The Department of Justice (DOJ) said it will return Rep. Andy Ogles', R-Tennessee, cellphone and destroy data obtained from it and his Google account, a move some say effectively closes its investigation into Ogles' campaign finances. The FBI had seized the phone in August 2024 over discrepancies in Ogles' campaign finance filings — specifically, a reported $320,000 loan to his campaign that was later amended to just $20,000 — but had agreed not to review its contents while Ogles challenged the seizure in court. The probe, which began under the Biden administration, had stalled awaiting a judge's ruling and never advanced to charges, according to the Associated Press. Ogles said in a statement that the DOJ "has effectively acknowledged I was right," He still faces a separate House Ethics Committee investigation.

Lincoln Memorial University Duncan School of Law (LMU Law) will welcome Chancellor Christopher D. Heagerty as its commencement speaker during the law school’s graduation ceremony, tomorrow at 4 p.m. EDT. This 14th graduating class is the largest in the law school’s history at 105 graduates. Heagerty was appointed to the Knox County Chancery Court, Division III in 2021 by Gov. Bill Lee. He graduated from the University of Tennessee (now Winston) College of Law in 1994. After a clerkship with Hodges, Doughty & Carson during law school, he was hired by the Carpenter & O’Connor firm, where he worked for six years as an associate and four years as a partner. He then practiced with Hodges, Doughty & Carson from 2004 to 2015, handling mostly civil litigation. He started his own firm in 2015, and a large percentage of his practice was in litigation cases. Heagerty has served as an adjunct professor at LMU Law and at Winston College of Law. Read more in a press release.

FisherBroyles, a law firm with an international presence, has opened an office in Nashville with the addition of corporate attorney Stacey Garrett Koju. FisherBroyles partner Ken Cutshaw will join Koju in launching the Nashville office. “Expanding our geographic footprint with attorneys as sophisticated and proven as Stacey and Ken demonstrates our firm’s commitment to providing clients with exceptional counsel and guidance where and when it’s needed, reinforcing the advantages of our distributed model and its continued growth,” said James Fisher II, cofounder and managing partner of the firm. Read more in a press release. The office is located at 222 2nd Ave. S., 17th Floor, Nashville 37201 and can be reached at 866-211-5914.

Voters across Tennessee cast their ballots yesterday during the state’s May primary. In Memphis, Mickell M. Lowry clinched the Democratic nomination for Shelby County mayor against Republican nominee John J. Deberry Jr. and four court clerk seats were decided. Only one was contested. The Commercial Appeal reports on those results. In Jackson, attorney Jen Free will be unopposed for a General Sessions judgeship in August. The Jackson Sun has that coverage, as well as the results of two court clerk races. Nashville saw three judge races decided, including the upset of two of the three incumbents. Three court clerk seats and the public defender also were on the ballot. The Tennessean reports on those races. In Chattanooga, Jennifer Peck was unchallenged for the Hamilton County Circuit Court judge seat while two of three court clerk positions will be unopposed in August, according to Chattanoogan.com. Finally in Knox County, incumbent General Session Judge Andrea Kline will face Democractic challenger Ben Houston III in the August election, Knox News reports. The paper also reports that Emily Abbott will be the lone general election candidate for a criminal court seat and two court clerk candidates will advance to the general election unopposed. The Tennessee Secretary of State’s website has a complete list of election results for each of the state’s counties. Early voting in the general election will run July 17-Aug. 1 with election day on Aug. 6.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division's (YLD) Exploration CLEs received rave reviews last yearv— including, "it was the single greatest CLE I've ever been to," "insightful" and "very original idea." Now make plans to join colleagues for the fourth Exploration CLE at Long Hunter State Park in Nashville on Sept. 25. Take the day to experience the magnificence of one of Tennessee's state parks while earning three hours of CLE credit. The day will include lunch and a ranger-led hike. More information and speakers will be announced soon.

If you plan to attend the 2026 TBA Convention but have not yet booked your hotel, time is running out! The TBA hotel room block at the Crowne Plaza Knoxville will close this Friday, May 8, at 5 p.m. EDT. Book now to take advantage of our special discounted rate. Can't make it to the full convention? Join colleagues on June 11 for TBA's first-ever Tech Showcase. Day passes for Thursday are now available online.

The Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) and Tennessee’s American Inns of Court are accepting nominations for the 2026 Judge Pamela L. Reeves Tennessee Professionalism Award. The deadline for submitting nominations is May 8. The annual award is presented to a lawyer or judge whose life and practice display sterling character and unquestioned integrity, coupled with ongoing dedication to the highest standards of the rule of law and the highest standards of the legal profession in Tennessee. This year's award will be presented to a lawyer or judge residing in the Eastern Grand Division. Nominees must be alive when nominations are submitted but they need not be an active member of an American Inn of Court or the TBA. The award will be presented at the TBA's Annual Convention, which will be held in Knoxville June 10-13. See past recipients of the award.

THAPAR, Circuit Judge. Karnail Singh, a naturalized U.S. citizen, pled guilty to using a passport that he fraudulently obtained. He now seeks to set aside that conviction, claiming he received ineffective assistance of counsel. Singh argues that his attorney should have explained that his guilty plea could lead to denaturalization. But the Sixth Amendment doesn’t require attorneys to advise naturalized citizens that a guilty plea may carry the risk of denaturalization and eventual deportation. So we affirm.

BOGGS, Circuit Judge. In December 2023, Andrew Hess attended an election recount conducted in an office at the Oakland County, Michigan, courthouse. He raised allegations of ballot-box tampering to the county’s director of elections, Joseph Rozell. Unsatisfied with Rozell’s assurances, Hess exited the recount room and entered the lobby of the courthouse, where he said “hang Joe for treason” to a fellow member of the public. Although Hess was allowed to remain at the recount, Oakland County prosecutors charged him with a felony months later under Michigan’s terrorist-threat statute based on that comment. Hess’s charge was dismissed after the Michigan Court of Appeals, in a different case, held the state’s terrorist-threat statute facially unconstitutional. Hess then filed a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 suit in the Eastern District of Michigan, including a claim that the attempted prosecution violated his First Amendment rights. The Michigan Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals, however, and state-court litigation continues to define the boundaries of the terrorist-threat statute’s constitutionality. That reversal revived the possibility that Oakland County could prosecute Hess under the terrorist-threat statute after all. Seeking to forestall this possibility, Hess requested one of the most dramatic remedies in a federal court’s arsenal: a preliminary injunction against a threatened criminal prosecution by a separate sovereign. The district court denied his motion. We agree with Hess that he is likely to succeed on the merits of his claim that his “hang Joe for treason” statement constituted protected speech, not a true threat. But because the threatened prosecution targets only his past speech, as opposed to his future speech, and because state-court procedures afford expeditious opportunities to litigate a First Amendment defense, he has failed to show irreparable harm. We therefore affirm the denial of his requested preliminary injunction.

Several members of the TBA leadership attended the American Bar Association's (ABA) Day on the Hill this spring. Participants met with several members of the Tennessee Congressional delegation to discuss Legal Services Corporation (LSC) funding, judicial security, utilizing lawyers as resources when drafting AI-related legislation and public service loan forgiveness. The group also attended the LSC reception at the U.S. Supreme Court. See photos from the event.