The Tennessee Department of Revenue will host a free live webinar on March 26 at 9 a.m. CDT to discuss recent franchise and excise tax law changes included in the 2023 Tennessee Works Tax Act. The webinar will highlight the changes and how they affect the fiscal year end tax return. Learn more or register here. The webinar is one in a series of educational sessions held by the department each month.

A bill sponsored by Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, passed the full state Senate last week, according to the Nashville Post, but has not been passed by the House Children and Family Affairs Subcommittee yet. The bill, SB1048/HB1032 would set new caseload requirements for the Department of Children’s Services (DCS) and require the department to employ special response team personnel to help maintain standard caseloads. DCS also would have to notify the governor, members of the General Assembly and the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth if requirements are not met.

The death of Max Shelton, Memphis lawyer and founding member of Harris Shelton Hanover Walsh, was announced by the firm. An obituary posted by the firm recounts milestones in Shelton’s career, from his early years as a health care attorney in 1965, to his work as an arbitrator and mediator, and then in his role as a trusted advisor for both clients and young lawyers. Shelton was a founding member of the Tennessee Society of Hospital Attorneys, which later became the TBA’s Health Law Section. He also was active in organizing and participating in the TBA’s annual Ski CLE program. In the local legal community, he served as president of the Memphis Bar Association and was the 2014 recipient of the Pillars of Excellence Award from the University of Memphis Alumni Association’s Law Chapter. The firm sums up Shelton’s contributions saying, “Max’s dedication, integrity and unwavering commitment to excellence have left an indelible mark on our firm and the legal community at large … As we reflect on Max’s profound contributions to our firm and the legal profession, we remember him not only for his legal acumen, but also for his warmth, humor and genuine camaraderie. His presence will be deeply missed, and his legacy will continue to inspire us. Memorial donations may be made to the Baptist Memorial Health Care Foundation, 350 N. Humphreys Blvd., Memphis, TN 38120 or online at www.bmhgiving.org.

After adopting a new rule aimed at curtailing “judge shopping” for cases that challenge government policies, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts has clarified that trial courts have discretion on how to implement the policy. Reuters reports that in an email to district court judges on Friday, the chair of the Judicial Conference committee that developed the policy acknowledged that existing federal law gives the district courts sole discretion to decide how cases are assigned, and said the policy "should not be viewed as impairing a court's authority or discretion." He also said that conference policies "set out various ways for courts to align their case assignment practices with the longstanding Judicial Conference policy of random case assignment."

Nashville Council member Courtney Johnston is considering a Republican primary challenge to U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles, according to Axios. Johnston has high name recognition and strong ties to business leaders and Republicans, the news source reports. Johnston was elected to the metro council after defeating incumbent Jeremy Elrod in 2019. Her background includes a career as a real estate agent and experience with finance. Ogles won the District 5 seat in 2022 after facing a crowded primary and defeating state Sen. Heidi Campbell in the general election.

At least eight more people have come forward to accuse a Memphis man of pretending to be an attorney and scamming them out of thousands of dollars, WREG reports. The station first reported on Glenis “Chip” Campbell’s arrest in February. At the time, he was charged with three counts of impersonating a licensed professional and two counts of theft of property in three different cases. Since then, new victims have come forward with one individual saying he was scammed out of $25,000 and another saying he paid Campbell $43,000 over a five-year period to represent him. Campbell is now facing 20 charges in 11 cases. He is being held in the Shelby County Jail on a $283,500 bond.

In oral arguments today, U.S. Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical of a challenge to how the Biden administration encouraged social media platforms to remove posts that federal officials deemed misinformation, Reuters reports. The case is testing whether the administration crossed the line from mere communication and persuasion to strong-arming or coercing platforms to unlawfully censor speech about topics such as elections and COVID-19. A lower court had imposed a preliminary injunction on how White House and other federal officials communicate with social media platforms. The Supreme Court paused that order last fall. Also today, the court hard arguments over whether a New York state official can be sued for violating the National Rifle Association's constitutional free speech rights after he allegedly pressured banks and insurers to avoid doing business with the group. Read more about that case here.

A bill making its way through the Tennessee legislature would require some domestic violence offenders to wear GPS monitoring devices so survivors can tell if they are nearby. If enacted, the bill would allow courts to require offenders to avoid contact with survivors and wear GPS tracking devices before allowing release on bond. The bill would apply to people arrested for stalking, aggravated stalking or especially aggravated stalking, as well as any kind of offense specifically against another person, such as assault, kidnapping or rape. Survivors also would have the opportunity to pay for an app that notifies them if offenders are near their location. SB1972/HB2692 has passed committees in both the Senate and House and has been placed behind the budget since it contains a $65,800 fiscal note. WBIR has the story.

The TBA Administrative Law Section is accepting submissions for its annual writing competition for law students. All students enrolled in a Tennessee law school during the 2023–2024 school year are eligible to enter. Submissions are due March 27. The section offers this yearly competition to promote an interest in and understanding of both state and federal administrative law, and to strengthen the relationship among administrative law professors, law students and practitioners in Tennessee. The winning submission will be published in the Administrative Law Section newsletter and the winner will be awarded $1,000. Get more information and competition rules in this handout.

A story in Friday’s issue of TBA Today included reporting from the Memphis Commercial Appeal that the University of Memphis School of Law was considering former Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland as its next dean. The paper also indicated that current Dean Katharine T. Schaffzin had not announced her intention to step down from that post. The paper has now corrected its story to clarify that although the school has not announced Schaffzin’s exit, Schaffzin emailed the law school community of her intention in August 2023. In that email — which until now has not been publicly reported on — she wrote, "My family and I have made Memphis our home for the past fourteen years and plan to remain Tigers. I will continue my service as dean throughout this academic year and, after a sabbatical, plan to return to the classroom preparing competent litigators for the practice of law."