The office of 4th Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Adrienne Waters Ogle has relocated to the new Sevier County Justice Center, Rex Henry Ogle Courts Building, 127 Commerce St., Ste. 2208, Sevierville, TN 37862. Judge Ogle's office phone and fax number remain the same. Additionally, the Hamblen County Circuit and General Sessions and Juvenile Courts have a new address. They now are located at 440 N. Jackson St., Morristown, TN 37814.

The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law will hold a retirement reception honoring Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Holly M. Kirby on June 4 from 5-7 p.m. CDT. The event will take place in the law school’s Gordon Ball Reading Room. It is being cosponsored by the Memphis Bar Association and the law firm of Burch, Porter & Johnson. Members of the legal community are invited to attend and celebrate Kirby’s many years of service. RSVP here or contact Maria Fuhrmann at maria.fuhrmann@memphis.edu with questions. Kirby, who earned her law degree from the school in 1982, is retiring from the court at the end of June. Download a flyer for the event.

U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant of the Western District of Tennessee has been named to the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys (AGAC). Dunavant joins 17 other federal prosecutors on the committee, which advises the attorney general on matters of policy, procedure and management impacting U.S. attorneys’ offices. The AGAC also may establish subcommittees and working groups in program and subject matter areas that reflect priorities set by the president. Dunavant served on the AGAC during his prior service as U.S. attorney from 2017-2021. Responding to news of his reappointment, Dunavant said he is honored and excited to serve on the committee to advance the department’s efforts to “achieve justice for victims, consequences for criminals, support for law enforcement, respect for the rule of law, protection of the U.S. Treasury, and better public safety outcomes for all citizens.” Read more in a press release.

The TBA encountered an email glitch on April 29 that prevented some members from receiving TBA Today. Those with Gmail, iCloud and Outlook email accounts may have been affected. The problem has been corrected, and all impacted members once again should be receiving TBA Today. To read any issues of TBA Today you may have missed, visit the TBA's archive page. Be sure to be logged into your TBA account to access the page. For help with any future delivery issues please email tbatoday@tnbar.org.

Tennessee Attorney General (AG) Jonathan Skrmetti has announced that interest groups have dropped their appeal of a federal court decision blocking Biden administration regulations that would have required schools to allow biological males into girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms, impacted Title IX, and directed teachers and school officials to use students' preferred pronouns. The decision from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky to block the rules came in a case filed by Tennessee and a coalition of states. That court blocked the rules in June 2024 and ultimately ruled in early 2025 that the rules were unconstitutional, striking them down nationwide. With the recent decision to drop the appeal, the district court’s ruling will stand according to Skrmetti. After all parties agreed to end the appeal, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal. Read more in a press release from the AG's office.

Nashville Legal Director Wally Dietz says he will retire July 16 after a little more than five years as Metro Nashville’s legal director. As he prepares to step down, Dietz spoke with the Nashville Banner about his career, legal battles with the state and how a stroke last year changed his view of the job. The paper also reports that Mayor Freddie O’Connell has tapped Nashville lawyer Tyler Yarbro as Dietz’s successor. Yarbro, 48, is currently managing partner of Dodson Parker Behm & Capparella where she focuses on employment, probate, business and appellate matters. Prior to entering private practice, Yarbro served as Nashville’s public defender for more than six years. According to a news release from the city, the nomination will go before the Metro Council in June. Yarbro is married to Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville.

The Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) Board granted the district’s attorney Justin Bailey an early contract extension during a special-called meeting on May 12. The move comes as the board is preparing a legal challenge of the state’s takeover of the school district. Bailey’s contract was set to expire in December 2026. The extension ensures his involvement through February 2029, with an option to extend for one year after that. “I’m grateful to the board and superintendent for their continued trust and confidence in me and my team, and I look forward to continuing to serve the district in partnership with them,” Bailey said in a statement to The Daily Memphian.

A federal judge will allow the state's newly-redrawn congressional district map to remain in place while a lawsuit against it moves forward, WRKN reports. Chief U.S. District Judge William L. Campbell Jr. in the Middle District of Tennessee issued an order today denying a temporary restraining order requested by congressional candidates and voters. Campbell had set a hearing in the suit for May 20. Because the new filing date for redrawn districts is May 15, the plaintiffs asked Campbell to either rule on their request for a temporary restraining order or reschedule the hearing for this week. In related news, the state has asked Campbell to consolidate the congressional candidates' suit with one from the ACLU, according to the Nashville Banner, and a three-judge state court panel has set May 21 as the first hearing date for a suit from the NAACP,  according to WKRN.

A Chattanooga nonprofit has filed a federal lawsuit challenging Tennessee’s new congressional redistricting plan, alleging it unlawfully dilutes the voting power of minority and opposition-party voters, News Channel 9 reports. The suit from The I AM Foundation claims the map divides communities with shared political, cultural and economic interests into multiple districts, alleging violations of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, the 15th Amendment’s protections against racial discrimination in voting, and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The I AM Foundation provides transitional and independent living options and community-based programming for youth in crisis. The complaint, the fourth to be brought against the state, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.

Unam Peter Oh, an assistant federal public defender in Memphis, will be honored with the Tennessee Bar Association’s (TBA) Claudia Jack Award. The award, which will be presented at the TBA’s Annual Convention in Knoxville, is named for the late Claudia Jack, a long-time champion of the poor and underprivileged and a public defender in Maury County. Oh joined the Office of the Federal Public Defender in Memphis in 2014 after a career in private practice focused on corporate liability insurance. A graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, Oh began his legal career as a law clerk to Judge C. Lynwood Smith Jr. in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama and then in the Public Defender’s Office in Northern Virginia.

Colleagues who nominated Oh noted his commitment to providing every client, regardless of their means, a sophisticated and tireless defense and said his work is characterized by a “boots-on-the-ground dedication” that far exceeds the traditional expectations of any counsel. “He frequently goes above and beyond by meeting his clients’ families in informal settings, most recently at a local Burger King, on his own time to provide updates, comfort, and ensure they feel heard.” Nominators also highlighted Oh’s impact on the profession as a mentor, investing hundreds of hours in the next generation of Tennessee’s legal community. In announcing Oh’s selection, TBA President and Knoxville lawyer Heidi Barcus said, “The TBA is honored to recognize the selfless service of Assistant Federal Public Defender Peter Oh. From his commitment to vigorously defend his clients, to his care for the families of those facing the justice system, to the mentoring of the next generation of lawyers, Peter embodies the values TBA seeks to promote through the Claudia Jack Award. We all are grateful for his example.” Read more in this press release from the TBA.