Pro se Appellant, Willie Gordon, has appealed an order of the Shelby County Circuit Court that was entered on December 15, 2023. We determine that the trial court’s order does not constitute a final appealable judgment. Therefore, this Court lacks jurisdiction to consider the appeal. The appeal is, therefore, dismissed.

The State Textbook and Instructional Materials Quality Commission recently announced that Crossville lawyer Hayden T. Shadden was named its new general counsel. Shadden graduated from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law in 2020 and previously was in private practice focusing on civil litigation, mergers and acquisitions, employment law and estate planning/taxation. The commission is composed of 11 volunteer members who recommend textbooks and instructional materials to the State Board of Education and hear challenges to public school library books and materials.

This week, in a letter to Congress, Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and 41 attorneys general called on lawmakers to pass legislation authorizing a U.S. Surgeon General warning on all algorithm-driven social media platforms. The group cites research that links young people’s use of such platforms to psychological harm, including depression, anxiety and even suicidal thoughts. They also note how platforms feature “irresistible algorithmic recommendations, infinite scrolling and a constant stream of notifications” to keep kids engaged “even at the expense of taking breaks, engaging in other activities or sleeping.” Read more in a release. Last year, Skrmetti joined a nationwide effort to sue Meta alleging many of the same harms.

Shelby County Chancellor Melanie Taylor Jefferson ruled Wednesday that gun control questions can appear on the November ballot, the Daily Memphian reports. Taylor Jefferson agreed with the Memphis City Council’s private attorney that state claims that the referendums are preempted by state gun laws were “not ripe” because the referendums are just proposals, and no amendments have yet been made to the city charter. The Memphis City Council approved the ballot measures in July but the Shelby County Election Commission ruled they would not be added to the ballot based on guidance from state officials. The council then sued the commission.

After about 13 hours of arguments over two days, a jury has been empaneled in the Tyre Nichols federal criminal case, according to the Commercial Appeal. Opening arguments also have been made in a trial that will determine whether or not former Memphis police officers Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith Jr. are guilty of violating Nichols' civil rights during a beating after a Jan. 7, 2023 traffic stop. Two other former officers, Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr., pleaded guilty before the trial to using excessive force and conspiracy to witness tamper. A number of witnesses also took the stand yesterday, including a police department trainer and the nurse who admitted Nichols to the hospital. Read more in the Daily Memphian.

The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department has arrested David Joseph Bush, 23, on an indictment charging him with multiple crimes in connection with last September’s shooting into a car driven by Davidson County Chancery Court Judge I’Ashea Myles on I-440. During the incident, which police say was motivated by road rage, Myles was struck by broken glass but otherwise uninjured. Her front seat passenger suffered gunshot wounds to the hand and leg and was hospitalized before being discharged to continue recovering at home. Police linked Bush to the incident based on ballistic evidence and cell phone data. At the time of his arrest, Bush was free on a $125,000 bond for a March arrest for an alleged road rage shooting case on Murfreesboro Pike. Read more in a release from the department.

A Nashville judge has restored the voting rights of four people in Davidson County, rejecting a state rule that formerly incarcerated individuals must have their gun ownership rights restored before voting rights can be restored, WPLN reports. The Tennessee State Election Commission issued guidance in July requiring restoration of gun ownership rights as well as the payment of restitution, court costs and child support payments before voting rights could be restored. Advocates argued that since many felony charges bar people from owning a gun, that right could never be restored. Criminal Court Judge Angelita Dalton, citing the Tennessee Supreme Court’s holding in State v. Johnson, found that the prohibition on possessing firearms does not render the petitioners ineligible from having full citizen rights restored. In related news, Tennessee Lookout reports that Gov. Bill Lee pledged to look into the issue after the New York Times reported on the challenges facing Tennesseans.

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A federal judge recently ruled in favor of Tennessee plaintiffs terminated from Medicaid who sued the state for failures in its eligibility processes. The lawsuit, A.M.C. v. Stephen Smith, contests the policies and practices of TennCare that “unlawfully deprive eligible children and adults of vitally necessary medical care” through “a defective process for the periodic reevaluation of the eligibility of individuals enrolled in TennCare,” among other claims. Federal District Court Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw said in his decision: "Poor, disabled and otherwise disadvantaged Tennesseans should not require luck, perseverance or zealous lawyering to receive health care benefits they are entitled to under the law.” Crenshaw maintains that while the organization’s leadership and frontlines "do admirable, diligent work,” organizations as large as TennCare can be “unwieldy, and, when improperly handled, have dire consequences for those they effect.” Clarence Carter, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Human Services said regarding the case, “There is always going to be a need for a rich, robust, efficient, effective safety net … It just ought to be catching people like a trampoline, not a hammock.” Tennessee remains one of 10 states yet to accept federal Medicaid expansion, leaving more than an estimated $2 billion in federal funding on the table. Crenshaw has ordered that the plaintiffs and state attempt mediation prior to the judge addressing the plaintiffs’ claims for relief. The Tennessee Lookout has more.

TBA’s 24th Annual Health Law Primer will take place Oct. 16 at the Nashville office of Bass Berry & Sims. This introductory seminar features a general health law overview provided by experienced health care leaders. Topics at this year’s primer include an introduction to the U.S. health care system, fraud and abuse, physician and provider licensure, contracting, and more. Lunch will be provided with a reception following presentations. Learn more about the primer here.