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M. Lee Smith Publishers M. Customers count on our newsletters, directories, online databases and manuals to meet a variety of strategic and tactical objectives.

Lee Smith Publishers, a division of BLR, is a leading provider of legal, legislative, and political intelligence for attorneys, business leaders, elected officials and lobbyists. Lee Smith Publishers information tools include the online and print Tennessee Attorneys Memo, providing weekly summaries of critical appellate court decisions for almost 50 years. We also offer the online and print Alabama Law Weekly.

10/14/2026

⚖️ This Week in Alabama Law Weekly | October 16, 2026

New Laws, Major Court Decisions, and Constitutional Questions!

This week's edition of Alabama Law Weekly examines significant changes to Alabama's criminal laws and important rulings from the state's appellate courts.

📌 This Week's Cover Story: Alabama's new child s*x-crime laws expand criminal liability and authorize capital punishment for certain s*xual offenses against young children. But will the new death penalty provisions withstand constitutional scrutiny?

⚖️ Alabama Supreme Court: The Court affirms the dismissal of a challenge to Tommy Tuberville's eligibility as the Republican nominee for governor, finding that the circuit court lacked jurisdiction.

⚖️ Insurance Law: The Supreme Court upholds rulings involving a pharmacy's medication-compounding error, professional-services exclusions, and insurance coverage.

⚖️ Family Law: The Court of Civil Appeals addresses past-due child support, third-party payments, and mandatory interest on arrearages.

⚖️ Criminal Law: The Court of Criminal Appeals determines whether district courts have authority to conduct stand-your-ground immunity hearings in felony cases.

📖 Stay informed on the decisions shaping Alabama law.

Find these stories, appellate decisions, and more in the October 16, 2026, edition of Alabama Law Weekly!

10/06/2026

⚖️ This Week in Alabama Law Weekly

A major states’ rights fight over abortion medication is headed directly to the U.S. Supreme Court as Alabama joins Louisiana and Arkansas in challenging abortion “shield laws” enacted by New York, Massachusetts, and California.

Also in this week’s issue:

🔹 The Alabama Supreme Court rules on State-agent immunity in a case involving a correctional officer and an inmate attack.

🔹 The Court of Civil Appeals addresses a mother’s right to appointed counsel before her parental rights can be terminated.

🔹 A divorce appeal examines when premarital property may be considered in dividing the marital estate.

🔹 The Court of Civil Appeals reviews the revocation of a former police chief’s law-enforcement certification.

🔹 The Eleventh Circuit holds that Alabama’s lifetime residency restriction for certain s*x offenders is unconstitutional as applied to a father seeking to live with his child.

Catch up on these decisions and more in this week’s Alabama Law Weekly — Vol. 35, Issue 41. ⚖️

Order your copy today!
10/05/2026

Order your copy today!

09/29/2026

⚖️ This Week in Alabama Law Weekly (Vol. 35, No. 40)

The October 2 edition of Alabama Law Weekly is here, featuring the latest decisions from Alabama’s appellate courts and the Eleventh Circuit — plus our Third Quarter Review of significant Alabama cases from 2026.

This week’s coverage includes:

🔹The Court of Criminal Appeals reverses a suppression order in a drug-trafficking case, finding probable cause supported the search warrant and addressing the good-faith exception.

🔹The Alabama Supreme Court considers whether plaintiffs exercised due diligence before adding a physician to a wrongful-death action after the limitations period expired.

🔹The Court of Civil Appeals addresses medical-support arrearages and reimbursement for an orthodontic expense in a child-support dispute.

🔹The Eleventh Circuit examines challenges to Randolph County’s bail practices and whether adoption of a new bail policy during litigation mooted claims against the former system.

📚 PLUS: ALW’s Third Quarter Review
We look back at 10 significant Alabama appellate decisions from the third quarter of 2026, highlighting important rulings from the Alabama Supreme Court, Court of Civil Appeals, and Court of Criminal Appeals.

Stay current on the decisions shaping Alabama law with Alabama Law Weekly.

09/25/2026

🏛️ LEAD FEATURE: The Sixth Circuit strikes down the "Recruitment Provision" of Tennessee’s Underage Abortion Trafficking Act as facially overbroad under the First Amendment, affirming a statewide permanent injunction (Welty v. Dunaway). Also inside Issue 41:
🔹 Search & Seizure: Are bounty hunters state actors under the Fourth Amendment when seizing drugs and handguns during a bailee arrest? (State v. Dragg)
🔹 Employment Law & Drug Testing: Substantial evidence supports reinstating a deputy sheriff who tested positive for THC after the county failed to disprove legal off-duty C*D use (Shelby County v. McGriff).
🔹 Taxation: A restaurant co-owner is held personally liable for $300K+ in unremitted state sales taxes as a "responsible person" (Gang v. Gerregano).
🔹 Criminal Procedure: The CCA reverses a violent-felon weapon conviction, ruling that whether an out-of-state prior offense involved violence is a question of fact for the jury (State v. Livesay).
🔹 Family Law: Parental rights termination vacated where support obligations were legally extinguished during a prior termination order (In re Serenity S.).

