Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, and Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn are criticizing a proposed $735,000 allocation in Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell's fiscal year 2027 budget for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), according to the Tennessean. In a social media post, Sexton said the Tennessee Comptroller's Office and the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference are reviewing the funding for compliance with state law while Blackburn is urging Nashville council members to reject the funding, describing TIRRC as a "pro-illegal alien nonprofit." TIRRC officials and the mayor's office are defending the allocation, noting the organization provides legal services and support for immigrants and refugees and has received city funding for years.

Knox County Board of Education members voted 5-4 on Friday to ask the Tennessee General Assembly to revise the state's Age-Appropriate Materials Act after the law led to the temporary removal of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "Roots" from school libraries, according to Tennessee Lookout. The resolution requests that lawmakers restore contextual review of challenged books, extend the review period from 60 to 90 days, and create age-specific standards for library materials. The action follows Knox County Schools Superintendent Jon Rysewyk's decision to reinstate "Roots" after determining legal experts disagree on how the law should be interpreted. The novel had been removed after a review committee found that a passage depicting the rape of an enslaved woman met the law's criteria for prohibited content.

A federal judicial panel last week approved a rule change designed to help make judges aware of situations when they must recuse themselves from cases. Reuters reports that the U.S. Judicial Conference's Committee on Rules of ‌Practice and Procedure approved a final rule designed to address concerns that judges were not being adequately informed that they might have a potential financial interest that would warrant ​recusal. The panel endorsed amending Rule 7.1 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to ​require parties in a lawsuit to disclose directly or indirect ⁠ownership by a publicly held business organization or parent entity with a 10% or more stake. The proposal was prompted in part by concerns that judges were not always aware of ownership structures involving large corporations. The rule change now moves to the Judicial Conference of the United States for review before consideration by the U.S. Supreme Court and Congress. If approved, the amendment would take effect Dec. 1, 2027.

Outgoing Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk Heidi Kuhn formally declared her candidacy for Tennessee's 8th Congressional District on June 4, according to the Commercial Appeal. Kuhn had already qualified for the ballot. Her announcement came less than a month after she lost the Democratic primary for Shelby County mayor. Her final term as criminal court clerk will end in September. Kuhn said her campaign is focused on affordability and increasing the federal minimum wage. If she wins the Democratic primary in August, Kuhn will face incumbent U.S. Rep. David Kustoff, who is running unopposed in the Republican primary. Kustoff has represented the 8th Congressional District since 2017.

A lawsuit filed Friday filed Friday in Davidson County Circuit Court alleges that a fire in a downtown parking garage last June resulted from negligence by the Nashville Downtown Partnership, the Nashville Banner reports. The suit, brought by Metro Nashville's insurer, Travelers, claims the Nashville Downtown Partnership and one of its contractors used the garage to store combustible materials and allowed employees to smoke inside the facility. The suit seeks more than $10 million in damages. In a statement, the Nashville Downtown Partnership said it was aware of the filing but could not comment on pending litigation. The garage, which is owned by Metro Nashville and operated by the Nashville Downtown Partnership, remains closed as a result of the fire. Travelers is represented by attorney Gail Vaughn Ashworth of Wiseman Ashworth Law Group.

Newport attorney Clyde Augustus “Scutter” Dunn died June 4 at age 88. Dunn earned his law degree from the University of Tennessee (now Winston) College of Law and spent nearly six decades serving clients in Newport. During his legal career, he also served as county attorney and president of the local bar association. Family and friends gathered June 7 at First United Methodist Church in Newport, where funeral services were held. Burial took place June 8 at Union Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to First United Methodist Church or the Newport Theatre Guild.

Renew your TBA membership online today to avoid receiving the final print membership dues statement. Attorneys not participating in the TBA's firm billing program can log in and renew through their MyTBA dashboard. Questions about member benefits? Reach out to membership@tnbar.org.

Several states are weighing an American Bar Association (ABA) led push to encourage attorneys handling intellectually disabled and elderly clients to consider alternatives to legal guardianships, Bloomberg Law reports. The ABA House of Delegates approved revisions to Model Rule 1.14 earlier this year, updating guidance for lawyers representing clients with limited decision-making abilities amid concerns that guardianship has too often become a default solution. Supporters of the changes say they could help address longstanding problems in the guardianship system, including inadequate oversight and instances of abuse, while others argue that ethics rule revisions alone are unlikely to curb exploitation in the system. Michigan is already moving to adopt the revised language, and bar officials in several other states are exploring similar changes.

The University of Tennessee Winston College of Law (Winston Law) has selected the inaugural Frank Winston Public Interest and Business Law Fellows. Winston Law’s signature scholarship program is designed to attract exceptional students committed to serving the public good in the areas of public interest law and business law. Made possible through a transformational gift from The Bill Gatton Foundation, fellows receive full tuition and fees, a generous annual stipend, summer internship funding, faculty mentorship, research opportunities, personalized career advising and access to a variety of academic professional development programming. “The Winston Fellows program is modeled after other notable, longstanding scholarship programs such as Emory’s Robert W. Woodruff Scholars and Fellows Program and NYU’s Root-Tilden-Kern Scholars Program,” noted Winston Law Dean Lonnie T. Brown Jr. Read more in a press release from the law school.

The Petitioner, Jacquet Moore, appeals from the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his underlying conviction for aggravated rape. On appeal, the Petitioner maintains that he received ineffective assistance of counsel based on trial counsel’s failure to (1) perform adequate investigation in preparation for trial, including seeking funds for investigative services, and (2) effectively impeach the victim on cross-examination. As a preliminary matter, we remanded the case to the post-conviction court for the entry of an amended order to include sufficient findings of fact and conclusions of law on these two issues. After our review of the amended order, as well as the issues presented by the parties and the record on appeal, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.