New special prosecutor Roger Moore from Nashville is expected to be assigned to a shooting case in Soddy Daisy, Chattanoogan.com reports. Moore would replace Tammy Meade, who was named to the case in January after local district attorney Neal Pinkston recused himself. Pinkston stepped down after accusing a political opponent, Coty Wamp, of obstruction of justice and witness tampering in the case. Meade agreed with Wamp that the wrong man had been arrested and had charges dropped against Hugo Garcia Padilla. She then identified Hugo Garcia Robles as the perpetrator and said she would seek an indictment with the local grand jury. 

Congress has approved a $1.5 trillion spending plan that includes a 6.1% boost in funding for federal judiciary security, Reuters reports. A total of $704.8 million was allotted for court security. Included in the funding is money for the creation of a program aimed at identifying and pursuing the voluntary removal of judges' personal information from the internet. The judiciary is also seeking approval of the Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act, which would allow federal judges to redact personal information on government websites and bar people and businesses from publishing such information online if written requests are made not to do so. The measure is named after the son of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas, who was murdered in an attack at the New Jersey judge’s home in 2020 by a disgruntled lawyer.  

Former Nissan U.S. executive and Williamson County resident Greg Kelly yesterday returned to Tennessee after a nearly four-year legal battle, the Nashville Post reports. A Japanese court found Kelly guilty of underreporting pay for his former boss, Carlos Ghosn. He was acquitted of several other charges. He was allowed to return home to Tennessee following his suspended sentence. Kelly maintains his innocence and plans to appeal the conviction in a Japanese court, arguing that he was targeted by some Nissan executives out of fear of a potential merger with a French company. “This was a case where a trial showed there was no crime,” Kelly said. He was welcomed home by U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty who called Kelly’s situation “very regrettable.”

Keep up with the latest bar association events and top legal news with the TBA’s BarBuzz podcast. Attorney Sean Martin of Nashville’s Martin, Heller, Potempa & Sheppard law firm co-hosts this month’s episode, now streaming on the TBA’s website or anywhere you listen to podcasts. BarBuzz, one of five shows in the TBA Podcast Network, premiers a new episode each month.

When students in Knox County Schools return from spring break, they will no longer be required to wear a mask in schools, Knoxnews reports. Judge J. Ronnie Greer lifted his own order today, six days after the Knox County Board of Education and four families in the mask lawsuit all requested that the mask rule be temporarily suspended. Greer said the suspension of the mask rule can last for up to 60 days, which is the maximum time given for mediation, and the requirement can be put back in place if COVID circumstances change in the county. Greer’s order also does not affect a second suit against the Knox County Board of Education, which seeks to end the mask rule and establish a precedent that mask mandates are not a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

A coalition of 22 East Tennessee localities has filed suit against three opioid producers and five pharmacies, citing years-long practices that fueled a deadly and illegal drug trade through the marketing, over-prescription and diversion of opioids. The suit, filed Friday in Sevier County Circuit Court, targets Endo, Par, Teva, CVS, Food City, Rite Aid, Walgreens and Walmart. Lawyers for the plaintiffs argue the companies can be held liable under Tennessee’s Drug Dealer Liability Act, and are seeking $25 billion to cover increased law enforcement needs; housing, care and rehabilitation of opioid-dependent adults and babies; special education needs; additional jail space; and drug treatment programs. Gerard Stranch, managing partner of Branstetter, Stranch & Jennings, is leading the effort, according to a press release from the firm.

The Bureau of Workers’ Compensation is now accepting nominations for the fourth annual Sue Ann Head Award for Excellence in Workers’ Compensation. Nominees must have a minimum of five years of involvement with the state’s workers’ compensation system in one of the following categories: employer or employer’s representative, employee representative, service provider, claims professional, medical provider or legal professional. Nominees will be judged on their positive contributions to the state workers’ compensation system, including reflecting the bureau’s mission of fulfilling the promise of workers’ compensation. Nominations, which will be judged by a panel of leading industry professionals, are due by April 4. Read more about the award and nomination process on the bureau’s website.

Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk’s office has concluded that a dog muzzle sent to the state’s former vaccine chief Dr. Michelle Fiscus was sent by someone else who fraudulently obtained a credit card in her name, WPLN reports. Last summer, Fiscus was fired from the Tennessee Department of Health. Commissioner Dr. Lisa Piercey said the firing was due to job performance. Fiscus has claimed it was political retribution for comments about vaccinating some teenagers without parental consent. In the weeks before Fiscus was fired, someone sent a muzzle to her office. It was purchased with a credit card in her name, leading some to assume that she sent the item to herself. In the report, the district attorney’s office says it is too soon to tell whether the muzzle was meant to be a political statement, but that the events appear “too coincidental to be random.” The report recommends further investigation by federal authorities.

The $1.5 trillion spending bill approved by Congress this week includes $85.5 million for a new federal courthouse in Chattanooga. The money comes on top of an initial $94.5 million approved in 2021, Chattanoogan.com reports. But the funding falls short of the $94.6 million that government officials say is necessary to complete the project. The new courthouse is projected to be 186,000 square feet. The federal General Services Administration began looking for a new site between two to five acres in January. It also will have to determine the best use and reuse opportunities for the current courthouse. Known as the Joel Solomon Building, it was the final work of famed Chattanooga architect R.H. Hunt when it was built in the 1930s.

The Tennessee Supreme Court issued an order last week seeking comments on a petition filed by the Board of the Tennessee Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection (TLFCP) on March 3. The petition asks the court to consider amendments to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9 and Rule 25 to (1) increase the annual attorney registration fee from $170 to $185, (2) increase the portion of the fee TLFCP receives from $10 to $25, (3) modify the limitations on payments that TLFCP may make, and (4) require TLFCP to publicize information about claims that are paid. Comments should be submitted by June 10.