The next free advice clinic for Black-owned small businesses and nonprofits is set for noon to 1 p.m. CDT on April 16 in Nashville. The clinic, sponsored by the Arts & Business Council's Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts and Bradley, provides assistance with business formation and corporate governance, review of contracts and guidance in navigating local ordinances and state regulations. Space is limited, so early registration is recommended. Attorneys should email vlpa@abcnashville.org to volunteer.

The Tennessee Senate passed two measures on Monday that are part of the majority’s “Immigration 2026” package. SB1915 would require local governments to verify a person is lawfully present in the country before receiving government benefits. The bill also would give the state attorney general the authority to investigate complaints and withhold state funds from local governments that do not comply. The House version of the bill passed the State & Local Government Committee on March 31 and is set to go before the Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee on April 8. Also Monday, the Senate passed SB1922, which would require state and local governments to verify immigration status before hiring workers. The House previously adopted its version of that bill, HB1705, on March 16. Other immigration related bills making their way through the legislative process include those directing courts (HB1707/SB1952) and local governments (HB2219/SB2223) to cooperate with federal immigration authorities; requiring tracking of undocumented patients and students (HB1711/SB2108); and creating criminal penalties for undocumented drivers of commercial vehicles (HB1706/SB1587) and anyone living in Tennessee after a final deportation order has been issued (HB1704/SB1779). WPLN has a round up of these measures.

Legislation to limit lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of new state laws has passed both the House and Senate and is now on its way to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk. HB1971 passed the House on March 31. The Senate passed the House bill yesterday. The bill repeals a provision the legislature passed eight years ago that allowed Tennesseans to challenge the constitutionality of new state laws before they suffer any harm. The Tennessean reports that Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti — whose office defends new laws in court — requested lawmakers repeal the measure and reinstate barriers removed in 2018. If signed into law, the measure would require challengers to prove actual damage had been done to have standing to sue. The Tennessean has more on the legislation.

The list of those applicants who achieved a passing score on the February 2026 Uniform Bar Examination in Tennessee will be released April 9 by the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners. Results will be posted by the board by 2 p.m. CDT and will be available on the TBA website as soon as they are released. 

The Tennessee state House Judiciary Committee has passed legislation — HB2079/SB1992 — that would make it a felony for a person to engage in “conduct intended to influence the outcome of an event” which that person has also bet on through a contract on a prediction market like Kalshi or Polymarket. The bill, which was amended by the committee, now goes to the House Finance, Ways and Means Committee. The Nashville Banner reports that prediction markets, which have exploded in popularity, have been under increased legal and media scrutiny after traders have made enormous profits off of bets made on national and world events. Both Kalshi and Polymarket currently offer users the opportunity to place wagers on the outcomes of upcoming Tennessee elections. 

Shelby County lawyer Theodore Iver Jones received a public censure from the Tennessee Supreme Court on April 1. Jones was hired to represent a client to obtain clear title on two separate properties. The court found that throughout the representation, Jones failed to act diligently on behalf of his client and misrepresented the status of the case to his client. These actions violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3 and 8.4.

On April 1, the Tennessee Supreme Court suspended Jeffrey Dennis Johnson from the practice of law for two years, with 30 days to be served on active suspension and the remainder on probation. The court conditioned probation on Johnson’s engagement of a practice monitor, completion of additional continuing legal education hours and payment of incurred litigation costs. Johnson represented a client in a criminal matter after representing the client in a separate criminal matter some years previously. The court found that the new representation was improperly conditioned upon the client making outstanding payments for the prior representation. In a subsequent motion to withdraw from the most recent representation, Johnson also made derogatory and disparaging statements about his client, and revealed confidential information related to the representation of the client without the client’s consent. These actions were found to violate Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct 1.6, 1.7, 1.9, 1.16, 3.5(e) and 8.4(d).

The Tennessee House Finance, Ways and Means Subcommittee voted to advanced voucher legislation with a wide-ranging amendment from the chair that reduced the expansion by 5,000 (authorizing 35,000 students rather than the 40,000 requested by Gov. Bill Lee) and added language that public school districts would benefit from a hold harmless clause of the program to the extent they verify the immigration status of students. According to the Nashville Banner, the subcommittee spent less than three minutes on the bill before voting 9-3 to recommend the amended bill for passage. Two Republicans — Rep. Gary Hicks, R-Rogersville, and Rep. Mark Cochran, R-Englewood, voted no.

Petitioner, Brian Howard, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, arguing that the post-conviction court erred in concluding that he received the effective assistance of trial counsel. He argues trial counsel was ineffective in two ways: first, by failing to sever Petitioner’s trial from that of his co-defendant, or alternatively, failing to introduce the co-defendant’s pretrial statement to police during their joint trial; and second, by failing to waive lesser included offense instructions. He also raises a standalone due process claim, arguing that criminal defendants should have a constitutional right to affirmatively waive lesser included charges contrary to Tennessee law. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

The Petitioner appeals from the order of the post-conviction court denying his petition seeking relief from his conviction for first-degree murder. In this appeal, the Petitioner argues (1) that trial and appellate counsel provided ineffective assistance of counsel in failing to object to or raise as an issue on appeal the admissibility Chamere Talley’s prior statement based on Tennessee Rule 803(26); (2) that the State and the trial court violated due process in failing to conduct a hearing pursuant to Rule 803(26); (3) that trial counsel was ineffective in failing to conduct an adequate closing argument; and (4) that the cumulative effect of trial counsel’s errors deprived the Petitioner of a fair trial.1 We affirm.