The Southern Environmental Law Center has filed a 60-day intent to sue notice on behalf of the national NAACP, claiming xAI has committed violations of the Clean Air Act with its prolonged use of gas turbines at the company's supercomputer facility in Memphis. According to the Commercial Appeal, the lawsuit alleges xAI operated gas turbines without necessary permits, resulting in excessive emissions and lack of pollution control technology, and operated without the best safety protocols or best available control technology. "We cannot afford to normalize this kind of environmental injustice — where billion-dollar companies set up polluting operations in Black neighborhoods without any permits,” said NAACP President Derrick Johnson.

The Knoxville Bar Association and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, in partnership with Legal Aid of East Tennessee (LAET), will hold a Debt Relief Clinic on June 28 to provide pro bono legal services to income-eligible consumer debtors. The clinic will begin at 9 a.m. EDT at the Knox County Public Defender's Community Law Office, 1101 Liberty St., Knoxville 37919. Judge Suzanne Bauknight will present a short overview of the bankruptcy system and then volunteer lawyers will conduct initial meetings with the clients to discuss their situations and options. Those interested in helping should register online. Clients seeking advice should call 865-637-0484.

Americans are divided on major issues before the U.S. Supreme Court but most agree on one thing. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, a majority do not see the nation's top judicial body as politically neutral. Specifically, 58% disagreed that the high court is neutral while only 20% agreed. The rest did not know or did not respond. Among Democrats, only 10% agreed the court was politically neutral while 74% disagreed. Among Republicans, 29% agreed and 54% disagreed. The Supreme Court's popularity has declined since its 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. In 2021, 57% expressed a favorable opinion of the court. By the end of 2022, that figure had fallen to 43%. This year, 44% of respondents expressed a favorable view of the court, including 67% of Republicans and 26% of Democrats. Reuters has more on the poll’s findings.

Nashville lawyer John L. Farringer IV took office as vice president of the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) last week during the group’s Annual Convention in Franklin. He will advance to the presidency in June 2027. A member of the law firm Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison, Farringer has practiced law for over 20 years, focusing on complex business and commercial litigation. He has been active in the TBA for many years, including serving for six years as a member of the Board of Governors and as associate general counsel with a special focus on issues related to indigent representation. He was a member of the 2011 Leadership Law class and received the 2015 President’s Award for his work as chair of the Medical-Legal Partnership Working Group. Farringer has made access to justice a passion of his career, including serving as chair of the TBA’s Access to Justice Committee from 2014-2015. He received the TBA’s Harris Gilbert Pro Bono Award in 2012 for his work on behalf of Juana Villegas, an undocumented woman who was shackled during and after childbirth. Last week, he also received the TBA President’s Award for his efforts in support of a new indigent representation system for the state. Farringer also served on the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Access to Justice Commission from 2018-2024, and chaired the commission from 2022-2024. Read more about his career in the TBA's press release.

TBA’s new executive officers and new Board of Governors members took office Friday at the Annual Convention in Franklin. Officers for the upcoming bar year are: President Heidi Barcus of Knoxville, President-elect Charlotte Knight Griffin of Eads, Vice President John Farringer of Nashville, Secretary Terica Smith of Jackson and Treasurer Mary Beth Maddox of Knoxville. Nashville lawyer Ed Lanquist Jr., who wrapped up his year in office last week, moved into the immediate past president role. New board members taking office were Assistant Treasurer Karin Anderson, East Tennessee Governor Kelly Street, Middle Tennessee Governors Sean Aiello and Rachel Moses, Fourth District Governor Hank Fincher, YLD President Judge Alex McVeagh, YLD President-elect Jennifer Sneed, Judicial Conference President Chancellor Doug Jenkins, Public Defenders Conference President Robert Taswell "Tas" Gardner, General Counsel Kimberly Silvus, Assistant General Counsel Jennifer Pearson Taylor, Associate General Counsel Matthew Evans, Chief Opportunity Officer Deborah Yeomans-Barton, and Assistant Opportunity Officer Amy Bryant, who assumes this new role in addition to her 5th District Governor position. The District Attorneys General Conference will name its representative to the board this month.

Eads attorney Charlotte Knight Griffin took office as president-elect of the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) last week during the group’s Annual Convention in Franklin. She will advance to the presidency in June 2026. Knight Griffin began her career in private practice in Memphis after earning her law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law (now Winston College of Law). She joined Memphis Light, Gas and Water as a staff attorney in 1978 and retired in April 2023 after 45 years of service. Knight Griffin has been active in the TBA for many years, most recently serving as vice president, speaker of the House of Delegates and a member of the Board of Governors. She is a past chair of the Local Government Practice and Litigation sections, a charter fellow of the Young Lawyers Division (YLD), a past executive officer of the YLD and president of the TBA YLD Fellows. Read more about her career in this press release.

Knoxville attorney Heidi Barcus took office as president of the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA) during the group’s Annual Convention in Franklin last week. Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Dwight Tarwater administered the oath of office at the annual Lawyers Luncheon. Barcus has been active in the TBA for many years, serving most recently as TBA president-elect, Second District representative on the TBA Board of Governors and as a member of the TBA’s Law Office Technology & Management Section and Tort and Insurance Practice Section. She also has been active in the Knoxville Bar Association and American Bar Association. She handles health care, litigation, product liability and professional liability matters as a shareholder with Lewis Thomason. Read more about her career in this press release.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division Fellows held its annual meeting Friday night as part of the TBA's 2025 Annual Convention. The group elected Memphis attorney Mason Wilson as president, Chattanooga attorney David McDowell as vice president, Memphis attorney Nicole Grida as secretary and Nashville attorney Jamie Durrett as treasurer. Outgoing president Michelle Greenway Sellers of Jackson inducted seven new fellows: Nashville attorney Anthony Adewumi, Chattanooga attorney Brittany Faith, Franklin attorney Charles Ferguson, Knoxville attorney Matt Knable, Nashville attorney Princess Rogers and Nashville attorney John Wilks. Nashville attorney Joycelyn Stevenson was named an honorary fellow. Stevenson was TBA's executive director from 2017-2022 and now serves as managing shareholder of Littler Mendelson's Nashville office. See photos from event. Earlier in the day, the group presented the 2025 William M. Leech Jr. Public Service Award to 21st Judicial District Circuit Court Judge and Chancellor David Veile. Read more about that recognition in this press release.

The federal sentencing hearings for five former Memphis police officers charged in the 2023 death of Tyre Nichols have been canceled after a judge recused himself last week. Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith were expected to be sentenced in federal court this week for their roles in Nichols’ death. According to the Daily Memphian, U.S. District Judge Mark Norris recused himself June 13, and the hearings were officially canceled with a notice filed today. A status conference is scheduled for June 20. U.S. District Judge Sheryl Lipman is now overseeing the case.

The Tennessee Supreme Court issued a decision in State of Tennessee v. Pervis Tyrone Payne affirming the trial court’s modification of Payne’s death sentences but vacating its order that the sentences be served concurrently instead of consecutively. Payne was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in 1987 for the murders of Charisse Christopher and her 2-year-old daughter, and the attempted murder of Christopher’s 3-year-old son. The court ruled that while a 2021 law allowed the trial court to reduce Payne’s death sentences due to intellectual disability, it did not authorize the court to change the sentencing alignment. As a result, Payne’s life sentences must be served consecutively, delaying his eligibility for parole. Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Paula Skahan had ruled in February 2022 that Payne would serve his two life sentences concurrently, which would have made him eligible for parole in five years. His death penalty sentence was officially vacated in November 2021.