The Knoxville Bar Association (KBA) held its annual meeting Friday, during which the president’s gavel was passed from Jonathan Cooper to Knoxville attorney Rachel Park Hurt, a member of Arnett, Baker, Draper & Hagood LLP. Hurt earned her law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 2007. Her practice focuses on insurance defense, health care liability defense and health care regulation. Also during the meeting, new officers were named for 2026. They are: President-elect Ursula Bailey, Treasurer Cathy Shuck, Secretary M. Samantha Parris, and board members Joshua D. Hedrick, Allison Jackson, Matthew Lyon and Shannon van Tol. In addition, Courteney Barnes-Anderson was named president of the Knoxville Barristers. Awards also were presented during the event. Cooper presented his President’s Awards to KBA Professionalism Committee Co-Chairs James Stovall and Chancellor John Weaver, and to KBA Executive Director Tasha Blakney. Reggie E. Keaton received the KBA's highest award, the Governors' Award; Dana C. Holloway received the Courage in the Face of Adversity Award; William D. Vines III received the Don Paine Lawyer Legacy Award; and Robbie Pryor received the KBA’s award for outstanding legal writing. Read more about these recognitions in a news release from the organization.

The Shelby County District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday it will not pursue criminal charges against General Sessions Court Clerk Tami Sawyer following an October dispute with Shelby County sheriff’s deputies. Deputies and Sawyer clashed verbally over whether her private security guard could carry a firearm inside the D’Army Bailey Shelby County Courthouse, according to the Daily Memphian. Video of the encounter circulated on social media, prompting calls for Sawyer’s resignation from Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Eads, and other Memphis leaders. Taylor alleged Sawyer tried to facilitate bringing a gun into the courthouse, while Sawyer said her security guard had previously been allowed inside with a permitted weapon. The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office conducted its own review before referring the matter to District Attorney General Steve Mulroy. “There is simply no evidence that Clerk Sawyer solicited, aided or directed her security guard to bypass courthouse security,” the DA’s office said in a statement.

Tennessee death row inmate Harold Wayne Nichols was executed by lethal injection Dec. 11 at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, The Tennessean reports. Nichols was pronounced dead at 10:39 a.m. CST. He had been on death row for 35 years and was sentenced to death for the beating and rape of 20-year-old Karen Pulley in Chattanooga. Gov. Bill Lee said Tuesday he would not halt the execution after Nichols requested clemency. The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals also denied two of Nichols’ motions. The state executed Oscar Smith in May and Byron Black in October. In March, nine men on death row, including Smith and Black, filed a lawsuit challenging the use of pentobarbital in Tennessee’s new lethal injection protocol citing the "risk of tortuous death."

Virginia and Tennessee will begin restricting Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) purchases of sugary drinks in 2026. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins, joined by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., announced the approval of six new state SNAP food-choice waivers under the Make America Healthy Again initiative, WCYB reports. Hawai'i, Missouri, North Dakota, South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee submitted waivers that will amend the statutory definition of “food for purchase” beginning in 2026. In Tennessee, the restrictions will include processed foods and beverages such as soda, energy drinks and candy. “The Trump administration’s leadership to create innovative, responsible solutions that strengthen families and improve health outcomes will have a lasting impact on Tennesseans for generations to come,” Gov. Bill Lee said.

Tennessee’s unemployment rate remained at 3.6% in September, according to the state's Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The release of the data was delayed because the federal government shutdown affected the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The state’s seasonally adjusted rate was unchanged from August, while the U.S. rate was 4.4%, eight-tenths of a point higher than Tennessee’s. Total nonfarm employment increased by 3,400 jobs over the month, led by gains in accommodation and food services, durable goods manufacturing and government.

Two Tennessee Bar Association programs were named the best in the state by the Tennessee Society of Association Executives (TNSAE) at a luncheon and awards ceremony in Franklin. TBA staff were on hand to accept the awards. The TBA's indigent representation education campaign won in the "Associations Impacting Tennessee" category, which recognizes programs that provide community assistance or respond to a community need. Over the course of six months, the TBA launched an intensive campaign to educate lawmakers and the legal community about a new approach to providing free legal services to the indigent. The effort resulted in the General Assembly adopting a new system to improve representation for needy Tennesseans. The TBA also won in the "Best Continuing Education Program" category for its Murder Mystery CLE. The program, sponsored by the Criminal Justice Section, blended education and entertainment in a truly innovative way by immersing participants in a 1920s investigation and using real Tennessee criminal laws to solve a fictional case. Held in person last May, it delivered hands-on learning, collaboration and engagement. Congratulations to all TBA members and staff who were involved in advancing these programs! See photos from the ceremony.

A lawsuit filed last summer challenging a new state law — which eliminated consideration of a defendant’s ability to pay from judges’ bail decisions — has been certified as a class action, the Daily Memphian reports. The suit, filed by advocacy group Just City, now represents thousands of defendants who have been incarcerated in Memphis since the law took effect in May 2024. U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker said he granted the class certification because it met the requirements to do so under federal law, including having the amount of defendants required to become a class. The case is set to go to trial Feb. 23, 2026.

The Tennessee Comptroller’s Office has found that Weakley County Circuit Court Clerk Courtney McMinn improperly signed petitions to expunge criminal records for someone who was not eligible for expungement under state law. The office found that McMinn prepared four petitions for a person convicted of forgery in Weakley, Obion, Henry and Carroll counties and sent the petitions to court clerks in those counties. She signed the individual’s name on all four petitions and did not disclose the multiple convictions to the other clerks. Expungements ultimately were approved in Weakley and Carroll counties, but since have been reversed. The process in other counties was halted once the situation became known. The comptroller’s report was released on Dec. 8, six days after McMinn submitted notice of her resignation effective on Dec. 31, according to the Rogersville Review.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis of Maryland has ordered the immediate release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from an ICE facility in Pennsylvania, Reuters reports. Xinis found that ongoing detention appears to be “constitutionally infirm” because no U.S. immigration judge has ordered his removal from the country. The AP reports he was released today. The Trump administration said it will appeal the ruling. Abrego Garcia also is awaiting trial in Nashville on charges of human smuggling. The judge in that case already ordered that he be released pending trial. Abrego Garcia has pleaded not guilty in that case, and his lawyers are seeking dismissal based on claims it is a vindictive and selective prosecution.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a Tennessee public employee who claims she was unlawfully fired from her state government job for criticizing Charlie Kirk in a Facebook comment following his assassination. Monica Meeks was dismissed from her role at the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance even though her Facebook profile did not link her to the job, ABC 3340 reports. The lawsuit names Tennessee Commissioner of Commerce and Insurance Carter Lawrence and argues that Meeks’ First Amendment rights were violated given that her post did not disrupt government functions. Other state and university employees have reported being terminated for comments about Kirk.