A Black woman, for the first time, will become a chief federal judge in Mississippi. Court officials said in a news release Monday that U.S. District Judge Debra M. Brown will become the chief judge of the state’s northern judicial district during a ceremony Friday in Greenville. She will receive the gavel from U.S. District … Read more
A judge in Memphis has ruled that an expert hired by a state prosecutors’ office can conduct a mental evaluation of a Tennessee death row inmate who claims he is intellectually disabled and should not be executed. Lawyers for Pervis Payne filed a petition in May asking a judge to declare that he cannot be … Read more
Two Tennessee men face hearings this week after their recent arrests on charges related to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Federal prosecutors accuse Matthew Baggott and Stewart Parks of entering the building together. The Tennessean reports both were charged with entering or remaining in a restricted building, disorderly conduct and violent entry … Read more
Mississippi policymakers have known for decades that the state drags behind most others in public education spending. A new report by a legislative watchdog group bears that out, with research showing that Mississippi spends less per pupil than each of its surrounding states — Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee and Alabama. Mississippi’s Joint Legislative Committee on Performance … Read more
A Tennessee state panel is proposing another $44.6 million in federal COVID-19 relief aid to increase the payouts businesses can receive for their losses due to the pandemic. Officials announced the proposal at a meeting Wednesday of the state’s Financial Accountability Stimulus Group. The state group is proposing to lift the cap on payments per … Read more
Tennessee’s highest court will soon decide whether a contentious school voucher program is constitutional after attorneys on made their final arguments before the justices. The program has faced legality questions ever since the GOP-controlled General Assembly narrowly advanced the measure and Republican Gov. Bill Lee then signed off on the law in 2019. Last year, … Read more
U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg came to Tennessee to learn how the closure of the Interstate 40 bridge connecting that state and Arkansas has affected freight movement since it was shut down more than three weeks ago when a crack was found in the span. Buttigieg has met with regional transportation officials in … Read more
The leader of the organization that sponsored the voter-approved Mississippi medical marijuana initiative that was recently blocked in court says the program should be changed and improved by the state Legislature — but not by too much. Medical marijuana advocates were outraged last month when the state Supreme Court ruled that Mississippi’s initiative process is … Read more
A federal appeals court has heard arguments over a Tennessee law requiring a 48-hour waiting period for abortions. A lower federal court last year struck down the law that requires women to make two trips to an abortion clinic. The first trip is for mandatory counseling and the second is for the abortion at least … Read more
A Memphis judge has set a new trial date for a man charged with conspiring with the ex-wife of Lorenzen Wright to kill the former NBA player nearly 11 years ago in Memphis. Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Lee Coffee told Billy Ray Turner on Wednesday that his trial on first-degree murder and conspiracy charges … Read more