09/22/2026

⚖️ This Week in Alabama Law Weekly (Vol. 35, No. 39)

This week’s issue takes a closer look at the legal battle surrounding the ex*****on of Jeffery Lee, who was executed by lethal injection after successfully challenging Alabama’s nitrogen-hypoxia protocol. His case involved two rounds of federal litigation over the method of ex*****on and renewed attention on Alabama’s former practice of judicial override.

Also in this week’s issue:

🔹 A default judgment was found void after the trial court failed to provide the required notice and hearing.

🔹 The Court of Civil Appeals held that an adoption contest must be transferred from probate court to juvenile court when the statutory requirements are met.

🔹 Foster parents prevailed on a due-process challenge after they were not given adequate notice that a hearing would determine the children’s custody.

🔹 A paternal aunt won the right to intervene in a dependency case to pursue custody of her niece.

📖 Read these decisions, rehearing notices, and more in the September 25 issue of Alabama Law Weekly.

09/18/2026

Can a federal judge ban a defendant from contacting any member of Congress?

In United States v. Hayes, the 6th Circuit ruled that blanket congressional contact bans on supervised release are overbroad and infringe on First Amendment rights. However, a Chattanooga man’s sentence stands because defense counsel failed to object at trial.

Plus in Issue 40:
• Criminal Law: Why domestic assault isn't a lesser-included offense of aggravated assault by strangulation.
• Public Records: Cold case homicide files remain exempt from TPRA disclosure.
• Zoning & AG Opinions: AG Op. 26-08 clarifies county zoning authority over farm pond excavations and mining.

Read the full issue on Monday!

09/14/2026

ALW 35-38
September 18, 2026

This week in Alabama Law Weekly:

A second major statewide residency dispute has moved into Alabama court. Republican lieutenant governor nominee John Wahl is facing a lawsuit challenging whether he satisfies the Alabama Constitution’s seven-year residency requirement. The case comes as the Alabama Supreme Court considers a separate residency challenge involving gubernatorial nominee Tommy Tuberville — an appeal that could provide important guidance on whether and when Alabama courts may hear pre-election eligibility challenges.

Also this week:

⚖️ The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals held that John P. Schuessler was entitled to appeal the denial of his Rule 60(b) motion because the denial constituted a final judgment independently supporting an appeal.

⚖️ The Court of Civil Appeals also reversed in James Smith v. Kendall Smith, concluding that Smith was entitled to a hearing on his postjudgment motion because his challenge to a contempt finding had probable merit.

Read these decisions and more in this week’s Alabama Law Weekly. Contact customer support to start your subscription of ALW.

09/11/2026

Next Week's Tennessee Attorneys Memo Preview:: Tennessee Supreme Court September Docket, First-Party Spoliation, & Major Practice Decisions
🔹 Supreme Court Feature: The high court considers whether Tennessee should adopt an independent tort for intentional spoliation of evidence, the mechanics of partial Rule 41 non-suits, and class-action objector fee-splitting ethics.
🔹 Attorney Discipline Standard of Review: The Supreme Court establishes de novo review for BPR sanction appeals under Rule 9, § 33.1(d), modifying a permanent disbarment to a five-year suspension (Dance v. BPR).
🔹 Public Records & Cold Cases: The Court of Appeals addresses TPRA exemptions for open cold-case homicide files and clarifies specificity rules for officer personnel requests (LaForce v. Metro).
🔹 Out-of-State Service of Process: Substituted service at a New Jersey residence on an NBA player's uncle holds up, affirming a $758K summary judgment (Werner v. Melton).

09/08/2026

⚖️ This Week in Alabama Law Weekly (Vol. 35, No. 37)

Alabama lawmakers are looking ahead to possible new restrictions on Flock cameras and other automated license-plate readers. With proposals involving warrants, data-retention limits and consequences for misuse, the debate raises important questions about privacy, law-enforcement access and the Fourth Amendment. An Alabama federal case now before the Eleventh Circuit adds another dimension to an issue that could receive early attention when lawmakers return in 2027.

Also in this week's issue:

▪️ Taxation — Pfizer: The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals upheld the denial of Pfizer's claimed deduction for a 2012 interest payment that was indirectly paid to Luxembourg affiliates where it was not subject to taxation. On the Department of Revenue's cross-appeal, the Court affirmed the sealing of trial exhibits but reversed the order sealing the trial transcript because the required written findings had not been made.

▪️ Constitutional Law — Commercial Fishing: The Eleventh Circuit concluded that members of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council exercised significant federal authority through statutory veto powers, but the constitutional defect did not justify vacating the challenged gag-grouper rule because those powers played no role in its development or promulgation.

▪️ Employment Discrimination: The Eleventh Circuit revived race-discrimination and retaliation claims brought by DeMarkus Hall and Eddie Hughes, concluding that the evidence could permit a reasonable jury to find intentional discrimination and retaliation.

▪️ Federal Taxation: The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the IRS's rejection of Andrew J. Filipowski's $1.5 million offer to settle approximately $140 million in outstanding tax liability, concluding that the agency did not abuse its discretion in relying on public-policy and tax-compliance concerns.

Plus, this week's rehearing notices from Alabama's appellate courts.

📖 Read Alabama Law Weekly — Vol. 35, No. 37 | September 11, 2026

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