The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law Law Review’s 2025 symposium, "The Ripple Effect: Examining the Supreme Court's Impact on the Public's Confidence in the Judicial Branch," will take place next week. The event will explore public trust in state and federal courts with discussions focused on judicial transparency, stare decisis and religious liberty jurisprudence. This year’s keynote presentation includes a panel of federal and state judges and justices to provide a unique "view from the bench." The event will be Feb. 21 at the law school. Register here.

The University of Tennessee College of Law’s Journal of Race, Gender & Social Justice will hold its 2025 symposium on Feb. 20. This year’s program will focus on the topic "Ballots & Barriers: New & Historic Challenges to Voting in Tennessee and Beyond.” The event will feature three panels on topics such as redistricting, disenfranchisement and voter restoration. A keynote address will be given by Case Western Reserve University law professor Atiba Ellis. Attorneys interested in attending can register here. Questions should be directed to Jeremiah McCauley or Emily Seguin. View a schedule for the day.

Mary Frances Rudy, Nashville School of Law (NSL) alumna and founder of Rudy Title & Escrow in Nashville, has been elected as the first woman to serve on the NSL Board of Trust. A native of Nashville, Rudy spent several years teaching before pursuing and completing her law degree in 1988. Early in her career, she practiced family law at Bradley & Van Sant and then Bruce, Weathers, Corley, Dughman & Lyle. In 1999, she founded her own title company and then co-founded the law firms Rudy, Wood and Winstead and Rudy & Partners in 2006. In 2017, she was honored at the school’s outstanding alumni of the year. NSL Dean William C. Koch Jr. said Rudy has enthusiastically supported the school’s historic mission for many years. “She has been an effective recruiter, and she has mentored many of our students and graduates." Read more about Rudy in a release from the school.

The Commercial Appeal is reporting that three TACOnganas food truck employees taken into custody Monday were arrested as part of an investigation into potential labor trafficking. A statement from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security reads as follows: “ICE HSI Memphis [arrested] three Mexican nationals unlawfully present in the U.S. as part of a work site enforcement operation. This operation was based on information received related to potential labor trafficking. Two of the three men arrested had prior criminal convictions for immigration related violations." The paper reports that the Department of Labor has been investigating the company since November 2022. TACOnganas released a statement on Monday that it "complies with federal and local immigration laws."

Knoxville lawyer Herbert S. Sanger Jr. died Feb. 9 at the age of 88. A graduate of the West Virginia University College of Law, Sanger spent the bulk of his career working for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), where he started as a staff attorney and rose through the ranks to become deputy general counsel, associate general counsel and finally general counsel in 1975. He served as board chair of the TVA Retirement System from 1975 to 1986. In 1986, Sanger transitioned to private practice, joining the law firm of Wagner, Myers & Sanger. He also served as an assistant professor of administrative law at the University of Tennessee College of Law. Sanger retired after 57 years of practicing law. Services were held today in Fountain City. Memorial donations may be made to the Beckly Area Foundation’s Oak Hill High School Alumni Association under the Shelton and Rita Sanger Fund, 1210 S Kanawha St., Beckley, WV 25801.

Electronic voting for the TBA's vice presidential election will close tomorrow. Members should have received an email on Jan. 31 with a ballot for the two candidates running for vice president. The email was sent from Intelliscan Inc. If you did not receive the email in your inbox, please check your spam folder or with your firm’s IT administrator. If you have any questions about the election process, please contact elections@tnbar.org.

Join the TBA and President Ed Lanquist Jr. in traveling north to Louisville, Kentucky, for a unique CLE experience! Urban Bourbon includes four hours of dynamic CLE programming with special guest speakers Brian Haara (author of "Bourbon Justice: How Whiskey Law Shaped America"), Davidson County Chancellor Anne Martin and Tennessee Court of Appeals Judge W. Neal McBrayer, a welcome dinner at PROOF on Main and a tour and tastings at some of the most popular bourbon distilleries in the city. Urban Bourbon will take place April 4-5 in downtown Louisville. Programming will be held at the offices of the Louisville Bar Association, which is within walking distance of the host hotel. Get more information and register here.

An ethics complaint filed by Sen. Brent Taylor, R-Memphis, against Shelby County District Attorney (DA) Steve Mulroy has been dismissed, the DA's office has announced. In an interview with The Commercial Appeal, Mulroy said the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility dismissed the complaint, which contained four allegations. The board’s dismissal means there will be no further review of the complaint, according the paper. Taylor has filed multiple complaints against Mulroy, including a more recent one that remains under review. That complaint addresses Mulroy’s collaboration with Juvenile Court Judge Tarik Sugarmon to explore allowing adult court judges access to juvenile court records for bail decisions. The dismissed complaint comes as Taylor continues efforts to remove Mulroy from office, alleging the DA has overstepped his authority and is interpreting the law based on personal beliefs, the paper reports.

An administrative law judge entered an order of default against Appellant for failing to appear at a resetting of his contested case hearing on a civil asset forfeiture. On appeal, the Commissioner’s Designee for the Department of Safety and Homeland Security affirmed the administrative law judge’s entry of default, denying Appellant’s request to set aside the same order. Appellant appealed the Commissioner Designee’s decision to the Chancery Court, raising that the administrative officials lacked authority to default his case because they did not swear an oath of office commensurate with that sworn by judicial branch judges of the Tennessee state judiciary. The Chancery Court affirmed the administrative officials’ decisions. Appellant appealed to this court. We affirm.

Petitioner, Milburn L. Edwards, appeals the Shelby County Criminal Court’s summary dismissal of his third petition for post-conviction relief because it was time-barred. Following our review of the entire record, the briefs, and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.