Three attorneys are seeking to succeed retiring Johnson City Juvenile Court Judge Sharon Green in the Aug. 6 election. Candidates Dustin David Jones, Stephanie A. Sherwood and Lisa A. Witherspoon highlighted their experience in juvenile and family law and outlined priorities for the court during interviews with WJHL. Jones, a longtime family law attorney and current juvenile court magistrate, said he hopes to continue Green’s work by focusing on the individual needs of children and families while maintaining community safety. Sherwood, who has served 17 years as an associate municipal court judge, emphasized protecting children through initiatives such as Safe Baby Court and addressing dependency, neglect and delinquency cases. Witherspoon pointed to her nearly two decades of juvenile law practice and experience as a foster parent, saying she wants to connect children and families with resources. Early voting began July 17 and runs through Aug. 1, with Election Day set for Aug. 6.

The Tennessee Attorney General's (AG) Office is facing Meta in court as its challenge to the social media company's Instagram platform begins in Nashville. The Tennessean reports that the state sued Meta in October 2023, alleging Instagram is "unfairly and deceptively addictive and harmful, particularly to young people," and that the company violated the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act by engaging in unfair and deceptive business practices. The trial is expected to last six to seven weeks and include testimony from dozens of witnesses. Meta has denied allegations linking Instagram's design to poor teen mental health, pointing instead to safety features and arguing that any harms stem from user-generated content. The AG's office contends Instagram's design features and notification systems foster compulsive use among young people and that Meta failed to adequately warn users about the risks of exposure to sexual or self-harm-related content and potential mental health impacts. Tennessee is one of 42 states that filed lawsuits against Meta on the same day.

The TBA will offer a rebroadcast of its Convention 2026 program "Don't Outsource Your Mind: Conscious Lawyering with AI" on July 28 from noon to 1 p.m. CDT as part of this month's Christmas in July. The session will examine the ethical and practical considerations of using artificial intelligence (AI) in legal practice, including capabilities and limitations, recent case law involving AI in litigation and discovery, and attorneys' evolving professional responsibilities. Participants also will learn strategies for protecting client confidentiality, safeguarding sensitive information and reviewing AI-generated work while maintaining independent professional judgment. For more information and to register, visit the TBA website.

Davidson County lawyer Douglas Mitchell Kirk was reinstated to the practice of law on July 9 after being on inactive status since May 6, 2021. Kirk filed a petition seeking reinstatement, which the Board of Professional Responsibility found to be satisfactory. The court issued its order on July 17.

Effective July 20, the Tennessee Supreme Court permanently disbarred Williamson County lawyer Connie Lynn Reguli from the practice of law. The court found that Reguli engaged in a pattern of misconduct, including posting “hyperbolic commentary” on social media containing false allegations about judges and judicial officials, publicly disclosing personal information of judges and justice system officials, urging social media followers to send judges harassing messages, intimidating judges and justice system officials, spreading disinformation and conspiracy theories, and defying court orders. The court determined that her public comments indicated she wished physical harm to judges and justice system officials, prompting them to fear for their and their families’ safety. In addition, the court found that Reguli defied a protective order and an Amber Alert and enabled a client to evade law enforcement by supplying a burner phone and hiding the client and her child inside her home. These actions violated Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct 1.2(d); 3.1; 3.3(a)(1), (e) and (f); 3.4(c); 3.5(a) and (e); 3.6(a); 4.2 or 4.3; 4.4(a)(1); 5.1; 8.1; 8.2(a)(1) and (2); and 8.4(a), (c) and (d). Read more about the circumstances leading to disbarment in a press release from the Administrative Office of the Courts or read the Supreme Court opinion.

