A federal judge has ruled that meetings of the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Rules of Practice and Procedure do not have to be open to the public and press, Bloomberg Law reports. The ruling came in a suit filed by Dan McCaleb, executive editor of the online news organization The Center Square, against the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson previously granted a temporary injunction requested by McCaleb that opened the meetings. The commission has streamed its meetings live on YouTube throughout this year. The judge now has found that the commission can close its meetings because it is a rulemaking body and not part of an adjudicative process. The Center Square said in a news report that the case was quickly appealed to the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.

A handful of Middle Tennessee voters will have their November provisional ballots counted, though the fight over their registration remains unresolved, the Associated Press reports. The voters, each with past felony convictions, sought to restore their right to vote but ran into a new interpretation of state law disallowing those who cannot restore their right to possess a firearm from restoring their right to vote. Two Nashville-based judges — Nashville Criminal Court Judge Angelita Dalton and Circuit Court Judge Thomas Brothers — rejected the state’s interpretation and allowed the individuals to vote. According to Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins, the ballots will be counted but the state is not stepping away from the court fight over its policy and reserves the right to revoke registrations before the next election.

Attorneys for the city of Memphis filed court documents this month raising questions that could affect a $550 million civil rights suit being brought by RowVaughn Wells, the mother of Tyre Nichols. Among its claims, the city says that Morgan Jackson, the mother of Nichols’ son, received $400,000 from attorneys for Wells in exchange for relinquishing her right to administer Nichols' estate. The documents also include a claim allegedly made by Jackson during depositions that Nichols was physically abusive of her. Lawyers for Wells are pushing back on the disclosures, saying they are being made to smear the family and “poison the jury pool.” They dispute the source of the payments to Jackson, saying they came from private citizens via a GoFundMe account, and say that the filing violates a previous order that gave attorneys time to designate portions of depositions as confidential. The Daily Memphian has more on the story.

Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Felicia Corbin-Johnson has dismissed the second ouster attempt against Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert, the Commercial Appeal reports. Corbin-Johnson said that the way the motion was structured — filed by private attorney Robert Meyers, who was hired for the job after Shelby County attorney Marlinee Iverson recused herself, but naming Iverson as a relator — meant it was filed with knowledge and information from Iverson. That led the judge to conclude that Iverson was responsible for the investigation that led to the ouster attempt and Meyers had no standing to bring the case. Meyers now has 30 days to decide whether to appeal. The first ouster attempt, filed by Hamilton County District Attorney General Coty Wamp acting as a special attorney, was dismissed because Wamp does not live in the jurisdiction where Halbert was elected.

A Chattanooga attorney has been accused of repeatedly sending pornographic videos that involved child and animal abuse, the Chattanooga Times Press reports. Patrick Bryant Hawley has been charged federally with sexual exploitation of children, animal crushing, coercion, enticement, and the receipt, possession and distribution of child pornography. Hawley is expected to be arraigned Nov. 22 in Chattanooga's federal court according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has transferred the law license of Williamson County lawyer James L. Woodard to disability inactive status. Woodard may not practice law while on disability inactive status. He may return to the practice of law after reinstatement by the Tennessee Supreme Court by showing that the disability has been removed.

The parents of a man who died in the Hamilton County Jail after a suspected drunk driving violation have filed a wrongful death suit against the sheriff's office and its health care team, alleging deliberate indifference and inadequate care. The lawsuit seeks $4.5 million in damages from the county over the death of their son, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. A jail log allegedly indicates that staff were aware of the man's deteriorating condition long before he was found unresponsive on a shower floor. He was later sent to the hospital and pronounced dead just over an hour later. According to the newspaper, the jail has faced multiple allegations of inadequate medical care, inhumane living conditions and inmate-on-inmate violence, with at least 16 in-custody deaths since the sheriff's office took control of the jail in 2020.

TennCare is seeking a $975 million budget increase for next year, largely driven by rising medical costs. According to the Tennessee Lookout, two main factors are contributing to the increase: an estimated $165 million in price hikes for medical care and $41 million to cover the cost of new classes of drugs for treating obesity, heart disease and diabetes. This year's budget request follows significant cuts in TennCare enrollment, with 300,000 people losing coverage last year. A federal judge ruled in August that those cuts violated Tennesseans' rights following a 2020 class action lawsuit. In presenting the proposed budget to Gov. Bill Lee earlier this month, TennCare officials said the agency is on more solid fiscal ground and providing more services than ever before.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced Tuesday it would call for an Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigation into an employee who directed personnel to bypass houses with Trump campaign signs during the federal response to Hurricane Milton. According to The Hill, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell testified before Congress that the employee was fired for issuing the order, which she called “completely at odds with FEMA’s mission.” The fired employee told media on Monday that she has been framed and denied violating the Hatch Act, which restricts political activity by government employees. Earlier this month, Gov. Bill Lee announced plans to investigate whether Tennesseans were discriminated against during FEMA's relief efforts following damage in the state from Hurricane Helene.

The TBA will host its annual Construction Law Forum on Jan. 24, 2025, in Nashville with the theme "Let's Get Technical." The 2025 event will feature discussions on a range of construction law topics with attorneys Theresa Critchfield with TLC Law Office; Stephanie Durman and Ellery Richardson with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation; Thomas Hall with Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison; and Regan Steepleton with Evans Petree. More details about program topics will be announced soon. To register now visit the TBA’s website.