Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton of the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals announced Friday that he plans to take senior status beginning Oct. 1, Bloomberg Law reports. Sutton, who has served on the court since his 2003 appointment by President George W. Bush and became chief judge in 2021, has presided over major cases that later reached the U.S. Supreme Court and authored notable opinions addressing the Affordable Care Act and same-sex marriage bans. Before joining the bench, Sutton worked at Jones Day and served as Ohio’s solicitor general from 1995 to 1998. Trump now will have the opportunity to nominate a successor to the life-tenured seat, subject to Senate confirmation. The 6th Circuit covers the states of Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee and is based in Cincinnati.

Knox County Chancellor Chris Heagerty on Friday denied a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit filed by Joey Aguilar, the University of Tennessee’s starting quarterback. Aguilar was seeking an additional year of eligibility from the NCAA, Knox News reports. With the injunction denied, Aguilar is no longer eligible to play college football. Heagerty previously had granted Aguilar a 15-day restraining order against enforcement of NCAA rules and later extended it pending a ruling on the injunction. Aguilar initially joined Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia’s antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA in federal court in November 2025 but withdrew from that case in January to pursue his own claim in Knox County.

Beacon Legacy Group is seeking a “courtroom-ready" probate and trust professional with a strong litigation background and confidence in representing clients in hearings and bench trials. This position will be the primary advocate for Beacon’s clients in probate, guardianships and real estate disputes. The ideal candidate is experienced in civil litigation, specifically within the realms of probate, property or family law; has excellent legal research and writing skills, with the ability to draft persuasive motions and precise legal documents; and has strong interpersonal skills to manage family dynamics and complex client relationships. Learn more about this opening and others on TBA’s Career Center.

The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law and the TBA Young Lawyers Division will host High School Pre-Law Day on March 21 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CDT. This free program will give an inside look at law school and legal careers. For more information and to register see the attached flyer or contact lawadmissions@memphis.edu.

From document management to cybersecurity to managing your money, the day-to-day task of keeping a law firm operating at its maximum potential can be daunting and exhausting. The TBA's Law Firm in a Box has resources to help. Take advantage of checklists, white papers and more to keep your operations humming. The Managing a Firm section includes information about cybersecurity, disaster preparedness, document automation, financial management, technology and more.

Join the TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD) for the next installment of The Rookie Series with "Family Law: Trends and Challenges" on March 5 at noon CST. The one-hour webcast will provide an overview of family law, covering key areas such as marriage, divorce, child custody and support, and property division. Participants will learn about the legal principles that govern family relationships and the role of the courts in resolving disputes. The session will include practical examples and a brief discussion of current trends and challenges in family law practice. For more information and to register visit the TBA CLE website.

Members of the Tennessee Alliance for Black Lawyers (TABL) and the TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD) Diversity Committee recently held a networking mixer in Chattanooga. The event was sponsored by Geeter Law Office PLLC and was held at Blue Orleans Seafood Restaurant. See photos from the event. TABL and YLD members in Memphis should be on the lookout for a networking mixer coming to that city soon.

Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Chris Craft will retire July 1, according to the Daily Memphian. In a letter notifying Gov. Bill Lee of the decision, Craft said, “It has been an honor to have been entrusted by the citizens of Shelby County with the responsibility of serving in this capacity for the last 32 years.” Craft first took the bench in 1994. Prior to that, he worked in private practice and as a prosecutor with the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office. For more than 30 years he served on the Tennessee Criminal Pattern Jury Instructions Committee, including more than 20 years as chair. He also served as president of the Tennessee Judicial Conference and as chair of the state board responsible for handling ethics complaints against judges. Craft received the TBA’s Justice Frank F. Drowota III Award in 2025 for his leadership in judicial education, ethics and professional well-being.

GRIFFIN, Circuit Judge. Under Michigan law, an insurer may rescind a life-insurance policy if the applicant makes a material misrepresentation when applying for coverage. Ewanda Ferguson (Ewanda)materially misrepresented her driving history when applying for life insurance through defendant MetLife Investors USA Insurance Company a/k/a Brighthouse Life Insurance Company (Brighthouse). Brighthouse therefore rescinded the policy and refused to pay any death benefit to plaintiff Elizabeth Ferguson (Ferguson), the beneficiary under the policy. Ferguson sued, asserting that she was an “innocent third party” under Michigan law and, thus, entitled to equitable balancing before the policy could be rescinded. The district court disagreed, ordered rescission, and granted summary judgment in favor of Brighthouse. We affirm.

The Defendant, Marty Allison Hobdy, Jr., was convicted of aggravated assault and placed on probation for seven years. While on probation, he was charged with a second assault but was acquitted by a jury. After the acquittal, the State sought to revoke the Defendant’s suspended sentence based on the same alleged conduct. At the revocation hearing, the State presented no proof and instead urged the trial court to rely on its memory of testimony and credibility assessments from the prior trial. The trial court revoked the Defendant’s probation on that basis. On appeal, the Defendant contends, among other things, that the State’s procedure caused the trial court to cease functioning as a neutral and detached decisionmaker. Upon our review, we agree with the Defendant. Accordingly, we respectfully reverse and vacate the order revoking the Defendant’s suspended sentence and remand the case for a new hearing.