Florida lawyer Jessica Rose Sievert was reinstated to the practice of law in Tennessee on July 7 after being on inactive status since May 20, 2015. The Board of Professional Responsibility reported that the petition for reinstatement was satisfactory and the Tennessee Supreme Court adopted the order on July 10.

State Rep. Vincent Dixie, D-Nashville, has entered the race to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Mark Green, Axios reports. Dixie has served in the state legislature for eight years representing portions of north and northwest Davidson County. He joins fellow Democratic state Reps. Aftyn Behn and Bo Mitchell, who also have announced bids. Also in news this week, Green endorsed former Tennessee General Services Commissioner Matt Van Epps, who is running in a crowded Republican primary that still is growing. Mason Foley, who works for Main Street Health, has joined the field, according to Tennessee Lookout.

Memphis City Council member and attorney Jerri Green has announced her candidacy for Tennessee governor, the Commercial Appeal reports. Green currently is serving her first term on the council and works as deputy chief of staff for Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris. According to the paper, Green will run as a Democrat with a platform to prioritize working families, affordable health care and women's rights. Before joining the mayor’s office as legal counsel, Green worked as a public defender. Green joins U.S. Rep. John Rose, R-Cookeville, who announced his candidacy for the office in March.

Nashville is appealing a Tennessee Court of Appeals decision that upheld a 2023 state law cutting its city council in half to the Tennessee Supreme Court, WPLN reports. The ruling from a three-judge panel of the appeals court overturned a lower court ruling that the law was unconstitutional under the state's Home Rule amendment, which prohibits legislation that specifically targets one local government. If the law ultimately is upheld, the council would be reduced from 40 to 20 members for the 2027 election.

A recent article in National Geographic profiles a glow worm only found in the Appalachian region. Orfelia fultoni, the larval form of a fungus gnat, produce the bluest bioluminescence of any known insect on Earth and can be found in East Tennessee. Pickett CCC Memorial Park in Jamestown hosts a thriving population and sometimes offers hikes for visitors to appreciate the unique spectacle. Pickett ranger Michael Hodge, who leads many of those hikes and hosts monthly stargazing programs, says park visitors are often stunned by the show of nature. “You’ll hear gasps. You’ll hear people cheering,” according to Hodge. “It’s not on YouTube; it’s real. I think, on some level, people have those reactions because they experience a sudden awareness that there are still things out there for them to discover.”

The 2025 TBA Animal Law Forum will take place Friday, Oct. 3, at the Nashville Zoo. This unique opportunity provides updates on trends and advancements in animal law while allowing participants to network and enjoy the fun and activities the zoo offers. Topics at this year’s forum include practicing animal law, development in sensitive habitats, equine concerns, conservation, a case law update, ethics and more. Zoo admission, breakfast and lunch are included with the program. Do not miss this event; you never know who is going to show up! Register now.

The U.S. Senate voted 46-42 on Monday to confirm Whitney Hermandorfer to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, Bloomberg Law reports. Hermandorfer will replace Judge Jane Branstetter Stranch, who announced plans last year to assume senior status upon confirmation of a successor. Hermandorfer directs the strategic litigation unit for the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office. She has been on the forefront of a number of high-profile state cases including a near total ban on abortion, prohibition on certain medical treatments for transgender minors, and a challenge to the Biden administration’s rule extending anti-sex discrimination language to transgender students. She also signed Tennessee’s amicus brief in support of President Donald Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order and against universal injunctions. Prior to joining the attorney general’s office, Hermandorfer worked at Williams & Connolly and clerked for Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Amy Coney Barrett, and now-justice Brett Kavanaugh when he was on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Three more Tennessee counties are now authorized to receive public assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as they recover from severe storms in April. FEMA announced Monday that Carroll, Houston and Wayne counties are now eligible for public assistance funding, which helps reimburse some local government costs for debris removal and repairs to public infrastructure or facilities. They join 19 other counties that previously were announced. Tennessee Lookout reports the news. The paper also notes that FEMA has approved $3.4 million in individual assistance for the storms.

Davidson County Chancellor Russell Perkins heard testimony this week from a medical expert on just how excruciating Byron Black’s execution could be. Black is scheduled to die on Aug. 5, an event made more complicated by the fact that he has a cardioverter-defibrillator that was implanted in his chest last year due to congestive heart failure, the Nashville Banner reports. The doctor testified that as pentobarbital works its way through Black’s system, there is a high likelihood that the device would repeatedly shock him. Black’s legal team is seeking a court order to have the device reprogramed to turn off that function. Read more from the Banner’s July 15 newsletter.

Movant, Antonio K. Champion, appeals from the trial court’s denial of his motion to correct an illegal sentence related to his guilty-pleaded convictions in Madison County Circuit Court case numbers 22-488 and 22-489.1 On appeal, he argues that the trial court erred by denying his motion because he was improperly sentenced as a Range II offender based upon several prior convictions, which he asserts also involved “illegal” sentences. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm.