The Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO) last week announced it has expanded its Judicial Outreach Liaison (JOL) program to include two new judges, Judge Beau Pemberton of Dresden and Judge James Ross of Waynesboro. According to a press release from the THSO, Tennessee is first in the nation to expand the JOL program model beyond one judge. JOLs support the criminal justice system by preventing impaired driving, assigning appropriate consequences for traffic offenses, and providing training and guidance to judges and traffic safety professionals. “I’m excited to build our JOL team to help more local communities and those often underserved or disconnected,” said Judge Donald Parish, who retired after 41 years practicing law and is Tennessee’s state JOL in Huntingdon. Pemberton and Ross will serve as regional JOLs in support of Parrish.

TBA staff and leadership are continuing to develop and update educational and advocacy resources on issues relevant to the practice of law in our state and we want your help! We know TBA members have incredible knowledge and insight about the policy issues we are focused on, including resources for indigent representation. Through our Grassroots Advocacy Initiative, we are building a network of lawyers who are informed and engaged. There are a few ways to connect with the TBA's Government Affairs team if you are interested in learning more and getting involved with our advocacy work, especially as related to indigent representation. Sign up for TBA Grassroots Advocacy Updates, which will highlight related policy content across all of TBA's communication platforms. For attorneys with experience working with clients who are indigent or vulnerable, there is a longer survey that includes questions about court appointed representation as well as options for getting involved with TBA’s efforts in this area. We want to hear directly from you on these issues. More information is available on our main Indigent Representation Resource Page.

Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti on Thursday announced that two multi-settlement agreements with pharmaceutical companies Heritage Pharmaceuticals and Apotex have entered the final stages and just need signatures from the participating states. According to a release from Skrmetti's office, the two companies have agreed to pay a total of $49.1 million to settle allegations of long-running conspiracies to artificially inflate and manipulate prices, reduce competition and unreasonably restrain trade with regard to numerous generic prescription drugs. Tennesseans who purchased generic prescriptions from either company between 2010 and 2018 may be eligible for compensation.

Make plans now to join colleagues on Nov. 7 from noon to 1 p.m CST for a unique webcast with University of Tennessee College of Law Professor Ben Barton. In "Contextualizing the Polarization and Public Perception of the Judiciary," Barton will present long-term data to show how public confidence in the American judiciary has fluctuated over time, with the goal of helping lawyers better understand the historical context of and address current challenges facing the judiciary. Click here for more information and to register.

On Oct. 30, Maury County lawyer James Michael Marshall was suspended from the practice of law for five years, with four years to be served on active suspension and one year on probation. During the probationary period he is required to retain a practice monitor. The Tennessee Supreme Court found that Marshall failed to reasonably communicate with his client, act in a diligent manner, expedite litigation, pursue in a timely fashion the objectives of his client, communicate with his client that he accepted new employment, place client funds into trust, properly withdraw from representation, and failed to take reasonable steps to protect the client’s interest after terminating representation. His conduct was determined to violate Tennessee Rules of Professional Conduct 1.2(a), 1.3, 1.4, 1.15, 1.16(c), 3.2, 3.4(c) and 8.4(a). The court also issued an order temporarily suspending Marshall for failing to respond to the Board of Professional Responsibility about a complaint of misconduct. This suspension will remain in effect until dissolution or modification by the court.

Williamson County Circuit and Chancery Courts are seeking attorneys for appointment to represent indigent clients. Attorneys are not required to be in court at the time of appointment. To sign up for appointments, please send your name, address, cell phone, email and area of interest (criminal defense, termination of parental rights, criminal contempt, etc.) to Stacy Green at stacy.green@tncourts.gov.

Five Tennessee trial court judges recently completed an intensive two-week general jurisdiction course at the National Judicial College. Circuit court judges Brent Bradberry of Carroll County, Damita Dandridge of Shelby County and Mark Hayes of Dyer and Lake counties, and criminal court judges Cynthia Chappell of Davidson County and Ryan Spitzer of Anderson County took the immersive course, which aims to provide judges with a solid foundation on courtroom leadership, judicial ethics, evidence, case management, judicial security and decision-making. Graduates can earn credit hours toward a Master of Judicial Studies degree. According to a press release, the Tennessee judges all agreed that the experience was worthy and will benefit the administration of justice in their respective judicial districts. Read more in the release and see a picture of the group.

A recent report from the ABA Journal captures the work lawyers, bar associations and legal aid groups are doing to serve communities hit by Hurricane Helene. From efforts in Augusta, Georgia, to Asheville and other parts of western North Carolina, lawyers have stepped in to provide both physical and legal assistance to storm survivors. The article also looks at how the ABA Young Lawyers Division’s Disaster Legal Services program operates in conjunction with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. That program is now coordinating delivery of free legal services in at least six states according to the Journal. Tennessee lawyers interested in helping should complete this online form. The TBA Disaster Resources page offers general information for those impacted by disasters, as well as those seeking to provide assistance. The TBA's Helene Disaster Response page has information and resources specific to this disaster.

The Memphis Police Department (MPD) recently launched a new fugitive task force and hired a new investigative counsel to tackle thousands of outstanding warrants in county. The Daily Memphian reports that the task force operates under MPD’s Organized Crime Unit with 29 officers assigned to it. Forrest Edwards also has been hired to serve as the task force’s new investigative counsel. Edwards, a former prosecutor in the Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office, will serve as a liaison between the department and the prosecutor’s office, helping prosecutors build cases. MPD says there are about 24,000 outstanding warrants in the county and that the task force has made 280 arrests since its formation last month.

Live Nation Entertainment and its subsidiary Ticketmaster failed to persuade a U.S. appeals court to block a proposed class action accusing them of charging artificially high ticket prices, Reuter reports. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals this week upheld a lower court’s ruling that Live Nation could not force ticket buyers to arbitrate their claims through a new arbitration body called New Era ADR. The court said the arbitration rules — which it called “so dense, convoluted and internally contradictory to be borderline unintelligible” — were unfair to consumers and “overtly” beneficial to the company. Live Nation defended New Era, calling its rules "sensible, fair and similar" to those at other platforms. In a separate case, the U.S. Justice Department and a group of states, including Tennessee, asked a U.S. judge in May to break up Live Nation for allegedly violating antitrust law by controlling ticket sales and pricing.