The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Trump administration to move forward with plans to deport immigrants to countries not specifically identified in their removal orders while the government appeals a lower court’s order. According to SCOTUSblog, the justices paused a ruling by Massachusetts-based Judge Brian Murphy, which had required the administration to engage in a process designed to address “reasonable fear” of being tortured. Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented in a lengthy opinion joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. The dispute stems from guidance issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) earlier this year, which instructed agents to take “all appropriate actions” to remove noncitizens still in the United States despite an order for deportation. Four undocumented immigrants with deportation orders sued over the policy.

K&L Gates recently announced Greg Parker as new managing partner of the firm's Nashville office, succeeding Lauren Patten. Parker earned his law degree from the University of Notre Dame Law School. He focuses his practice on IP litigation and IP procurement and portfolio management. One of the lawyers who opened the firms's Nashville office, Parker told the Nashville Business Journal, "We're seeing most of these big national firms take a real close look at Nashville as a place where they want to compete and have a presence ... This is a booming market. I welcome that growth and welcome that competition."

RONALD LEE GILMAN, Circuit Judge. Randy Wiertella died in the Lake County Adult Detention Facility (the Jail) on the morning of December 10, 2018. Dennis Wiertella, as the Administrator of the Estate of Randy Wiertella (the Estate), filed suit on behalf of the Estate. The Estate brought several claims, including a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim that Wiertella’s constitutional rights under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments were violated by Jail staff Diane Snow, RN, and Christina Watson, LPN. Snow and Watson filed a motion for summary judgment, seeking dismissal on the basis of qualified immunity. The district court denied their motion. For the reasons set forth below, we AFFIRM the decision of the district court and REMAND the case for further proceedings on the Estate’s § 1983 claim.

The Petitioner, John Todd, filed an untimely petition for post-conviction relief claiming he received the ineffective assistance of counsel and that due process required the tolling of the statute of limitations because of his alleged mental incompetence. The post-conviction court summarily dismissed the petition, concluding the Petitioner had failed to present a prima facie case of mental incompetence to warrant an evidentiary hearing on the issue of due process tolling. The Petitioner appeals, claiming the post-conviction court erred in summarily dismissing the petition without an evidentiary hearing on the tolling issue because he presented a prima facie case of his mental incompetence. Following our review, we reverse the judgment of the post-conviction court and remand for an evidentiary hearing on the issue of whether the Petitioner is entitled to a tolling of the statute of limitations.

The Petitioner, Curtis D. Staggs, appeals from the summary dismissal of his petition for a writ of error coram nobis as time-barred by the applicable one-year statute of limitations. He contends that the coram nobis court should have held a hearing on his petition because the newly discovered evidence he intended to present would have established that he was innocent of the conviction offenses. After review, we affirm the judgment of the coram nobis court.

The Defendant, Barry McRae, appeals from the Blount County Circuit Court’s probation revocation of the effective eight-year sentence he received for his guilty-pleaded convictions for two counts of delivery of a Schedule II controlled substance. On appeal, he contends that the trial court abused its discretion by revoking his probation and ordering him to serve the remainder of his sentence in confinement. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

This Tennessee Public Records Act (“TPRA”) dispute concerns emails and documents (the “Materials”) requested by Kathleen Marquardt (“Ms. Marquardt”) from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville (“UTK”). Ms. Marquardt argued that the Materials, which include emails pertaining to an article authored by a part-time UTK employee that was published in the Huffington Post, were public records because they were created as a part of the official business of the university in furtherance of its goal of becoming a top-25 university. Following an in camera review of the Materials by the trial court only and a show-cause hearing, the trial court ruled in UTK’s favor, holding that “the requested records do not meet the definition of the [TPRA] statute; that these records were made or received pursuant to law or ordinance, or in [connection] with the transaction of official business by any governmental entity.” Ms. Marquardt challenges this ruling as well as other rulings including the denial of her motion for “an attorney’s eyes only” review of the Materials and the denial of her discovery requests. We affirm.

In the first appeal of this parental termination case, we affirmed the trial court’s findings that three grounds for termination were sufficiently proven, but we vacated one ground and the trial court’s best interest determination due to insufficient findings in the termination order. On remand, the trial court entered an amended order containing additional findings. The mother appeals. We affirm the termination of parental rights.

Last week, Tennessee State University (TSU) reached an agreement with the state that allows the university to reallocate $96 million to support its operational needs over the next three years. Nashville Public Radio reports that the funds — which were previously allocated for deferred maintenance — make up a portion of the $250 million that the state allocated to TSU in April 2022 to make infrastructure upgrades and capital improvements. Interim President Dwayne Tucker thanked state officials for providing TSU with an opportunity for transformation, saying, “It not only provides crucial cash flow to ensure the university’s financial sustainability but also allows us to invest in enriching the student experience and strengthening our capacity to attract both students and qualified employees.” Last year, a state audit revealed that the school had mishandled millions of dollars in fiscal year 2023, and university leadership pledged to improve financial governance and staff training.

U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Amy St. Eve, chair of the Federal Judicial Conference’s Budget Committee, on Tuesday told a panel of the House Judiciary Committee that funds for the "Criminal Justice Act" (CJA) panel are set to expire on July 7 or 11, sooner than the conference's original estimate that funds could stretch until July 23. Bloomberg Law reports that the early expiration of funds will mean that CJA panel attorneys — who are appointed by courts to represent criminal defendants who can’t afford representation — will go nearly three months without pay for their work or reimbursement for case-related expenses. The delay also comes on top of a two-week prescheduled payment pause this month for unrelated systems updates.