President Donald Trump has appointed Alice Marie Johnson, a Memphis woman previously pardoned by Trump, to work on clemency issues, The Daily Memphian reports. Johnson is being referred to as the administration’s new “pardon czar,” though her exact duties have not been specified. She was convicted in 1996 of a first-time, nonviolent drug offense and sentenced to life in prison without parole. In 2018, reality television star Kim Kardashian advocated for her release, and Trump granted her executive clemency. Initially placed on a five-year probation, Johnson received a full pardon in 2020.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge to a Tennessee law restricting some drag performances, allowing the first-in-the-nation law to remain largely intact, The Hill reports. In a brief, unsigned order, the justices denied Friends of George’s request to intervene after a three judge panel of the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the law to take effect, overturning a district court judge in Memphis, who had blocked the law. The full court of appeals declined to hear the case, leading the group to appeal to the Supreme Court. The law targets “adult-oriented performances” that take place in public or where they may be seen by minors. The paper reports that the theater group did not respond to a request for comment.

Former Tennessee state senator Brian Kelsey has reported to federal prison after exhausting all appeals in his case, the Daily Memphian reports. He will be housed at a minimum-security satellite camp at FCI Ashland in Kentucky. Kelsey pleaded guilty in 2022 to an illegal campaign finance scheme but then tried unsuccessfully to change his plea. He had argued that his guilty plea was entered into with an “unsure heart and a confused mind” due to events in his personal life. He later argued that he had ineffective legal counsel, and that his claim of innocence was supported by two key witnesses. U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw in Nashville denied the final appeal a few days ago.

The Defendant, Eric Joseph Mathis, was sentenced to a sum of twenty years of supervised probation. After multiple probation violations, the trial court revoked the entirety of the Defendant’s probation and ordered him to serve the sentences in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the Defendant argues that the trial court abused its discretion in ordering the revocation of his probation because (1) he had treatable substance abuse issues and financial needs that would be better addressed outside of prison and (2) the trial court based its orders on the Defendant’s failure to pay restitution without conducting an ability-to-pay hearing. For the following reasons, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The Petitioner, Alexandre Kim, was charged with first degree murder for the October 2012 death of his mother, Estelle Kim. Following a bench trial in 2014, he was found not guilty by reason of insanity and was involuntarily committed to a mental health facility. In 2017, the Petitioner was transitioned to a Mandatory Outpatient Treatment (“MOT”) program pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 33-7-303. In 2021, the Petitioner sought to terminate his MOT by filing a petition in the trial court. After several hearings on the matter, the trial court denied his petition based, in large part, on the Petitioner’s request to move out of state. The Petitioner now appeals from this denial arguing he meets all requirements for termination. After review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Defendant, Caitlyn Brooke Henson, appeals from the trial court’s denial of her motion for expungement. Defendant argues that she is entitled to expungement after her successful completion of a judicial diversion probationary period. We agree with Defendant. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand for entry of an order of expungement pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-35-313.

TBA YLD members will be voting on one contested election this year. Ballots were sent by email yesterday and are due back by March 9. Two candidates are running for District 9 representative on the YLD Board: Nashville lawyer Ginny Blake and Hendersonville lawyer Kaley Bonett. The email was sent from Intelliscan Inc. Those who did not receive the email in their inbox should check their spam folder. If it still was not received, members should contact elections@tnbar.org to request that it be resent. Learn more about the candidates.

This is the second appeal in this action involving a petition to terminate the mother’s parental rights to her child and to allow the petitioners to adopt the child. In the first appeal, the petitioners challenged the trial court’s determination that despite establishment of a statutory ground for termination, the petitioners had failed to demonstrate that termination of the mother’s parental rights was in the child’s best interest. This Court affirmed the trial court’s finding as to the statutory ground. However, concluding that the trial court had erred by applying an outdated set of statutory best interest factors, this Court reversed the trial court’s judgment and remanded for consideration of the updated factors. On remand and following an evidentiary hearing, the trial court confirmed its previous determination that the petitioners had failed to demonstrate clear and convincing evidence that termination of the mother’s parental rights would be in the child’s best interest. Accordingly, the trial court dismissed the petition. The petitioners have appealed, and the mother has raised an additional issue regarding the statutory ground for termination. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm.

U.S. District Judge J. Ronnie Greer of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville has sentenced Sean Williams to 95 years in prison. The Johnson City man was convicted in July 2024 of escaping prison and in November of three counts of production of child pornography. According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee, the evidence presented at the child pornography trial showed that Williams used three minor children to engage in sexually explicit conduct and took photos of that conduct. The conduct occurred at Williams’s apartment in Johnson City. Williams also has been accused of sexually assaulted each of the victims’ mothers while they were unconscious, around the same time that he took pornographic photos of their children. No charges have been filed based on those claims.

The Shelby County Board of Commissioners has appointed Taylor Bachelor as the new General Sessions Criminal Court judge for Division 7, replacing Bill Anderson, who will retire March 1. Bachelor will serve until a special election is held in conjunction with the county's August 2026 general election. Anderson’s exit drew 13 applicants, who were interviewed by county commissioners on Friday. Bachelor emerged from a field of seven. On the third ballot, she prevailed over former U.S. Attorney Reagan Fondren, reports the Daily Memphian. Bachelor is an assistant district attorney general and former juvenile court magistrate.