The TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD) recently partnered with Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands for a successful expungement clinic. The Murfreesboro clinic served 20 clients and expunged 132 charges. Special thanks to Music City (TN) Chapter of the Links Inc for donating the food and TBA YLD District Representatives Morgan Hanna for coordinating the event and Savannah Quintero for her assistance in explaining expungements to the volunteers and clients. See a photo from the event.

RONALD LEE GILMAN, Circuit Judge. Jermaine Kimbrough pleaded guilty in 2022 to four criminal offenses that involved carjacking and firearms. At sentencing, the district court determined that Kimbrough had committed three prior violent felonies “on occasions different from one another,” which made him subject to an enhanced sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(1). The Supreme Court subsequently held in Erlinger v. United States, 602 U.S. 821, 835 (2024), that error occurs when a judge, instead of a jury, makes the “occasions” decision. We review that decision to determine if the error was harmless. See United States v. Campbell, 122 F.4th 624, 629–31 (6th Cir. 2024). Because the error was not harmless in the present case, we VACATE Kimbrough’s sentence on Counts One, Two, and Four and REMAND for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

The Trump administration will allow the sale of forced-reset triggers, a gun accessory that enables semiautomatic rifles to fire more rapidly, following a settlement announced Friday by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). According to News Channel 5, the agreement resolves multiple lawsuits and marks a reversal of the federal ban on the devices, which the government had previously classified as illegal machine gun conversion tools. As part of the settlement, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) must return seized or voluntarily surrendered triggers. The deal was between the DOJ and Rare Breed Triggers who argued that the ATF was wrong in its classification of forced-reset triggers, and ignored demands to stop selling the triggers before being sued by the Biden administration. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the decision affirms that “the Second Amendment is not a second-class right.” Gun control advocates said the settlement would worsen gun violence.

Defendant, Valerie Garrett, was convicted following a bench trial of driving under the influence (“DUI”), third offense, and failure to maintain lane of travel. Defendant claims that the deputy who arrested her lacked reasonable suspicion for the traffic stop and that the trial court erred by failing to suppress the evidence obtained as a result of the stop. Discerning no error, we affirm.

This is an appeal from a trial court’s award of damages to the plaintiff after a bench trial in an auto accident case. The trial court declined to award the plaintiff all of the damages she sought because it concluded that her most significant injury, a torn rotator cuff, was not caused by the auto accident at issue. The plaintiff then filed a motion to recuse and to set aside the judgment due to a friendship between the trial judge’s son and counsel for the defendant, but the trial court denied the motion. The plaintiff appeals. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings.

The main issues in this post-divorce appeal concern the trial court’s rulings on the parties’ requests for attorney’s fees. In addition to the post-divorce proceedings, the husband filed a declaratory judgment petition to determine the amount he owed the wife under the parties’ marital dissolution agreement (“the MDA”). The husband and the wife then engaged in protracted litigation to determine the amount owed. The husband later amended the declaratory judgment petition to include a request to modify alimony. The parties resolved the declaratory judgment petition by providing the trial court with an amount upon which they agreed. The husband then voluntarily nonsuited the petition to modify alimony. Both parties sought an award of attorney’s fees pursuant to the MDA. The trial court determined that the husband was the successful party in the declaratory judgment action and that there was no successful party in the request to modify alimony. The court declined to award either party attorney’s fees. The wife appealed, asserting that she was the successful party in both actions and that the court should have awarded her attorney’s fees to her. The wife also challenged discovery sanctions entered against her. First, we determine that the declaratory judgment action did not fall under the fee provision of the parties’ MDA. Therefore, the trial court erred in finding the husband to be the successful party in that action; we affirm the portion of the order declining to award either party attorney’s fees. Next, based upon a recent decision of our Supreme Court, we determine that the wife was the successful party in the petition to modify alimony and reverse the trial court’s decision to the contrary. We affirm the imposition of discovery sanctions.

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, on Tuesday introduced a bill that would modify existing immigration law to make individuals ineligible for entry if they intend to come to the United States for the purpose of giving birth to obtain citizenship for their child. “Foreign nationals have been exploiting our nation’s immigration laws for far too long, taking advantage of the system to come to the United States for the sole purpose of giving birth to obtain U.S. citizenship for their children,” Blackburn said in a press release. Blackburn’s bill, called the Ban Birth Tourism Act, comes just after the U.S. Supreme Court began hearing arguments related to former President Donald Trump’s executive order that aimed to end birthright citizenship for children born in the United States without at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident.

Stand for Children Tennessee and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) submitted public records requests following the U.S. Department of Justice’s closure of its investigation into the Memphis Police Department earlier this week. According to The Commercial Appeal, the move is part of an effort underway in seven states where the DOJ previously found patterns of civil rights violations but did not secure consent decrees. The public records requests from Stand for Children and the ACLU seek response-to-resistance forms and internal investigation documents dating back to the release of the DOJ’s report. The groups are also requesting policies that were in effect prior to the beating of Tyre Nichols. Similar requests have been filed in Massachusetts, New York, Arizona, Mississippi, Minnesota and Kentucky.

Gov. Bill Lee has signed Tennessee’s $59.8 billion budget for fiscal year 2025-2026 into law. The spending plan passed with bipartisan support and includes the reallocation of approximately $180 million from the governor’s proposed budget amendment to fund legislative priorities. It also provides an additional $17 million to support the state’s new Plan for Indigent Representation, aimed at improving the legal defense system for Tennesseans who cannot afford an attorney.

Mark your calendars for June 25 for the Dispute Resolution Section's Arbitration & Independent Legal Research webcast. Gail Vaughn Ashworth and Christopher Sabis will present this one hour CLE beginning at 11 a.m. CDT. Get more information and register here.