The TBA Mentoring Committee, in partnership with the TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD), held its inaugural "Sandwiches & Sidebars" event in the new TBA office in Nashville. Law students and members of the YLD and YLD Fellows enjoyed casual conversation and worked to expand their social network and build relationships in this laid-back setting. The event will be held quarterly in Nashville and the committee plans on holding "Sandwiches & Sidebars" in different cities across the state in the near future. See a photo from the event. For more information about the mentoring committee and other meet-ups visit the TBA Mentoring Committee's webpage.

On July 17, Sevier County lawyer Robert Brandon White received a public censure from the Board of Professional Responsibility. The board found that White violated the terms of a no contact order in a personal domestic matter, missed four scheduled court dates in different courts and did not provide notice to the court or opposing counsel, resulting in one notice to show cause and multiple rescheduled hearing dates. His actions were determined to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 3.4 and 8.4(b), (d) and (g).

JOHN K. BUSH, Circuit Judge. According to Gertrude Crisp, an emergency medical technician, “the inmates run[] the insane asylum” at her former workplace, the Scioto Ambulance District. R. 19, Crisp Dep., PageID 201. Part of the craziness, Crisp claims, is a time when another EMT at Scioto (Joshua Gullett) groped her and tried to stuff her into a trash can while on the job. When Crisp complained, a supervisor separated them and required that they never work the same shift, but Gullett faced no other repercussions. Crisp pursued no legal redress against Gullett or Scioto at that time. Instead, Crisp waited several years to respond, and when she did, it was in her own way crazy. One day, she recalled that there were allegedly pornographic images of Gullett and his wife online. While at work, she showed those images to several EMTs. Scioto fired Crisp for doing that, and Crisp sued, asserting that the firing was retaliatory under state and federal anti- discrimination law. The district court disagreed, and so do we. If Crisp had a legal claim based on Gullett’s alleged misconduct, she should have pursued it. Gullett’s alleged wrongs at work did not give Crisp the right to show alleged pornography while on the job. The district court’s grant of summary judgment to Scioto is AFFIRMED.

MURPHY, Circuit Judge. Officer Terrance Stuckey arrested Naya Abbey during a traffic stop. Stuckey testified at Abbey’s preliminary hearing that she refused to stop when he tried to pull her over. Abbey disagreed with these charges. But she could not tell her side of the story at trial because a state court indefinitely stayed her criminal case. Three years later, prosecutors disclosed dispatch tapes of Stuckey’s interactions with a dispatcher while he followed Abbey. Because these tapes allegedly supported Abbey’s version of events, the prosecutors dismissed the charges against her. Abbey and her son, D.H., then brought this suit against Stuckey and the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County (“Metro”) under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. They alleged that Stuckey violated the Fourth Amendment during the traffic stop. And Abbey alleged that Metro violated its duty to disclose exculpatory evidence under Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), by withholding the dispatch tapes for three years. The district court dismissed their complaint. This appeal raises a procedural question about § 1983’s statute of limitations and a substantive question about Brady’s scope. The procedural question asks: Did the applicable one- year statute of limitations start to run on the (earlier) date of the traffic stop or the (later) date of the disclosure of the dispatch tapes? In my view, even under the “discovery” rule of accrual, the statute of limitations began at the time of the traffic stop because Abbey knew of her injury and its source by then. She thus did not timely pursue her Fourth Amendment claims. The substantive question asks: Did Metro’s three-year delay in disclosing the dispatch tapes violate Brady? Like other circuit courts, I would answer “no” because Brady creates a trial right and prosecutors dismissed Abbey’s charges before trial. All this said, the district court did err by dismissing D.H.’s Fourth Amendment claims against Stuckey on its own initiative without notice. All told, I would affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.

A ballot error is impacting 700 absentee voters in Shelby County, but supplemental ballots were sent out this week, WREG reports. According to the Shelby County Election Commission, most of the affected ballots did not include the 30th Judicial District races for circuit, chancery and criminal court positions, while a small portion of ballots omitted a referendum to amend the county charter. The commission blamed a “processing omission” for the mistake according to The Tennessee Journal.