State Rep. Aftyn Behn, D-Nashville, says she will bypass a repeat bid for Congress in favor of running for reelection to the state legislature, Axios Nashville reports. Behn ran for Congress last month in a special U.S. House election. She bested a competitive Democratic primary field but lost to Matt Van Epps by nine percentage points. In a recent Instagram post, Behn said the campaign took a physical and emotional toll after she received "a daily deluge" of violent threats. Her family also was harassed and stalked online. "This decision is about keeping myself and my family safe while continuing to care loudly for my constituents," she said in a press release. Behn also announced she will use the remainder of her campaign funds to "build organizing capacity in Tennessee while honoring our campaign commitment to fund a Davidson County organizer for the '26 cycle."

House Republican Caucus Chair Jeremy Faison, R-Cosby, will not run for reelection this year, he announced in a social media post on Jan. 15. "My time has come to say goodbye. My time has come to say, 'this is it for me.' At the end of 16 years, this November, I'll say goodbye to this legislature for the last time," he said. "I have nothing but respect, admiration and love for each one of you, and the greatest amount of respect and love for this institution." Faison represents Cocke County and parts of Jefferson and Greene counties. He was first elected to the state legislature in 2010. He has been chair of the House Republican Caucus since 2019. The Tennessean reports on the news.

A number of events celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day are being planned in Memphis. The Memphis Bar Association and Ben F. Jones Chapter of the National Bar Association will host a brunch on Monday from 11:30-1 p.m. CST. The National Civil Rights Museum will offer a "Community Resource Pavilion" to connect visitors with social service agencies and health and wellness organizations. An arts-and-crafts station, a storytelling station and live music also will be available. Admission to the museum will be free on Monday. In addition, a commemorative march will take place starting at 8 a.m. CST at the corner of Main and A.W. Willis. Finally, service projects are being planned by Volunteer Odyssey, Volunteer Memphis and United Way of the Mid-South, the Wolf River Conservancy and Lead Free South Memphis. Read more about these and other opportunities in the Commercial Appeal.

The latest congressional effort to place disclosure requirements on outside investors' financial stakes in U.S. litigation appears to have faltered after Democratic and Republican lawmakers expressed opposition to the bill, Reuters reports. On Tuesday, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee ended debate on the legislation without a vote. The new bill from Darrell Issa, R-California, would require all parties in a lawsuit to disclose to the judge everyone with a "legal right to receive any payment or thing of value" in a settlement or jury verdict, and disclose the details of financial agreements to all parties in the litigation. An earlier bill from Issa was pulled from consideration last fall amid opposition from Democratic lawmakers on the committee and conservative groups.

A U.S. judiciary committee recently held a hearing on what would be the first-ever rule regulating AI evidence at trial. According to Reuters, the U.S. Judicial Conference's Advisory Committee on Evidence Rules heard public comment on the proposed rule, which received a "lukewarm reception" from those who testified. Corporate lawyers and class-action attorneys called it a well-intended but premature attempt to address an evolving technology. Under the proposal, AI and other machine-generated evidence offered at trial without an accompanying expert witness would be subjected to the same reliability standards as expert witnesses, who are governed by Rule 702 of the Federal Rules of Evidence.

A 24-year old Springfield man is expected to plead guilty Friday to charges related to hacking the U.S. Supreme Court’s electronic filing system, WSMV reports. In a motion filed Tuesday, Nicholas Moore stated he wishes to change his plea. Moore was charged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia with one count of fraud under allegations that he repeatedly accessed the court’s protected computer systems without authorization during 2023.

The Tennessee Supreme Court on Jan. 12 rejected a request from the Board of Professional Responsibility that Greene County lawyer Edward Lee Kershaw submit to an evaluation and assessment approved by the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program (TLAP). Kershaw challenged the request, arguing that the board failed to meet the standards under Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 9, section 27.2. The court agreed, finding that the board failed to make the threshold showing.

The 21st Annual TBA Bankruptcy Law Forum will return to Gatlinburg April 24-25. This unique weekend retreat is structured so that attendees have the opportunity to learn the latest in bankruptcy law and have free time to explore the Great Smoky Mountains. The forum will provide up to 10 hours of CLE credit. Also included in the cost is a Friday evening networking reception and dinner. Attendees may bring guests for an additional $100. Reservations at the Hilton Garden Inn should be made by March 24. Learn more on the TBA website.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday heard arguments from Idaho and West Virginia on decisions by lower courts finding that laws banning transgender students from participating on sports teams that align with their preferred gender violate the U.S. Constitution and federal anti-discrimination law. Twenty-five other states, including Tennessee, have similar laws on the books. Reuters reports that the challengers argued that the Idaho and West Virginia measures discriminate based on an individual's sex or status as a transgender person in violation of the Constitution's 14th Amendment guarantee of equal protection under the law, as well as Title IX, which bars discrimination in education "on the basis of sex." Defenders of the bans said they are valid regardless of individual circumstances, and that physical advantages remain for trans women athletes despite medical treatments, making their participation in women's sports unfair.

Nashville is launching a Community Safety Task Force that will focus on gun violence and other crime, though officials want to go beyond police patrols and arrests to address issues such as mental health resources. Davidson County Juvenile Court Clerk Lonnell Matthews will co-chair the 29-member committee selected by Mayor Freddie O'Connell. According to WSMV, Matthews said the task force will bring Metro agencies and nonprofit leaders together to work towards a common goal of improving safety. “How can we do that in a very strategic, coordinated way to where we don’t have agencies or different groups working in silos,” Matthews asked. Answering his own question, he said, “Make sure that the entire city, the entire county feels like it has the resources, the programs and the individuals necessary to keep those communities safe.” The task force will hold its first meeting Jan. 15, from 4-6 p.m. CST at the Lentz Public Health Center, 2500 Charlotte Ave., Nashville 37209.