Tennessee's senior Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn was honored for her legislative work protecting intellectual property (IP) by the News/Media Alliance during a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. Blackburn was recognized for her work championing "protection of intellectual property, particularly in pushing back against Big Tech monopolies," alongside Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, the Tennessean reports. Blackburn has introduced several bills aimed at regulating artificial intelligence (AI) and establishing legal recourse for victims of AI abuse. “Supporting content creators is at the top of my list of priorities, and we need to pass the COPIED Act, NO FAKES Act and TRAIN Act to protect against the abuse of AI,” Blackburn shared in a social media post.

New data shows that out-of-state travel for abortion declined in the first half of 2025, marking the first drop in clinic visits since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. According to Tennessee Lookout, the Guttmacher Institute report found an 8% decrease in patients traveling to states where abortion remains legal, while the use of telehealth to obtain abortion medication continues to rise. In Tennessee, where nearly all abortions are banned, 10,020 residents sought out-of-state abortions in 2024, while an additional 5,840 ended pregnancies using medication prescribed through telehealth. Telemedicine providers, protected by “shield laws” that allow them to prescribe and mail FDA-approved abortion pills anywhere in the country and protect the organization and its medical staff from out-of-state prosecution in 22 states and Washington, D.C., continue to serve patients in states with bans.

Legal Aid of East Tennessee (LAET) is marking Pro Bono Month and its 60th anniversary with free legal clinics and community events throughout October. The organization, which serves 26 counties across East Tennessee, is partnering with local agencies to offer free legal advice and assistance in areas such as expungement, family law and name changes. Upcoming events include a virtual name change clinic on Oct. 16, a family law advice clinic on Oct. 28 at the Carol B. Bertz Family Justice Center in Hamilton County and ongoing expungement assistance through Oct. 31. Additional clinics will take place in Johnson City, Kingsport and Knoxville, including a debt relief clinic on Nov. 15. Pre-registration is required for select events by calling 423-402-4766. In addition to these clinics, LAET is celebrating its 60th Anniversary with two Pro Bono Night events: the first in Chattanooga on Oct. 23 at the Chattanooga Whiskey Event Hall and then in Knoxville on Nov. 13 at The Standard Knoxville. Both evenings will honor volunteer attorneys, celebrate six decades of service and raise support to ensure justice for vulnerable East Tennesseans. Sponsorships and tickets are still available. Don’t miss this chance to be part of LAET history. Get more information on these upcoming events on the LAET website or in a press release from the organization.

A list of those who passed the July 2025 Tennessee bar exam is now available. Check the TBA’s website for the complete list of successful applicants. Download the list in pdf format. Those who meet all licensing requirements will be sworn in at ceremonies across the state next month. Events are scheduled for Nov. 3 in Knoxville at the Knoxville City/County Building Main Assembly Room at 10 a.m. EDT; Nov. 4 in Nashville at the Millenium Maxwell House Grand Ballroom at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. CDT; Nov. 5 in Jackson at the Supreme Court Building at 1 p.m. CDT.; and Nov. 6 in Memphis at City Hall at 10 a.m. CDT.

Completing CLE requirements before Dec. 31 is now easier than ever with new packages from the TBA. The “CLE Made Easy Series” offers curated packages based on hours needed or special interest topics. Credit hour packages include 15, 12, 10 and eight-hour offerings. Topical options include 15 hours for solo and small practice lawyers, eight hours from the TBA’s 2025 Convention and six hours from the Young Lawyers Division’s Rookie Series. Looking for ethics hours? Two three-hour packages also are available. Don’t see what you are looking for in the new offerings? Check out the more than 100 on-demand programs and upcoming live programs in the TBA's online course catalog.

The Nashville Bar Association (NBA) has released the results of a member poll of applicants being considered to fill a vacancy on the 20th Judicial District Circuit Court. The candidates rated included Audrey L. Anderson, Bethany Peery Glandorf, Harold E. Rushton, Morgan E. Smith and John Ray Wilks. The vacancy on the third circuit is due to the retirement of Judge Phillip R. Robinson. The association reports that 251 responses were received by the deadline. See the poll results in a release from the NBA. The Trial Court Vacancy Commission is set to consider the candidates at a public hearing on Oct. 17.

A federal court should set aside a new $100,000 fee imposed on H-1B workers by the Trump administration, according to a lawsuit filed by a coalition of labor unions, health care providers, academic groups, religious organizations and individual visa holders. The plaintiffs are being represented by the Justice Action Center. According to Bloomberg Law, the suit claims that the fee violates the Immigration and Nationality Act and the Administrative Procedure Act. The Trump administration says the changes are needed to discourage business from “spamming the system and driving down American wages.” President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on Sept. 19 raising the fee. It later clarified the fee increase would apply only to new applicants. The Department of Homeland Security also recently announced it would look at overhauling the H-1B annual lottery process.

JANE B. STRANCH, Circuit Judge. Derek Riley was eligible for resentencing under Amendment 821 to the Sentencing Guidelines. His counsel and the Government stipulated to a recommended sentence, and the district court imposed that sentence. Riley then filed a motion for reconsideration, asserting that he was proceeding pro se in order to make clear that his counsel had agreed to the stipulation without his knowledge and against his wishes, and that a lower sentence was warranted. The district court denied the motion without reaching the merits on the basis that it had not been filed through counsel and therefore constituted improper hybrid representation. For the reasons that follow, we VACATE the district court’s judgment on Riley’s motion for reconsideration and REMAND for further proceedings.

JULIA SMITH GIBBONS, Circuit Judge. In this case, the district court certified a class of Tennesseans insured by State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company (“State Farm”) who, after their cars were totaled, received a payout from State Farm that was calculated utilizing car valuation data generated by another company, Audatex. Named plaintiff-appellee Jessica Clippinger1 argues that the use of a particular cost adjustment as part of this methodology impermissibly reduced those valuations in breach of contract and Tennessee law. The district court certified a class made up of State Farm-insured Tennessee plaintiffs who received an “actual cash value” payout for the total loss of a car, where the payout was calculated by that methodology and decreased by application of the challenged adjustment. State Farm appealed class certification, and we granted review. We now affirm the district court’s certification of the class and remand for further proceedings.

KAREN NELSON MOORE, Circuit Judge. In a prior appeal, this court granted Petitioner-Appellant Malik Allah-U-Akbar a conditional writ of habeas corpus, “vacating [his] death sentence unless the State of Ohio conducts a new penalty-phase proceeding within 180 days of remand.” Jones v. Bradshaw, 46 F.4th 459, 489 (6th Cir. 2022). The state did not comply with the writ. The district court then converted this conditional writ to an unconditional writ. The unconditional writ ordered the state “to vacate the death sentence imposed by the Ashtabula County, Ohio, Court of Common Pleas . . . and unconditionally release Jones from custody no later than five business days from the date of entry of” the order entered on February 29, 2024. Jones v. Bradshaw, No. 1:03 CV 1192, 2024 WL 895153, at *11 (N.D. Ohio Feb. 29, 2024). The state did not fully comply with the unconditional writ until May 29, 2024, roughly ninety days after the unconditional writ was entered. In response, Allah-U-Akbar filed a motion for relief from the unconditional writ, and sought as a sanction for noncompliance an order barring the state from reprosecuting the death penalty. The district court denied this request on the merits. For the reasons that follow, although we agree with Allah-U-Akbar that we have jurisdiction over this appeal, we nevertheless AFFIRM the judgment of the district court.