Another inmate has died at the Shelby County Jail, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office said in an email statement, according to the Commercial Appeal. Jail officers responded to the incident the morning of May 26. The Sheriff’s Office did not confirm the nature of the death and referred further questions to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which is investigating. An autopsy is being conducted to determine the cause and manner of death.

After a joint immigration enforcement operation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Tennessee Highway Patrol in May, Nashville attorneys are reporting a sharp rise in evictions targeting Hispanic immigrant families, according to the Nashville Scene. The paper reports that after a week of traffic stops — during which nearly 200 drivers, most without criminal records, were detained — local lawyers noticed a spike in illegal evictions. Anne Boatner, legal director at the Hispanic Bar Association, says her office has documented an increase in cases. She emphasizes that under Tennessee law, landlords must obtain a court order and use the sheriff’s office for evictions, but fear of exposure to federal immigration authorities is discouraging tenants from asserting their legal rights. Boatner and local officials are now seeking alternative legal remedies, including evaluating possible violations of fair housing laws, while helping displaced families find emergency housing.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has joined 27 other state attorneys general in asking Meta Platforms Inc. about allegations that its artificial intelligence assistant, Meta AI, may expose minors to sexually explicit content and enable adults to simulate grooming scenarios. The bipartisan coalition sent the letter following reports that Meta AI, used across Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, engaged in graphic sexual conversations with users posing as children, including scenarios involving user-generated and Meta-created personas, according to a press release. The attorneys general are seeking answers by June 10, including whether Meta removed safeguards, if such features remain active, and what steps the company is taking to protect minors.

The 2025 Peace Award, given by the Rotary Club of Knoxville, was presented to Judge Chuck Cerny, a 25-year veteran of the Knox County General Sessions Court. The Peace Award Luncheon was held last week at the Knoxville Museum of Art. In his remarks accepting the award, Cerny reflected on his years of service and highlighted his community involvement, including leadership in the Knox Recovery Court and participation in numerous expungement and fee waiver legal clinics. He also addressed the challenges faced by individuals in the criminal justice system, noting that most are struggling with mental health or addiction and “less than five percent are actually bad actors.” Read more about the award and event in Knox TN Today.

At the TBA Convention, the annual favorite “Legislative Update" will provide attendees with a comprehensive overview of recent legislative changes impacting Tennessee lawyers. Hosted by TBA's government affairs team, the session will feature insights from Berkley Schwarz of Pier Strategies, along with Brad Lampley and Ashley Harbin of Adams & Reese, as they break down key developments from the latest session of the Tennessee General Assembly. Learn more about this session and other convention CLE programs on the TBA website.

Storm survey teams have confirmed five tornadoes from storms that swept through Middle Tennessee last Tuesday, with additional damage in some areas caused by straight-line winds and a downburst. The storm downed trees and power poles and produced extremely large hail in and around Williamson County, WPLN News reports.The National Weather Service found the strongest tornado was in southern Cumberland County, where it caused minor structural damage to at least a dozen homes near Crossville. The other, weaker tornadoes were confirmed in North Clarksville, Bedford County, Marshall County and Rutherford County.

Gov. Bill Lee on Tuesday signed into law legislation that will establish a publicly accessible registry — much like existing sex offender registries — for individuals convicted multiple times of domestic violence offenses. Known as Savanna's Law, the measure is named in honor of Savanna Puckett, a Robertson County sheriff’s deputy who was killed in 2022 by a man with a known history of domestic assault. The registry, which will be overseen by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, will include offenders’ names, dates of birth, conviction dates and counties of conviction, according to Fox Chattanooga.

An item in yesterday's TBA Today incorrectly identified former TBA President Jim Emison's law school. Emison received his law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law (now Winston College of Law) in 1968 and his undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University in 1965.

This summer marks 100 years since the infamous Scopes Evolution Trial, formally "The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes," that took place in Dayton, north of Chattanooga in July 1925. The case was a challenge to the Butler Act, a law that made the teaching of human evolution in Tennessee schools illegal. Dubbed “the trial of the century” at the time, noted attorney Clarence Darrow represented Tennessee school teacher John Scopes while three-time presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan prosecution the case for Tennessee. Opening June 24, the Tennessee State Museum will present Eight Days in Dayton: 100 Years of the Scopes Trial, a temporary display featuring artifacts from the museum's collection related to the trial, including the table where town leaders sat in Robinson’s Drug Store when planning the trial, textbooks related to the case, and a significant collection of original press photographs the museum acquired in 2022.

One day after the Department of Justice (DOJ) closed its investigation into the Memphis Police Department (MPD) and possible civil rights violations, Stand for Children Tennessee and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) submitted public records requests for "response to resistance" forms and internal investigation documents created since the DOJ report was released. The groups also are asking for policies that were in effect prior to Tyre Nichols being beaten by police in 2023. Community advocates say that a task force formed in lieu of federal oversight lacks transparency, and that collected data could inform legal action and continued advocacy for police reform. The Commercial Appeal reports that the effort is part of a broader campaign across seven states where DOJ findings were made but no consent decrees were signed.