Applications are now being accepted for the 2022 Reporters Workshop. Sponsored jointly by the Tennessee Bar Association’s Communication Law Section, the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters and the Tennessee Press Association Foundation, the program will be held in person April 22-23 in Nashville. Print, online, television and/or radio journalists who want to develop a deeper understanding of media law issues that may affect their everyday work, including access to government information, defamation and privacy concerns in reporting should apply before 5 p.m. CST on March 1. The 15 journalists selected to participate will receive a stipend to defray the cost of travel.

A Nashville man who was exonerated in a 2000 murder of a North Nashville woman is suing the city for $18 million, the Tennessean reports. Paul Shane Garrett was exonerated in August after a push from the Tennessee Innocence Project and a report from the Davidson County District Attorney's Conviction Review Unit. Garrett filed the suit Friday, naming the city and five individual police officers for their involvement in the investigation that sent him to prison for 10 years. The lawsuit claims officers tried to coerce Garrett into confession to the crime that he told officers nearly 50 times he did not commit. Two detectives involved in the case were later found to have “lied under oath and/or fabricated evidence on multiple occasions,” including around the time of the investigation into Garrett.   

After two lawsuits were filed, Tennessee has decided to release a $1.5 million taxpayer-funded report detailing recommendations on improving “government effeciencies,” the Tennessean reports. Private contractor Thomas Wesley filed suit against the Tennessee Department of Human Resources in December, followed by a second suit this month from Nashville Post parent company FW Publishing and reporter Stephen Elliott. The state’s decision to release the report, created by consulting firm McKinsey & Co., was made days before a show cause hearing was set in Wesley’s case. The hearing was canceled after the attorney general’s office said it planned to “grant public access” to the record. A show cause hearing in the Nashville Post’s suit, which was broader in scope, was still scheduled for this afternoon.

Applications are now being accepted for two vacancies on the Eastern Section of the Court of Criminal Appeals following announcements that Judge Norma McGee and Judge D. Kelly Thomas Jr. will not seek retention. Qualified applicants are licensed attorneys who are at least 30 years old, residents of the state for at least five years and current residents of the Eastern Section. Those interested should submit an application to the Administrative Office of the Courts by noon CST on Feb. 8. The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments will hold a virtual hearing for both vacancies via Zoom on March 3 and March 4. The hearing will be livestreamed on the AOC’s YouTube page. The AOC has more on application instructions and how to attend the hearing in person.  

Longtime Democratic Congressman Jim Cooper today announced he will not run for re-election as a Republican redistricting plan that will split Davidson County into three congressional districts moves forward, the Tennessean reports. Cooper’s announcement came less than 24 hours after the state House approved redistricting plans on a 70-26 party-line vote. Cooper, who has represented Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District for 32 years, in a statement said he “explored every possible way” to keep the General Assembly from “dismembering Nashville.” He said he chose to make the announcement now to allow others more time to campaign. The 5th District will now include parts of Davidson, Williamson and Wilson counties, along with rural Lewis, Maury and Marshall counties. “For everything there is a season, a time and place under the sun,” Cooper said. “My time in Congress is ending, but I can’t wait to start the next adventure.”

A private citizen has notified state wildlife officials of his intent to sue within 60 days should a plan to raze 2,000 acres of hardwoods on state-owned land in White County proceed, the Tennessee Lookout reports. The land sits on 16,000 acres that was gifted to the state by Bridgestone Americas. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) plans to raze the land and use it to create grassland habitat for the Northern bobwhite quail. In the Jan. 10 notice, Marvin Bullock, president of the Sparta/White County Chamber of Commerce, and his attorney, Austin Warehime of Nashville’s Ortale Kelley Law Firm, claim the plan may harm numerous protected species in violation of the federal Endangered Species Act. The plan has upset locals, environmental groups and a bipartisan group of state lawmakers, who are critical of TWRA’s lack of transparency and its plan to keep all profits from the sale of the timber. TWRA is the only state agency allowed to keep proceeds from the sale of the state’s natural resources.

The Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments is now accepting applications for a Tennessee Court of Appeals vacancy in the Middle Division following Judge Richard H. Dinkins’ decision not to stand for retention in the August 2022 election. Dinkins has served on the court since 2008. He previously served on the Davidson County Chancery Court and was in private practice for 26 years. He suffered a stroke in July 2020.

Those interested in being considered for the seat should be licensed attorneys at least 30 years of age, residents of the state for five years and residents of the Middle Grand Division. Applicants must complete the designated application and submit it to the Administrative Office of the Courts by noon CST on Feb. 3.  The council will hold a virtual hearing via video conference with all applicants on Feb. 14 and 15. The hearing will be live streamed for public viewing on the court’s YouTube page. Read the full vacancy notice.

Over the past few decades, the number of court reporters across the country has been in decline. But not everyone agrees that the shortage is a big problem, Law 360 reports. Differences in opinion are sharpest between those who advocate for traditional stenography and those who support use of electronic equipment. Advocates of digital reporting argue these services can solve any shortages given that the time required to train a digital recorder is shorter and courses can be offered online making it more attractive to new recruits. But stenographers see their profession slipping away with stenography schools closing and a high rate of retirement among colleagues. They argue strenuously that digital reporters are not properly trained, which puts the public at risk. Despite any disagreement about the scope of the problem, however, most everyone agrees that something must be done to save court reporting.

A group of federal prosecutors are investigating up to $90 billion in suspected CARES Act and Paycheck Protection Program fraud across the United States, the Nashville Business Journal reports. The investigation is looking to catch undeserving recipients of emergency stimulus funds approved by Congress as COVID-19 slammed the country's economy. Funding was intended to help employers meet payrolls, supplement state unemployment payments and ease or eliminate fines and fees. By late December, a total of 366 indictments, 294 arrests and 142 convictions had been recorded for a total of more than $460 million so far, according to the Small Business Administration inspector general.

Today is the “International Day of the Endangered Lawyer,” a day set aside to honor legal professionals around the globe who work to ensure that governments respect human rights obligations and commitments. This year's commemoration focuses on Colombia, where the persecution of human rights lawyers continues, while continuing support for legal professionals in places like Hong Kong, Iran, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Belarus. The ABA is marking the day by calling on lawyers everywhere to “support the inspirational prosecutors, judges and lawyers who dedicate themselves at great personal cost to championing justice, defending human rights and protecting the rule of law.”