Rutherford County commissioners have voted to move forward with plans for a new public safety campus that would include a jail, sheriff's office and other facilities, News Channel 5 reports. County officials say the current facility is in a serious state of disrepair and is needed to address severe overcrowding at the jail. The county has identified a property on South Church Street but does not currently own the land. Commissioners voted to begin the process of purchasing it from its current owners. Some are not on board with the plan, noting that the proposed site sits less than three miles from the local high school.

The Shelby County District Attorney's (DA) Office on Tuesday announced that no charges will be filed against Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Agent Levy Blandon in the fatal shooting of Darren Pigram in May. Pigram was working the breakfast shift at a local Burger King when he was shot and killed. The Commercial Appeal reports that DA Steve Mulroy's office attached a letter to the July 20 press release that contains footnotes describing the series of events that morning based on surveillance footage from cameras inside the Burger King. According to Mulroy, that footage shows that use of deadly force was legally justified. Mulroy's office on Wednesday released the footage from the restaurant that shows Pigram backing away from agents as they entered the kitchen. The Commercial Appeal reports on that development as well.

State Sen. Ferrell Haile, R-Gallatin, is dropping his bid to succeed retiring Senate speaker Randy McNally, The Tennessee Journal reports. That decision leaves Senate Republican leader Jack Johnson of Franklin and Senate Commerce Chair Paul Bailey of Sparta to contend for the post. In a message sent to colleagues, Haile said, “Thank you for your time and consideration as I spoke with you concerning Lt. Gov/Speaker position. Today I am withdrawing my name for consideration. I appreciate your friendship.” He had announced his bid for the role in April.

The U.S. Senate confirmed former Ohio Solicitor General Benjamin Flowers to the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals on a party-line vote yesterday according to Bloomberg Law. Flowers is currently a partner at the boutique law firm of Ashbrook Byrne Kresge Flowers. As state solicitor general, Flowers successfully argued at the U.S. Supreme Court against the Biden-era COVID vaccine mandate. He has argued two other cases before the justices and three cases at the 6th Circuit. Flowers graduated from The Ohio State University and the University of Chicago Law School. He clerked for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and Sandra Ikuta of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. He will fill the seat held by Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton, who announced this year he will take senior status.

A federal three-judge panel has denied an injunction in a combined case that included constitutional challenges to Tennessee’s new congressional map, the Daily Memphian reports. The combined case was the last of a number of suits — including one from Democratic congressional candidates and one from the state chapter of the NAACP  — following the Tennessee General Assembly’s approval of the new map in May. The panel was made up of two judges from the Middle District of Tennessee — Chief District Judge William Lynn "Chip" Campbell Jr. and District Judge Gregory Stivers — and Judge John B. Nalbandian of the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. The panel said in its order that the ACLU of Tennessee and Memphis clergy failed to prove their 1st Amendment rights had been violated by the new map. It also ruled there was no evidence that the map was created with racial animus. Plaintiffs now have 30 days to file an appeal with the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. In a press release issued after the ruling, the ACLU said it would “continue litigating the case and pursuing permanent relief.”

The TBA Law Tech Section will offer a free webinar on Aug. 5 from noon to 1 p.m. CDT to explore the degree to which AI "entities" can be held liable for criminal activity. David Thaw, associate research professor of law and computing & information at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, will provide an overview of the fundamental processes by which contemporary Large Language Models (LLMs) operate — including how they impersonate human-like activity — and then explore how this understanding can inform other areas of legal practice and how criminal law views the concept of volitional action. Learn more and register on the TBA website.

The TBA will rebroadcast its joint program with the Tennessee Alliance of Black Lawyers (TABL) from this summer's Convention on July 31 from noon to 1 p.m. CDT. The session examines the balance between governmental interests in public safety and individuals’ constitutional rights to privacy, and addresses legal considerations around constitutional issues such as freedom of speech and unreasonable searches and seizures. The program features a panel of speakers with expertise in civil rights, constitutional law and artificial intelligence. Learn more and register on the TBA website.

Make plans now to join CLE instructor Russell Fowler on Aug. 6 for a live webcast on “The Top 10 Tennessee Lawyers from 1790 to 1960.” The course will offer a fast-moving survey of the state’s dramatic, diverse and inspiring legal history from the territorial period to modern times as seen through the lens of litigators, judges and scholars who advanced the profession. Learn more and register on the TBA website. Looking for more from Fowler? Check out his on-demand course “Famous Tennessee Trials.”

The American Bar Association (ABA) released Formal Opinion 524 on July 22 to clarify government lawyers’ obligations when knowing of a public official’s or employee’s violation or intended violation of a legal obligation or the law. The opinion states that government lawyers should look to Model Rules of Professional Conduct 1.13(b) and (c) when they know of an intended or ongoing violation that would be “imputed” to the organization and likely or reasonably certain to result in “substantial injury to the organization.” The opinion concludes that credibility of government depends on compliance with the law and that lawbreaking by the government causes injury not just to third party victims, but also to the public’s trust in government and, ultimately, to the government entity itself. Read more in a press release from the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics And Professional Responsibility.

On July 23, Washington County lawyer Harold Wayne Graves received a public censure from the Board of Professional Responsibility. The board found that Graves violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3, 1.4, 1.5(a), 1.5(b), 1.15 and 1.16(d) while representing a client in a closed probate matter. Graves’ client was a named beneficiary who requested that Graves review the court record and other documentation to confirm the estate had been properly administered. The board found that the fee agreement failed to adequately define the scope of representation. The board also found that after agreeing to represent the client, Graves delayed taking action and failed to respond to the client’s communications. Finally, following discharge, Graves failed to respond to the client’s requests for file materials and a refund of fees.