Another state approves death penalty for child rape

Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a bill last week that authorizes the death penalty for aggravated rape of a child by an adult.

May 16, 2024 2:14 PM CDT

Incarceration series includes female inmates but doesn’t tell full story

“Moreover, the series has thus far failed to explain some of the most counterintuitive aspects and sex-based discrepancies of American sentencing and incarceration,” writes Oklahoma lawyer and ABA Journal columnist Adam Banner.

Apr 8, 2024 12:32 PM CDT

Suspended judge’s bond revoked after she tests positive for cocaine

A suspended criminal court judge has been booked into a Memphis, Tennessee, jail after she tested positive for cocaine while awaiting a trial on charges of coercing a witness and harassment.

Mar 29, 2024 9:47 AM CDT

Killings by police brought reforms. Fear of crime is unraveling them

RowVaughn Wells traveled to the Tennessee Capitol last week hoping to preserve the small silver lining that emerged from the death of her son, who was fatally beaten last year after being pulled over by Memphis Police. In his memory, the city passed the Tyre Nichols Driving Equality Act, barring officers from conducting certain traffic stops for low-level violations, among other measures. But now state lawmakers are advancing legislation that would nullify the Memphis law.

Mar 11, 2024 11:00 AM CDT

Lawyer’s ‘intimidating and degrading conduct’ was ‘a business model of sorts, based on fear,’ state supreme court says

The Tennessee Supreme Court has disbarred a Tennessee lawyer, citing a pattern of “egregious” communications apparently intended to intimidate and humiliate the opposing counsel to gain an unfair advantage in litigation.

Feb 22, 2024 9:53 AM CST

Coca-Cola delivery man who used slurs as result of Tourette syndrome loses disability suit after job transfer

A Coca-Cola delivery man whose Tourette syndrome caused him to use profanity and racial slurs when stocking customer stores was not entitled to keep that job under the Americans With Disabilities Act, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Feb 21, 2024 12:37 PM CST

Were fired pro-union workers at Starbucks entitled to reinstatement? SCOTUS considers proper standard

A case of seven fired Starbucks workers has reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which agreed Friday to decide what kind of standard that courts should use when deciding a request for reinstatement by the National Labor Relations Board.

Jan 16, 2024 11:13 AM CST

Politics are at play in states seeking to rein in ‘progressive’ prosecutors

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is targeting “progressive” prosecutors—a broad term that carries different meanings in different jurisdictions and frequently signals support for policies aimed at reducing mass incarceration. But it’s not just happening in Florida.

Dec 6, 2023 2:50 PM CST

Ruling in double-spacing kerfuffle, federal judge observes lawyers don’t need ‘more words on a page’

A federal judge in Memphis, Tennessee, is advising law firms involved in a kerfuffle over double-spacing that they should spend less time “figuring out how many sometimes-useless words will fit on a page.”

Nov 29, 2023 11:04 AM CST

Lawyer accused of destroying child-porn images on client’s cellphone

A lawyer in Sumner County, Tennessee, is facing criminal charges after she was accused of deleting child pornography from her client’s cellphone.

Nov 14, 2023 11:48 AM CST

Tennessee can continue ban on absentee ballot distribution, 6th Circuit says

A split federal appeals court last week rejected a free speech challenge to a Tennessee law that limits the distribution of absentee ballot applications.

Oct 11, 2023 8:46 AM CDT

Wrongfully convicted man urges criminal justice reform at final day of Clio Cloud Conference

More than 20 years ago, Brian Banks was wrongfully convicted of rape, delaying his dream of becoming a professional football player. At his keynote address at the Clio Cloud Conference on Tuesday morning, Banks urged the audience of lawyers and legal professionals to embrace reforms to create a fairer and more just system for people entangled in the criminal justice system.

Oct 10, 2023 1:04 PM CDT

Clients more optimistic about AI than legal professionals, says Clio’s 2023 Legal Trends Report

While generative artificial intelligence will transform legal work, there are key differences in how legal professionals and clients are thinking about AI, with clients more optimistic about the tech, according to Clio’s eighth annual Legal Trends Report, which Clio founder and CEO Jack Newton introduced Monday.

Oct 9, 2023 2:18 PM CDT

Tales of 3 generations of Black women intertwine to form ‘Memphis’

A Tennessee lawyer shares how her lawyerly research techniques prepared her to dig into her family’s history to develop characters in her novel focused on three generations of Black women and spanning seven decades.

Sep 27, 2023 8:40 AM CDT

Copyright Law and Generative AI: What a mess

“A lot of these [copyright] issues have existed for some time,” says a partner and chair of the software and IT practice at Knobbe Martens in its Seattle office. “It’s coming to the forefront of communications because of the availability [of generative AI].”

Aug 30, 2023 8:18 AM CDT