nashville Bar Association Law Day Luncheon. He is just the fourth judge to receive the award, which recognizes service in the field of criminal law and justice. Fishburn announced in February that he would retire at the end of this term after nearly 25 years on the bench. In April he spoke about his post-retirement plans. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more on the award and his career.

Gov. Bill Lee has appointed Margie Quin as the new commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services. Quin most recently served as CEO of End Slavery Tennessee, a nonprofit focused on human trafficking. She replaces Jennifer Nichols, who has been in the role since 2019. Quin will take office on Sept. 1. She joins the department at a time when it is under scrutiny for reports of vacant caseworker positions and children in state custody sleeping on the floor in an office building, the Nashville Post reports. A release from the governor’s office looks at Nichols’s tenure.

The Middle Tennessee law firm of Thompson Burton PLLC has added John Bowers as chief executive officer, the Nashville Post reports. He will work at both the firm’s Franklin and Nashville locations leading administrative and strategic decisions and recruiting and business development. He also will oversee the buildout of office space adjacent to the firm’s Nashville office at 1801 West End Ave., which will triple the size of the office. Bowers previously served for six years as chief operating officer for Nashville-based intellectual property firm Patterson. Before relocating to Tennessee, he spent 16 years leading business development teams for law firms in Philadelphia.

Mark Thomas Reno of Jefferson City has been charged with damaging federal property for allegedly firing on the John J. Duncan Federal Office Building in downtown Knoxville on July 3. U.S. Magistrate Judge Jill McCook yesterday ordered Reno jailed without bond pending further proceedings in the case, Tennessee Lookout reports. Records show that Reno was already the target of a federal probe when the alleged shooting occurred. He told an undercover agent that he was at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 though officials say there is no proof that he entered the building or engaged in any other illegal activity.

Memphis business owner Matthew Bledsoe has been found guilty of one felony and four misdemeanors related to the Jan. 6 capitol riot by a Washington D.C.-based jury. Prosecutors used Bledsoe's own social media accounts and a text he sent his wife saying all elected officials were "going to be executed" as evidence in the case. Bledsoe pleaded not guilty to all charges and rejected a plea deal from the U.S. government. His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 21, the Commercial Appeal reports. He was released on his own recognizance with an ankle monitor and limits on travel.

Former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr and a group of prominent Republicans have launched a new legal group aimed at defending state legislatures’ right to set election laws. The nonprofit group, Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections, has already filed two briefs in election law cases backing state legislatures' ability to change voting rules, Reuters reports. Bobby Burchfield, previously with King & Spalding, said the group does not think courts should set the rules for elections. He previously represented the Republican National Committee and Donald Trump’s reelection campaign in a pre-election challenge to deadline extensions in North Carolina. He says the group is not connected to Trump and that the founders do not believe the 2020 election was stolen.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State is challenging a special three-judge panel decision that a Knoxville couple could not sue a state-funded foster care agency for religious discrimination, WBIR reports. The couple, who are Jewish, were in the process of adopting a child when they were turned away by Holston United Methodist Home for Children, which would have provided training required by the state. They sued alleging they were denied services because of their faith. They also claimed the state violated equal protection guarantees in the state constitution by funding an agency that discriminates based on religion, and that a 2020 state law allowing private adoption agencies to deny adoptions on moral and religious grounds is unconstitutional. A panel comprised of judges Roy B. Morgan Jr. and Carter S. Moore and Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle rejected the claim saying the law had nothing to do with the agency's refusal and that the issue was resolved when the couple later became foster parents.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments last week on whether President Joe Biden has the power to bar government agencies from contracting with businesses that do not require COVID-19 vaccines for their workers, Reuters reports. The mandate was challenged by the attorneys general of Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio and blocked by a Kentucky federal judge last year. In January, the appeals court upheld the district court decision in a preliminary order. Last week's arguments focused largely on the scope of the Federal Procurement Act, which is designed to promote economy and efficiency in federal contracting.

Tennessee experienced a slight dip in major crimes in 2021, Axios Nashville reports. The Tennesse Bureau of Investigation’s annual crime analysis found 502,706 serious crimes, like murder, arson and theft, were reported in 2021. That’s down by 1% from 2020. While overall crime fell, DUI arrests climbed by 3% to nearly 18,760 and meth offenses rose by roughly 20% to 19,726, which is higher than the two previous years. The TBI tracks crime using a large database that allows law enforcement to analyze specific details such as the time of day when more serious crimes take place.