Do you have questions about how Tennessee's system of indigent representation works? Have you had experience as an appointed attorney that you would like to share? There are several ways to connect with TBA to share questions and experiences. Attorneys interested in learning more about TBA's grassroots advocacy efforts can sign up for TBA Grassroots Advocacy Updates, which will highlight related policy content across all of TBA's communication platforms. Attorneys with experience working with clients who are indigent or vulnerable are invited to complete this survey, which includes specific questions about court appointed representation. The TBA's continuing efforts to provide education and resources related to the state's system of appointed counsel also includes the Indigent Representation Primer series, which shares background and updates about indigent representation in Tennessee. More information is available on the TBA's Indigent Representation Resource page.

The Memphis Bar Association (MBA) hosted a virtual panel of city officials and local leaders to discuss findings from the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) report on the Memphis Police Department, Action 5 News reports. The panel included former police director Toney Armstrong, judicial commissioner Zayid Saleem, and veteran attorneys Damon Griffin and Deborah Godwin. The discussion addressed the DOJ’s 72-page report, which found that Memphis police used unconstitutional practices. Last month, the city of Memphis declined to enter into a consent decree with the DOJ.

The nonprofit Beacon Center of Tennessee has filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of those who have paid Metro Nashville's stormwater capacity fee. The suit, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, centers on a fee established in 2023, which charges $0.71 per square foot of "post-development impervious surface project area" exceeding 800 square feet. This includes surfaces like paved concrete, asphalt or roofs, through which water cannot penetrate or penetrates with difficulty. The fee is in addition to other stormwater user fees, and is assessed only against those who seek permits to perform development work. The suit argues the fee is unconstitutional and seeks full refunds for anyone who paid the fees. Read more in The Tennessean.

Hundreds of Clarksville area high school students recently had the chance to watch the Tennessee Supreme Court in action at Austin Peay State University (APSU) through the Supreme Court Advancing Legal Education for Students (SCALES) program. A nationally recognized model for judicial outreach, SCALES brings court cases to college campuses, where participants hear oral arguments and meet with attorneys and justices to ask questions about the legal process. According to Main Street Clarksville, cases are selected based on their relevance and interest to students and typically include both civil and criminal proceedings. “We think this is important because so many students today don’t get the civics education that they used to, and there are particularly few ways to learn about the judiciary,” said Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Jeff Bivins.

Memphis ended 2024 with significantly fewer homicides than the previous year. According to the Daily Memphian, 297 people were killed in Memphis last year, a 25% decrease from 2023, when 398 people were killed. Most of the homicides, which also included justifiable killings and instances of vehicular manslaughter, were murders. Last year also marked the lowest number of homicides in the city since 2019, when there were 224. A spokesperson for the Memphis Police Department (MPD) told the paper that a sharper focus on gangs, the hiring of more homicide investigators and the creation of a fugitive task force aimed at arresting those with active warrants helped reduce the homicide count. "While we are encouraged by the reduction in the homicide rate in 2024, we still have work to do in 2025," the department said in an email response.

Gov. Bill Lee last month pardoned 43 individuals who had served their sentences and been out of prison for at least five years. Lee said the individuals had demonstrated "exemplary citizenship" since their release. Among the group were seven individuals represented by Nashville criminal defense lawyer Ben Raybin with Raybin & Weissman PC. According to an email sent by Ben’s father David Raybin, this accomplishment marks the “most pardons any lawyer has ever acquired in a single year, except of course Gov. Ray Blanton's legal counsel, who took a cut of the bribes in the 1975 clemency-for-cash scandal.” According to the elder Raybin, less than 10% of applicants get pardons, making Ben’s work extraordinary. He also notes that the individuals now should be able to get their rights restored, and in most cases, a full expungement of their criminal record.

President Joe Biden today presented the nation’s highest award for valor by a public safety officer to five Metro Nashville police officers for their actions during the 2023 shooting at The Covenant School. Sergeant Jeffrey Mathes, Officer Rex Englebert, and detectives Ryan Cagle, Michael Collazo and Zachary Plese received the Medal of Valor during a ceremony at the White House. On March 27, 2023, law enforcement arrived at the school following reports of an active shooting. The five officers entered the building, cleared classrooms and "ran toward the sound of gunfire where they encountered the shooter," Tennessee Lookout reports. Nominees for the award are recommended by the U.S. attorney general and the Medal of Valor Review Board.

The Annual Association for Women Attorneys (AWA) Banquet will be held Jan. 23 at The Kent, 61 Keel Ave., Memphis 38107. A cocktail hour will begin at 6 p.m. CST followed by dinner at 7 p.m. This year, the group will be honoring Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Rhynette Hurd. Learn more or purchase tickets.

Nashville attorney Princess Rogers has been named as a recipient of the Class of 2025 Volunteer 40 Under 40 Award for the University of Tennessee. The awards program selects "exceptionally accomplished alumni professionals" from a variety of fields who have demonstrated service and leadership. Rogers is an assistant district attorney with the office's Juvenile Court Division, and an active member of the TBA Young Lawyers Division. She currently serves on the YLD Board as the middle Tennessee young lawyer delegate to the TBA House of Delegates.

Shelby County Juvenile Court Judge Tarik Sugarmon has filed two lawsuits against Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr. to force the sheriff’s office to continue operating the youth detention center and transport youth to court hearings. The suits, filed in Shelby County Chancery Court on Dec. 23 and Dec. 31, 2024, are the latest developments in a yearlong debate about management of the detention center, the Daily Memphian reports. Sugarmon argues that Bonner should continue all operations related to the detention facility through the end of the fiscal year in June. On Dec. 30, Bonner sent Sugarmon a “notice of termination and relinquishment” of the center to the Juvenile Court effective Dec. 31, at 11:59 p.m. CST. On Dec. 31, Chancellor James R. Newsom III issued an order requiring Bonner to maintain the Youth Justice and Education Center’s operations until the matters can be argued in court, but he did not require continued transportation of juveniles to court, according to the Commercial Appeal.