Shelby County lawyer Victoria Williamson Gillard received a public censure from the Board of Professional Responsibility on July 10. The board found that she wrongfully withheld settlement funds from her client, who she was representing in a wrongful death case. After the parties reached a settlement, Gillard deposited the funds in her trust account because she reportedly had concerns about her client’s mental health. According to the board, she held the funds for a number of years and failed to communicate with her client during that time. In October 2025, the court directed Gillard to release the money to the Madison County Clerk and Master. She released the funds on Oct. 18, 2025. The board determined that her conduct violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1, 1.3, 1.4, 1.15 and 8.4.

Chattanooga native and Ex-NFL linebacker Darron Lee — who played for the New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills — was indicted in June by a grand jury for the alleged murder of his girlfriend at their new home in Ooltewah. He is being held without bond in the Hamilton County Jail, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. Lee now has hired former Hamilton County District Attorney (DA) Neal Pinkston as his defense lawyer, according to the paper. Sports news website Heavy.com reports that Pinkston spent eight years as Hamilton County’s district attorney before returning to private practice after losing his 2022 re-election bid to current DA Coty Wamp. He replaces public defender Mike Little, who represented Lee through his earlier appearances. Lee’s next court date is scheduled for Oct. 8.

On July 10, Shelby County lawyer Paul Forrest Craig received a public censure from the Board of Professional Responsibility. The board found that during his representation of a client in a property matter, Craig failed to communicate with his client and failed to provide his client with a complete copy of his file for over five months despite multiple requests. These actions were determined to violate Rules of Professional Conduct 1.4, 1.15 and 1.16.

The TBA will host its 2026 Elder Law Forum on July 17 at the Nashville School of Law, offering attorneys a full day of continuing legal education focused on issues affecting older adults and vulnerable populations. The program will feature sessions on conservatorships, fraud prevention, guardians ad litem, special needs trusts, ethics and related topics, with presentations from practitioners and professionals across the state. For more information, visit the TBA website.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday he will immediately request a rehearing from the U.S. Supreme Court after it struck down his executive order restricting birthright citizenship last week. Trump called that ruling a "miscarriage of justice." The 6-3 decision, issued on June 30, held that children born in the U.S. and subject to its jurisdiction are citizens at birth under the Constitution. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that Trump's order could not be reconciled with the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment. According to The Hill, legal experts note such rehearing requests are rarely granted — the court has not agreed to rehear an argued case since 1965 — so the petition is more likely to affect the timing of the case's return to lower courts than to change the outcome.

The NAACP and Clarksville residents are calling for a federal investigation into the death of Darius Chappell, who died July 3. A bystander video from June 29 shows a Clarksville police K-9 restraining and biting Chappell as he was arrested by Montgomery County deputies. According to WPLN, Chappell's family says he needed medical attention while jailed and that calls to the facility went unanswered before he was found unresponsive in his cell. At a July 4 rally, Tennessee NAACP President Gloria Sweet-Love said the community is seeking FBI involvement. Both the Clarksville Police Department and Montgomery County Sheriff's Office issued statements pledging internal reviews. The sheriff's office says Chappell was medically evaluated and cleared before booking and received ongoing care in custody. An autopsy is pending, and Chappell's family is consulting legal counsel. The Clarksville Leaf Chronicle also reports on developments.

In a July 8 press conference, Shelby County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) leadership declared a "life safety crisis" at the 201 Poplar jail. They cited a month-long air conditioning failure that pushed indoor temperatures above 92 degrees, diesel fuel leaking into the kitchen and a non-functioning fire alarm system requiring manual fire watches. Chief Jailer Kirk Fields said the heat sickened five kitchen staff and 14 inmates, one of whom was hospitalized, and directly blamed Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, who owns the building, for failing to act. Harris's office countered by calling for "stronger operational oversight" from SCSO. Commissioner-elect Mark Billingsley stated that the conditions amount to neglect that would not be tolerated elsewhere and warrant federal intervention. Heat-index values are expected to top 100 degrees over the next 10 days and no long-term fix is in place. The Daily Memphian has the story.

A forensic audit released on July 8 by Tennessee Comptroller Jason Mumpower identified roughly $54 million in transactions flagged as potentially fraudulent, wasteful or abusive within Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS). The amount includes a $250,000 payment for unfinished work and nearly $50 million funneled to a single custodial services vendor despite a committee's recommendation for multiple bidders. The Commercial Appeal reports that the audit, dated June 30, also raised conflict-of-interest concerns tied to contractor Allworld Project Management and found four likely violations of the state Open Meetings Act, including secret deliberations over the firing of former Superintendent Marie Feagins. Mumpower said the findings could support criminal indictments and will be forwarded to local and federal prosecutors. MSCS said it is conducting a comprehensive review before issuing a detailed response. Read more in a press release from Mumpower's office.

The Vanderbilt Project on Prosecution Policy (VPOPP) and Justice Innovation Lab (JIL) in June announced the nine local jurisdictions that will be joining the 2026 Justice Innovation Accelerator Cohort. The year-long program, a partnership between VPOPP and JIL, includes virtual sessions over five months culminating in a three-day, in-person workshop at Vanderbilt Law School with six months of follow up. The accelerator helps leaders diagnose root causes of dysfunction in the criminal justice system, build cross-sector partnerships and test data-informed solutions that improve safety, fairness and trust. Read more in a press release from the law school.

Tennessee Attorney General (AG) Jonathan Skrmetti today announced a $45 million multistate settlement with Block Inc., the company behind the popular peer-to-peer payments app Cash App. The settlement resolves allegations that Block misled consumers about the safety of Cash App, failed to protect users from fraud on the platform and did not provide the fraud protection or resolution promised or required by law. Oregon and Texas led the investigation, securing relief for all 46 participating states. Tennessee will receive $737,136.95 in settlement funds. Also today, Skrmetti joined a bipartisan coalition of 49 attorneys general in urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to adopt stronger safeguards to make it harder for scammers to obtain legitimate telephone numbers and use them to target consumers. The coalition filed comments supporting proposed FCC rules that would help prevent criminals from exploiting legitimate phone numbers to carry out robocall and text message scams. The request builds on recommendations first made by the Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force in 2021. According to Skrmetti, Americans received an estimated 29.6 billion scam robocalls and text messages last year and lost nearly $2 billion to these schemes.