Memphis lawyer Byrd Douglas Earthman died Feb. 19 at the age of 76. Originally from Kingsport, Earthman moved to Nashville as a child when his father, an attorney, took a job with the Gov. Frank Clement administration. After receiving his law degree in 1973 from Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis) Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, Earthman began a 20-year career with the Waring Cox law firm. He later served as a senior vice president at ServiceMaster Diversified Health Services. He returned to private practice at Armstrong Allen and finished his legal career at Glankler Brown. Earthman focused his private practice on municipal bonds and real estate matters. Memorial donations may be made to a charity of the donor’s choice or the Earthman-Lambeth Family Fund with the Monteagle Sunday School Assembly (choose "Make a Gift" at the bottom of the page and then click on "use this donation as a memorial gift" and specify the fund name in the special instructions field).

After more than a week of conflicting reports about whether the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was planning to open an immigration detention facility in Lebanon, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn announced yesterday that DHS will not move forward with the facility. Though supportive of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) mission, the Tennessee Lookout reports that Blackburn opposed the location for a proposed detention center. Local officials and at least one Republican state lawmaker also spoke against the location, citing the strains it would place on local safety and law enforcement resources. The Lookout also reports that Blackburn is working with state, local and federal leaders to “find a proper placement” for the detention center. In related news, ICE will open a new legal office in Nashville’s MetroCenter. The Nashville Business Journal has details on those plans.

Lt. Gov. Randy McNally announced on the floor of the state Senate that he would not seek reelection later this year, ending a nearly five-decade career in the legislature. According to the Nashville Banner, the Oak Ridge Republican was first elected to the House in 1978 and to the Senate in 1986. He succeeded Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey in the top job in 2017. McNally, who is 82 years old, cited health considerations for his decision.

SCOTUSblog founder and appellate attorney Tom Goldstein has been found guilty on 12 of 16 counts of tax crimes and mortgage fraud, Bloomberg Law reports. During the trial, Goldstein denied that he ever willfully cheated on his taxes, blaming any errors on his returns on his staff and outside accountants. The jury phase of the trial is not over yet. Goldstein has asked the jury to decide whether he must forfeit his Washington, D.C., home. In a separate article, the news source looks at the potential grounds for appealing the verdict.

The federal judiciary is urging Congress to shift courthouse management away from the executive branch, citing mounting risks and longstanding neglect, according to Reuters. The judiciary argues urgent action is needed to address critical system failures, underfunded repairs, security concerns and worsening costs. Judicial leaders say courthouses are in “crisis,” pointing to an $8.3 billion repair backlog and decades of inadequate oversight by the General Services Administration (GSA). Lawmakers reportedly are working on legislation to gradually transfer control of courthouse facilities from the GSA to the judiciary, starting with up to 10 districts.

The American Bar Association (ABA) reportedly is in settlement talks with the American Alliance for Equal Rights over settling the group’s lawsuit challenging ABA law school scholarships. In a recent court filing, the parties asked for more time to engage in settlement discussions, according to Bloomberg News. The alliance sued the ABA in April 2025, alleging its Legal Opportunity Scholarship violates civil rights law. The scholarship offers $15,000 to about 25 first-year law students. Last year, the ABA widened eligibility to students who “have demonstrated a strong commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion.” That change reversed the previous guidelines, which limited applications to students who were members of underrepresented racial or ethnic minority groups.

The Tennessee Attorney General's (AG) Office plans to settle a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union-Tennessee (ACLU), which challenged a state law penalizing local officials who support sanctuary city policies. According to WPLN, the state concedes it cannot support the law’s constitutionality, saying it “infringes[s] on principles of legislative immunity and independence.” It thus has agreed not to enforce the law. Last year, the AG's office said it was open to a settlement. In a recent statement to the news outlet, AG Jonathan Skrmetti said: “Sanctuary policies remain illegal in Tennessee, but city and county officials cannot be imprisoned for voting for such policies. As a result, we agreed that dismissal of this case was the appropriate outcome.” According to Tennessee Lookout, the settlement must be approved by the courts before it takes effect. Read more from the ACLU.

The state’s AI Council met for the first time this year as members began setting a “roadmap” to transition from planning to implementation, the Tennessee Journal reports. At its last meeting in November, the council approved recommendations for the governor in areas including workforce development, education and government operations. “Since the report was issued in November, which was a great milestone for this council, we're moving from vision-setting to really operationalizing,” said Finance Commissioner Jim Bryson.

LARSEN, Circuit Judge. In 2011, Officer Stephen Geelhood sought a search warrant to investigate narcotics sales from a home in Detroit. After a magistrate judge granted the warrant, Geelhood and a group of other officers searched the home of Janet Chancellor. There, they found over 500 grams of cocaine. Based on this and other findings, Janet’s son, Darell Chancellor, was arrested, prosecuted, and eventually sentenced to fourteen years and three months in prison for possession of illegal narcotics. Seven years later, the local prosecutor’s office vacated his conviction via a stipulated order. Chancellor then sued in federal court, alleging that Geelhood violated his state and federal rights. The district court granted summary judgment to Geelhood. Chancellor now appeals. We AFFIRM.

KAREN NELSON MOORE, Circuit Judge. This appeal requires us to answer two questions. The first is one familiar to the federal courts: Does Randi Marie Bruce’s complaint contain sufficient factual material to state a claim—in this case, a workplace sexual-harassment claim—upon which relief can be granted? The second is an issue of first impression in this court: Does the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 (“EFAA”) bar arbitration of each of Bruce’s claims against Adams and Reese, LLP (“A&R”), her former employer, or does it apply only to her sexual-harassment claim? Because Bruce has met Rule 8’s pleading standard as to her sexual-harassment claim, and the EFAA bars arbitration of Bruce’s entire case, we affirm the district court’s decision.