An investiture ceremony and reception for U.S. Magistrate Judge Mike Dumitru will take place June 13. The ceremony will be held at the federal courthouse in Chattanooga, followed by a reception at Chattanooga Whiskey. More details coming soon. Dimitru joined the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee in a private swearing in ceremony in January after serving as a Hamilton County circuit court judge.

Former State Rep. Jeremy Durham has been found guilty on two counts of driving under the influence and one count each of reckless endangerment, resisting arrest and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. He was found not guilty on a charge of felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The Tennessean reports that he faces up to six years in prison. Durham was expelled from the legislature after an investigation revealed he sent inappropriate text messages to several women. The Tennessee Attorney General's Office ultimately discovered that Durham had made lewd comments and had given inappropriate hugs to 22 women.

U.S. District Court Judge Eli Richardson ruled Wednesday that a mistake from the prosecution, which allowed unredacted evidence to enter the trial of Glen Casada and Cade Cothren, did not rise to the level of requiring a mistrial. Cothren’s attorney motioned for a mistrial Tuesday, citing a recording of the FBI’s interview with Casada from the day his home was raided, which was played in court. The recording contained information that was prejudicial, according to the defense. The Tennessean has more on the case.

Recently released court records show that the 17-year-old Antioch High shooter had been on probation for previous violent behaviors at the time of the Jan. 22 fatal shooting at the school, the Nashville Post reports. The records also show that the teen had been ordered to a judicial diversion program and had signed probation paperwork the morning of the shooting, prohibiting him from possessing guns, ammunition and other weapons. The records became publicly available due to legislation passed by the General Assembly earlier this year. The new law allows courts to unseal records of a juvenile who is dead after committing homicide on school grounds.

Several Memphis officials have responded to the not guilty verdict in the state trial of three former Memphis police officers for the death of Tyre Nichols. According to the Daily Memphian, Memphis Mayor Paul Young and Police Chief C.J. Davis released a statement encouraging the city to “heal together.” Young also added: “As a city, we’re committed to doing the work of creating a deeper trust between law enforcement and the people of Memphis.” State Democratic lawmakers from Memphis expressed “devastation” following the verdict, according to Tennessee Lookout. House Democratic Leader Karen Camper said the verdict leaves a “deep wound in our community and renewed calls for justice and accountability.” Sen. Brent Taylor, a Republican, said he was "saddened for Tyre Nichols’ family" and that "they deserve justice." Local Memphis has his and other reactions, including from the Shelby County mayor and U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis. National civil rights leaders also have weighed in with responses, including calls for criminal justice reforms. The Associated Press looks at those comments. Finally, the Commercial Appeal lays out what comes next, including sentencing in the federal case and a $550 million civil suit against the city and police department.

Defendant, Thomas Mack Arnold, appeals as of right from his conviction for first degree premeditated murder, for which he is serving a life sentence. On appeal, Defendant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction and that the prosecutor made improper statements during the State’s rebuttal argument such that a mistrial was necessary. After a thorough review of the evidence and applicable case law, we affirm.

A kennel technician filed a personal injury action against the owners of two dogs, asserting a claim under the statute governing dog owners’ liability for injuries caused by their dogs and a claim for common law negligence. The technician alleged that the dogs attacked and injured her while they were boarded at her place of employment. The trial court granted summary judgment to the dog owners on both claims. We affirm the trial court’s decision to grant summary judgment on the statutory claim, but we reverse the court’s decision to grant summary judgment on the common law negligence claim.

DAVIS, Circuit Judge. Debra Tucker is a prevailing social security claimant whose attorney appeals the district court’s order awarding reduced attorney’s fees under 42 U.S.C. § 406(b). Tucker’s counsel1 argues that the full requested amount of $31,205.43, which would honor Counsel’s twenty-five percent contingency fee agreement with Tucker, was reasonable for the services provided. Because the district court acted within its discretion in decreasing the fee, we AFFIRM.

JOHN K. BUSH, Circuit Judge. Benny Lee Hodge sits on death row for the brutal murder of Tammy Dee Acker. In this habeas appeal, we address whether Hodge is entitled to relief based on claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, jury tampering, and jury bias that allegedly arose during his Kentucky state court trial. Hodge procedurally defaulted the latter claim, so it is not properly before us. For Hodge’s ineffective-assistance argument, we review the Kentucky Supreme Court’s postconviction decision under Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984). For his jury-tampering allegation, we review the state court’s determination of no credible evidence evincing such misconduct. We address both claims by applying § 104 of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, Pub. L. 104-132, 110 Stat. 1214 (AEDPA), codified in relevant part at 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d). That statutory provision directs us not to decide how we would have ruled on the pertinent issues in the first instance, had we sat on the state appellate bench. Rather, we apply AEDPA’s mandated deference to the state court decision to determine (1) whether the Kentucky Supreme Court’s constitutional interpretation and application were objectively unreasonable, and (2) whether it engaged in objectively unreasonable postconviction fact finding. We answer no to both inquiries. Therefore, we AFFIRM the district court’s denial of the writ of habeas corpus.

University of Memphis students are forming a college mock trial team and are looking for a volunteer coach who can support the team during the fall and spring semesters, with the potential to remain involved beyond that depending on availability and interest. Interested individuals should reach out to Brandon Washington at brandon.washington@memphis.edu. If possible, please contact Washington by July 1 so there is time to coordinate and prepare before the academic year begins.