Nashville lawyer Walter Henry Crouch died Set. 14 at the age of 79. Crouch served in the U.S. Air Force and then entered the University of Tennessee College of Law. He served as an attorney with the Nashville law firm of Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis for more than 48 years. In addition to his legal career, Crouch enjoyed spending time fishing and traveling and was an avid researcher of family ancestry. A memorial service will be held tomorrow at Christ Church Cathedral, 900 Broadway, Nashville 37203. Visitation will take place from noon to 1 p.m. CDT. The service will begin at 1 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Charles Robb & Mary Jane Sweeney Endowed Scholarship Fund, c/o Belmont University Office of Advancement, 1900 Belmont Blvd., Nashville, TN 37212.

The TBA Young Lawyers Division is hosting an expungement clinic in Nashville this Saturday and is in need of additional attorney volunteers. The clinic will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. CDT at Belmont College of Law. This clinic will be a great introduction to expungement work as the Davidson County Clerk’s office will be on site to assist with cases. A short video training also will be available. Contact Alix Rogers or Savannah Quintero to help. Thank you to Nashville law firm Martin Heller Potempa & Sheppard PLLC for sponsoring a breakfast for volunteers.

The Tennessee Supreme Court today transferred the law license of Davidson County lawyer Travis Waymon Tipton to disability inactive status. Tipton may not practice law but may petition the court to return to the practice of law by showing his disability has been removed.

The Tennessee Supreme Court temporarily suspended Monica Aislynn Timmerman from the practice of law after finding she is substantially non-compliant with a Tennessee Lawyer Assistance Program and poses a threat of substantial harm to the public. Timmerman is immediately precluded from accepting any new cases and must cease representing existing clients by Oct. 27. Timmerman, a Shelby County assistant district attorney, pleaded guilty to a DUI earlier this year. The court also issued an order placing certain exhibits in the case under seal.

The Tennessee Supreme Court reinstated three lawyers yesterday who had been suspended for failing to complete annual continuing legal education requirements. View the order or the full list of those suspended and reinstated online.

Three lawyers at Southwest Airlines have received a reprieve from a judge's order requiring them to take "religious-liberty training" from the Christian legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, Reuters reports. The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently put on hold Dallas-based U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr’s order directing the lawyers to attend the training. The order has drawn a judicial misconduct complaint from a reform advocacy group Fix the Court.

Funding that would have been given to the state of Tennessee for low-income family planning services will now be given to Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi to serve Tennessee residents, the Commercial Appeal reports. The state was disqualified from receiving federal Title X funding in April after an audit revealed that service providers were not in compliance with federal guidelines that stipulate patients must be informed of all options available to them, including abortion. The state condemned the decision at the time, arguing it was counseling patients on all options legal in the state. Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi is receiving the funds as a subgrant from the Virginia League for Planned Parenthood and Converge Inc., a Mississippi group that focuses on reproductive health in the south.

The Shelby County District Attorney's Office said yesterday that it will not charge the Memphis police officer who fatally shot Jaylin McKenzie. Others involved in the pursuit of McKenzie also will not be charged. The Commercial Appeal reports that District Attorney Steve Mulroy said there were concerns about the incident, but no evidence suggested that police shot at McKenzie for reasons other than self-defense. The officers involved in the pursuit were given "refresher training" for the various violations, which included not having body camera turned on, not notifying a supervisor about the pursuit, not turning on lights and siren during the high-speed chase, and failing to separate officers after the shooting.

U.S. District Court Judge Waverly Crenshaw has granted Brian Kelsey’s request to stay out of prison on bail while he appeals a 21-month sentence for directing a scheme to violate federal campaign finance laws, Tennessee Lookout reports. The former state Republican senator was to report to prison in mid-October. In a court hearing last week, Kelsey’s lawyer argued that federal prosecutors violated a plea agreement after Kelsey reneged on a guilty plea. Prosecutors countered that Kelsey broke the agreement first by trying to take back his guilty plea, which caused him to commit perjury. In November 2022, Kelsey pleaded guilty to directing a secret plan to funnel about $109,000 from his state campaign through two political action committees to the American Conservative Union, which bought ads for his failed 2016 congressional campaign.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has approved $3.5 million in federal grant money for Memphis and Shelby County, Action 5 News reports. The city of Memphis will receive $2 million to equip 2,200 sworn officers with body-worn cameras and to establish a comprehensive camera-use policy to enhance transparency and accountability in policing. Shelby County will receive $1.5 million to strengthen its rape kit initiative, including investigating the backlog in testing and using genealogy in John Doe cases. “The grants announced today will improve accountability in policing in Memphis and bring to justice perpetrators of sexual assault in our community,” said U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, who announced the funding.