Justice Kyle Hixson was sworn in as the newest justice on the Tennessee Supreme Court on July 7. The ceremony, presided over by Gov. Bill Lee, was held at the Tennessee Theatre in downtown Knoxville. Chief Justice Jeff Bivins spoke, saying, “Justice Hixson, Kyle, we know you will be a great justice on this court. Your combination of intellect, experience, integrity and personality will serve you well. But more importantly, they will allow you to continue your public service as a servant to the people of Tennessee. We welcome you to the Tennessee Supreme Court and congratulations to you, my friend.” Hixson was confirmed by the state legislature in March and began his term on July 1. Lee appointed Hixson to the state Court of Criminal Appeals in 2022 following two years as a criminal court judge. Hixson graduated from the University of Tennessee and the University of Tennessee Winston College of Law. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Holly Kirby. See photos of the ceremony from Knox News and read more in a press release from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

The TBA will host its 2026 Federal Practice Forum as a live virtual program on July 14 from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CDT. The program will feature three sessions covering First Amendment issues, ethical rules governing communications with judges and immigration law developments. Speakers will include Audrey Calkins of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee; Michael Holly of the Office of the Federal Public Defender; U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee Judge Eli Richardson; and Joseph Jackson of Spears, Moore, Rebman & Williams. The forum is designed to provide practical guidance and timely updates for attorneys practicing in federal courts. For more information and to register visit the TBA website.

Alix Rogers, assistant dean for career and professional development at Belmont University College of Law, has been named at "Top 40 Young Lawyer" by the American Bar Association (ABA). The On the Rise program recognizes ABA young lawyer members who exemplify a broad range of high achievement, innovation, vision, leadership and legal and community service. Rogers leads the Career and Professional Development Office at Belmont Law, where she helps students build their professional identities and prepare for success in an evolving legal profession. Rogers serves as the Middle Tennessee governor for the TBA Young Lawyers Division (YLD) and the Tennessee Young Lawyer delegate to the ABA House of Delegates, and is vice chair of the TBA Mentorship Committee. Last year, she co-created the TBA YLD's Rural Judicial Fellowship. Read more about her background and see the full list of honorees.

The July/August issue of the Tennessee Bar Journal is live online and arriving in mailboxes soon. In this issue's cover story, Joy Boyd Longnecker, Matthew Lybeck and David Raybin highlight the glaring disparities in criminal and civil discovery under Tennessee law. Memphis Law student Brenden King considers how the paralegal role might be redefined by AI. Newly installed TBA President Charlotte Knight Griffin shares her vision for the 2026-2027 bar year in her inaugural President's Perspective column, The Legal Life recaps the TBA's Annual Convention held in Knoxville June 10-13 and Buddy Stockwell says "farewell" in his final column for the Journal. Other columns include Russell Fowler's History's Verdict, Wade Davies' Crime & Punishment and Marlene Eskind Moses and Ansley Owens Tillett's Family Matters.

Following the U.S. Supreme Court's June 27 decision upholding birthright citizenship, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, has introduced the "Ban Birth Tourism Act," which would bar foreign nationals from obtaining nonimmigrant visas primarily to give birth in the U.S. for citizenship purposes. The Tennessean reports that Blackburn's office cited an estimate that 33,000 children are born annually to mothers on tourist visas, framing the practice as exploitation of U.S. immigration law by wealthy foreign nationals. The bill carves out an exception for legitimate medical care and does not specify how officials would determine an applicant's "primary purpose." The proposal follows President Donald Trump's call for Congress to act after the Supreme Court's ruling and a U.S. House bill introduced by Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Columbia. The "Anchors Away Act" would redefine birthright citizenship eligibility itself, granting automatic citizenship only to children with at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident or active-duty service member.

Eight of nine U.S. Supreme Court justices have released their 2025 financial disclosure statements. According to SCOTUSblog, the disclosures are relatively opaque and are intended to provide information about potential conflicts of interest and the justices’ compliance with ethical standards, rather than snapshots of the justices’ wealth. Justice Sonia Sotomayor received concert tickets valued at more than $4,000 from the record company that represents the Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny. Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh earned $33,285 by teaching at Notre Dame Law School, while Chief Justice John Roberts earned $25,000 for teaching at New England Law School. Justice Elena Kagan traveled to judge a moot court at Pepperdine University’s Caruso School of Law in September 2025, and several justices reported overseas travel. The ABA Journal also reports on the disclosures.

U.S. District Judge Denise Casper in Boston recently barred most of President Donald Trump's first elections executive order, converting a year-old preliminary injunction into a permanent ban. The Tennessee Ledger reports that Casper ruled that Trump's order — which sought to require documentary proof of citizenship for voter registration, reject late-arriving mail ballots and withhold federal funds from noncompliant states — violated the separation of powers, since the Constitution grants states and Congress, not the president, authority over elections. The president has since signed a second elections order pushing a national voter list and mail-ballot restrictions, and is lobbying Congress to pass citizenship-verification legislation. The Associated Press has more on the presidential orders.

On July 6, Shelby County attorney Robert Dean Flynn received a public censure from the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility. The board found that over the course of six months, Flynn knowingly commingled personal and client funds in his firm’s IOLTA and paid personal and operating expenses from the account. He also held a client’s funds for 49 days, during which time the IOLTA fell below the client’s held balance of $3273.70 for a week before the account became overdrawn, placing the client’s funds at risk. The board found that no clients suffered actual harm from Flynn’s actions but that he violated Rules of Professional Conduct 1.15(a), (b) and (c).

Tennessee Attorney General (AG) Jonathan Skrmetti on Tuesday announced that a federal court has allowed Tennessee’s ban on cryptocurrency ATMs to go into effect. The court’s order rejects an effort by the cryptocurrency ATM industry to temporarily block the law. That request came as part of a larger lawsuit to invalidate Tennessee’s new law. The lawsuit, filed by GPD Holdings LLC, doing business as CoinFlip, and Charles Wernicke, doing business as Private IT Corporation, sought a temporary restraining order to prevent enforcement of Public Chapter 766 before the law's July 1 effective date. “Cryptocurrency ATMs are tools for scammers targeting vulnerable Tennesseans and are rarely used for anything approaching a legitimate purpose,” said Skrmetti. “If you see evidence that an elderly relative or friend is trying to make an unusual cryptocurrency transaction, work with them to make sure they’re not being ripped off.” Read more in a press release from Skrmetti or a bulletin about the new law from the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions.

Since 2019, Tennessee's Department of Children's Services (DCS) has taken possession of more than $38 million in federal Social Security survivor benefits owed to orphans in state custody — funds that, if held in trust, would have averaged roughly $30,000 per child upon aging out of foster care. The Tennessean reports the practice drew federal scrutiny this spring when the Department of Health and Human Services called it "contrary to the best interests of children," though the state did not immediately change course. In June, Tennessee joined "Fostering the Future," a federal initiative backed by first lady Melania Trump, under which states will hold survivor benefits in individual investment accounts that children may access at age 18. In related news, the paper reports that since 2019, the state also has returned over $11 million in unused survivor benefits — about $10,000 per orphan — to the federal government instead of holding on to the funds for the benefit of the children.