Committees in both the state House and Senate have advanced a proposed constitutional amendment to the state’s bail law, setting up floor votes in both chambers, the Tennessean reports. In the Senate, SJR919 passed the Judiciary Committee by a vote of 6-3 despite opposition from Chair Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga. He argued the change — which would expand the list of crimes for which a judge could deny bail — would pack county jails and put local governments in a financial bind to expand or build new facilities. In the House, the Criminal Justice Committee passed HJR859 on a voice vote. If approved by both chambers, the resolution still would have to pass in the 114th General Assembly before being placed on the next ballot involving a gubernatorial race. It would then have to receive a majority vote of those participating in the governor’s election.

Tennessee House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, has filed a resolution to condemn neo-Nazism after a march in downtown Nashville that included swastika flags, WKRN reports. The proposed resolution states that “racism and hatred in any form are repugnant and sinful.” It also calls for rejecting those who promote “anti-Semitism, xenophobia, discrimination and racial intolerance in all forms.” The group that marched is believed to have been comprised of members of the extremist groups Blood Tribe and the Vinland Rebels. In a statement about the resolution, Lamberth said, “Tennesseans will never accept or normalize evil, and we denounce any ideology or group motivated by sick hatred and racial intolerance of any human being.”

The American Bar Association (ABA) will offer a special Black History Month program on Feb. 29 at 2 p.m. CST. "The Business of Democracy" will feature special advisors to the ABA Task Force for American Democracy, former Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier, former American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault and past ABA President Paulette Brown, the first women of color to serve in that role. Topics will include corporate and social activism, the impact of the Supreme Court’s affirmative action decision on the business community, how lawyers can pursue a career path in the corporate sector, and more. Login to watch the program here.

A new report on the state’s juvenile criminal justice system from Disability Rights Tennessee and the Youth Law Center offers suggestions for preventing abuse inside detention facilities and setting kids up for success after they are released. WPLN reports that the recommendations are based on interviews with youth at the Wilder Youth Development Center. The report emphasizes the importance of reducing barriers between kids in custody and their families, given that phone time is limited, and some facilities have not allowed in-person visits to resume since the pandemic. The research found that most kids in detention facilities came into contact with the criminal justice system following some kind of crisis, and recommends improving access to resources and services such as health care or housing for those leaving a facility. Finally, it recommends establishing independent, third-party oversight of juvenile detention facilities.

The TBA’s International Law Forum will take place May 17 in Nashville. Save the date and watch the course registration page for more updates.

The Tennessee Supreme Court last week held that an arbitration agreement signed by a power of attorney as part of the paperwork for admittance to an assisted living facility was not a health care decision because it was optional and not required for admission. The court also concluded that the next of kin in the wrongful-death suit filed is bound by the arbitration agreement. In 2007, Granville Williams Jr. executed a durable power of attorney naming Karen Sams as his attorney-in-fact, giving Sams authority to act for Williams in “all claims and litigation matters” but not health care decisions. In 2020, Williams was admitted to Azalea Court, an assisted-living facility, and Sams completed the admission forms, including an arbitration agreement not required for admission. After Williams died, his son brought a wrongful-death lawsuit against two corporations that managed Azalea Court. Read more about the case, the majority opinion and dissenting opinions from Chief Justice Holly Kirby and Justice Sharon Lee.

The Memphis Bar Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Memphis Bar Association, has announced that Vincent Miraglia will serve as the 2024 board president. Miraglia has served on the board since 2019, most recently as vice president. Miraglia is an associate general counsel and chief legal ethics officer at Sylvamo. Prior to his role there, Miraglia served as chief counsel of information technology and global citizenship at International Paper and was president of the International Paper Foundation. He has more than 20 years of experience in corporate law, litigation, sustainability, labor and employment law, and technology law. He earned his law degree in 1995 from The Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law.

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to decide a case testing the legality of excluding jurors on the basis of religion, reports Reuters. The court turned away a Missouri agency's bid to reverse a lesbian worker's win in a workplace bias lawsuit after three prospective jurors were excluded for citing their Christian beliefs. State officials had appealed after a lower court denied their request for a new trial. In the original trial, a jury sided with plaintiff Jean Finney in her suit against the Missouri Department of Corrections. The state argued that the removal of three jurists who expressed their religious views violated the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment promise of equal protection under the law.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that three Republican-led states will not be allowed to join an appeal that will decide the availability of the abortion pill mifepristone, reports Reuters. Last month, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk allowed Missouri, Kansas and Idaho to join the lawsuit. The states will remain as parties in the underlying case. Today's ruling means they will not be part of an appeal of Kacsmaryk's preliminary order and a later appeals court order that put significant restrictions on mifepristone, including a ban on prescribing it by telemedicine and dispensing it by mail.

The Board of Judicial Conduct has released details about a public reprimand it imposed on Shelby County Judge Paula L. Skahan last week. The reprimand addressed two matters. The first involved "injudicious" comments Skahan made about the county’s formal district attorney and a trial judge. The second involved an ex parte conversation Skahan had about a case with the Shelby County District Attorney's office. The board found that the conversation suggested Skahan had predetermined the outcome of the case and directed the actions of the parties to reach a certain result.