Tennessee is scheduled to execute Oscar Franklin Smith tomorrow morning as a lawsuit challenging the state’s new lethal injection protocol moves through the court system. According to WPLN, anti-death penalty advocates and Smith’s attorneys spent weeks asking Gov. Bill Lee to halt executions until the court rules on whether the protocol is constitutional. A decision on that could take until at least 2026 the news outlet reports. Smith’s attorneys announced Tuesday that Lee had denied a request for a reprieve. Smith, who was convicted of murdering his wife Judith Smith and her two sons in 1989, will be the first person in Tennessee to be executed using a single lethal dose of pentobarbital. Attorneys for nine death row inmates are challenging that method in Davidson County Chancery Court.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has rejected the Board of Professional Responsibility’s (BPR) proposed discipline for Shelby County lawyer Sheila L. Robinson-Beasley. The court issued an order on May 15 directing the BPR to reconsider its April 11th order recommending approval of a conditional guilty plea. The court said it had concerns that the proposed punishment of suspension, and particularly the period of active suspension, was too lenient.

Just City will celebrate its 10th anniversary with "Stand Up with Just City," a special fundraising event featuring comedian Roy Wood Jr. on June 8 at the Minglewood Hall in Memphis. Wood, who is the host of CNN’s “Have I Got News For You” and a former correspondent on The Daily Show, will headline the evening, which also will include an appearance by state Rep. Justin J. Pearson, D-Memphis. The event marks a decade of the nonprofit’s work aimed at creating a more just and equitable criminal justice system. For more information on the event and to register, visit the organization's website.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is closing its investigation into the Memphis Police Department (MPD), the Commercial Appeal reports. The DOJ opened the probe months after Tyre Nichols was beaten by police and later died. Its investigation found multiple patterns or practices of civil rights violations by the department. The city of Memphis declined to enter a consent decree ahead of the report’s release in December 2024, and no lawsuit was filed to force the issue. Though Memphis never entered into a consent decree, the DOJ said it was “retracting the Biden administration’s findings of constitutional violations.” Following news of the action, Memphis Mayor Paul Young said the DOJ decision will not impact the city's efforts to reform policing. Also according to the paper, the DOJ announced it would seek to dismiss civil rights lawsuits in Kentucky and Minnesota, which had resulted in consent decrees.

A new lawsuit brought on behalf of 13 children alleges that foster kids in Tennessee are being denied basic rights to education, health care and stable homes, and have been kept in unsafe institutions or moved through multiple foster families for years at a time, Tennessee Lookout reports. The lawsuit alleges that the Department of Children’s Services has violated children’s constitutional rights and federal law. Led by a national team of child welfare attorneys, the suit is seeking court approval for class-action status to represent all 9,000 children in the state’s foster care system. Firms involved include Bass, Berry & Sims, A Better Childhood, the Barbara McDowell Social Justice Center, Willkie Farr & Gallagher, and Wang Hecker. This is the second class-action lawsuit filed in the last year alleging mistreatment.

Attorneys looking to stay ahead of evolving trade regulations can attend an upcoming webcast hosted by the TBA’s International Law Section. The virtual event will take place June 19 and will explore shifting U.S. tariff and customs trends, offering practical guidance for ensuring compliance in a changing global trade landscape. Panelists include Terry Olsen, chair of the International Law Section; George Phillips of Phillips Ralston; and Lee Broyles, vice president of international sales at Steam Logistics. More information is available on the TBA website. International Law Section members save on registration. Not a section member? Join here.

The Tennessee Department of Revenue will host a free webinar on May 27 to discuss the professional privilege tax. The tax is due on June 1 each year for individuals licensed to practice law in Tennessee, as well as other professions listed in Tenn. Code Ann. §67-4-1702.  The webinar will discuss the process, including who is required to pay and how and when to file payment. Register for the webinar or see all upcoming educational events from the department.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday issued an emergency order allowing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to proceed with plans to end protected status for approximately 350,000 Venezuelans while a legal challenge to the plan moves through the appeals process. The decision overturns a San Francisco-based federal district judge who put a hold on efforts to lift Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for these individuals and begin deportation proceedings. Only Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson indicated she would deny the application. Neither Jackson nor the majority explained their decision in the one-page order. SCOTUSblog has more on the administration’s plan and the challenge brought by the National TPS Alliance.

Vanderbilt University Law School Dean Chris Guthrie recently announced that Michelle Parsons has been named the school's next assistant dean for career services. Parsons will assume the role from Elizabeth Workman, who is retiring this summer. Parsons has most recently served as director of outreach in the Office of Career Services. “I am eager to work alongside our talented students, faculty, staff and alumni to strengthen our ties with employers nationwide and ensure our graduates continue to thrive,” Parsons said of her new role. Trained as a lawyer, Parsons served in legal recruiting positions at Holland & Knight, Clear Diligence and Waller. She also worked on the admissions team at Belmont University’s College of Law earlier in her career. Read more in a press release from the law school.

The Tennessee Supreme Court permanently disbarred Davidson County lawyer James Daniel Marshall from the practice of law on May 20. The court also ordered Marshall to pay $2,000 in restitution to a former client and return all property taken from her within 30 days. The court took the action based on two complaints. The court found that Marshall failed to communicate with his clients, respond to multiple motions filed against his clients, comply with a court order requiring response, submit timely discovery responses, preserve client property, participate in court-scheduled conference calls, move his clients’ cases forward, and respond to disciplinary investigations. He also was found to have caused a client's lawsuit to be dismissed with prejudice. According to the court, Marshall's actions violated Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.15, 3.2, 3.4, 8.1, and 8.4(a), (b), (c), (d) and (g).