Chancellor Anne Martin yesterday heard arguments over the state comptroller’s financial takeover of Mason, Tennessee, a small town less than 10 miles from the Ford megasite, WPLN reports. Tennessee Comptroller Jason Mumpower wrote a letter to Mason’s 1,337 residents, most of whom are Black, asking them to relinquish their town charter rather than fix their budget problems. The town opted to fix its budget rather than dissolve, but is suing to challenge whether the state can control every dollar that’s spent. Martin said the request put the town in “a no-win choice situation.” Mason officials say they felt “attacked” and noted that majority-white towns in East Tennessee with far deeper financial problems were never asked to dissolve. Memphis attorney Van Turner called the move “offensive” and said “there is an aspect of discriminatory treatment when you look at this case.” 

Legal services company Latitude has announced it will expand to Philadelphia, St. Louis and San Francisco, the Nashville Post reports. The Franklin-based company has more than doubled its number of locations over the last nine months. It has additional offices in Brentwood, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Miami, Boston and Minneapolis. Latitude bills itself as a legal services company that provides law firms with both temporary and permanent legal professionals.

A new episode of the TBA Legislative Updates podcast is now streaming with TBA Public Policy & Government Affairs Director Berkley Schwarz and Adams and Reese attorneys and TBA lobbyists Brad Lampley and Ashley Harbin. Tune in for news on the Senate redistricting lawsuit ruling, updates on HB2438/SB2257 concerning revisions to the Uniform Arbitration Act, an update on the professional privilege tax and more! To see a list of all of TBA’s bills, visit our online bill tracker. Legislative Updates airs every Thursday on the TBA’s Facebook page. It is also released as a podcast on the same day and can be found on the TBA’s website or wherever you listen to podcasts.

A list of those who passed the February 2022 bar exam will be released tomorrow by the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners. Check the TBA’s website for the complete list of successful applicants.

The Tennessee Senate has two weeks to fix issues with its new redistricting plan after a ruling from a three-judge panel yesterday, the Tennessean reports. Three voters, backed by the Tennessee Democratic Party, sued over the Republican-led redistricting plan for numbering Senate districts nonconsecutively, a requirement included in the state constitution. The panel of judges will impose its own map for this year’s election should the Senate fail to fix the issues within 15 days. Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R-Oak Ridge, said they expect to appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court, who he hopes will “reach down and deal with it quickly because it does impact the filing deadlines and can impact the election." The lawsuit also challenged the House redistricting map, which the panel did not block on Wednesday but ruled should go to trial to determine if the court should take action against it.

The U.S. Senate voted 53-47 today to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court, The Hill reports. She is the first female, Black high court justice and its first former public defender. Senators Susan Collins, R-Maine, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Mitt Romney, R-Utah, crossed party lines and voted in favor of Jackson, who was nominated by President Joe Biden in February. Jackson would still need to be sworn in before she’s officially a justice on the Supreme Court. Justice Stephen Breyer, who she is succeeding, has said he will step down over the summer, assuming his successor was in place. 

The Biden administration announced last week that it would rescinded Title 42, the Trump-era policy that allows for expulsion of migrants at the border and blocks them from seeking asylum due to health concerns from the COVID-19 pandemic. The order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will take effect May 23. On Monday, attorneys general for Arizona, Missouri and Louisiana announced they were suing the administration over the decision. The Hill has more on both stories.

The Tennessee Court of Appeals recently held in-person oral arguments at Belmont College of Law, two years after the court held its last pre-pandemic appearance there in March 2020. “We’re back where it all ended two years ago,” said Judge Neal McBrayer. “It’s amazing to see the transformation that has happened to the Tennessee Courts since 2020. Who would have thought all of this was possible? We now have the technology that allows us to do that. It’s an amazing transformation that’s taken place in a short amount of time, in an institution that’s typically resistant to change.” Judge Andy Bennett and Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Jill Ayers also participated in the event, which included a question and answer session with students after the arguments. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more on the event.

Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III today announced that Senior Assistant Attorney General Dianna Baker Shew will assume the role of chief deputy. In her new role, Shew will coordinate and oversee the substantive legal work of all sections of the office. Shew joined the office in 2018 and has managed high-profile cases and complex litigation for the state. She was named senior assistant attorney general in 2019. Prior to joining the office, she was associate general counsel at CoreCivic Inc. and a partner at Stites & Harbison. She earned her law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School.

Ever wanted to know more about the moving parts, projects and staffers of the Tennessee Bar Association? Starting next week, look for a #TeamTBA post on all our social media outlets and in TBA Today for a closer look at each staff member, their role in the association and maybe a fun fact or two! #TeamTBA profiles will be posted every Wednesday. Find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.