M. Lee Smith Publishers

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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.

09/01/2026

⚖️ This Week in Alabama Law Weekly (Vol. 35, No. 36)

The battle over Republican gubernatorial nominee Tommy Tuberville’s eligibility to serve as Alabama governor is now before the Alabama Supreme Court.

Tuberville, Attorney General Steve Marshall and the Alabama Republican Party are urging the Court to uphold the dismissal of the residency challenge, while challengers Brooke Lynn Dorgan and Justin Jude LeBlanc argue that Alabama courts have authority to hear their quo warranto claim. At this stage, the central issue is not where Tuberville legally resides, but whether the challengers can use quo warranto to obtain judicial review of his constitutional eligibility before the general election.

Also in this week’s issue:

🔹 QDRO & Subject-Matter Jurisdiction — Cameron Brock Love obtained mandamus relief from a QDRO entered eight years after his divorce. The Court of Civil Appeals held that the trial court never acquired subject-matter jurisdiction because the required filing fee had not been paid and directed the trial court to vacate the third QDRO and subsequent orders.

🔹 Juvenile Dependency & Custody — The Court of Civil Appeals affirmed judgments finding two children remained dependent based on their mother’s limited financial circumstances. The Court declined to reweigh the evidence supporting the juvenile court’s findings.

📖 Catch up on these developments and more in the September 4, 2026 edition of Alabama Law Weekly. It will be delivered to subscribers' mailboxes on Thursday, 3 at 1 pm.

08/25/2026

⚖️ This Week in Alabama Law Weekly (Vol. 35, No. 35) August 28, 2026

The Alabama Supreme Court reversed an order requiring the complete demolition of a nine-building apartment complex near downtown Birmingham after concluding that permanent, irreversible relief had been awarded through proceedings noticed only as preliminary. This week’s lead story examines the Court’s determination that lender Lima One Capital was entitled to notice that the preliminary-injunction hearing had been consolidated with a trial on the merits before Birmingham could obtain the ultimate relief sought in its nuisance-abatement action.

Also in this week’s edition:

🏛️ Alabama Supreme Court — The Court held that a circuit court retained supervisory jurisdiction over the Jefferson Probate Court despite the probate court’s concurrent equitable jurisdiction, reversing the dismissal of a mandamus petition challenging a forensic-accounting order.

🚌 Public Employment — The Court of Civil Appeals reversed the termination of a Lauderdale County school-bus driver because the superintendent failed to establish that the employee received the required factual basis for his proposed termination under the Students First Act.

⚖️ Criminal Law — A pharmacy-robbery sentence was reversed after the Alabama Supreme Court determined that the Habitual Felony Offender Act gave the trial court discretion to impose either life imprisonment or life imprisonment without parole. The Court of Criminal Appeals remanded for a new sentencing hearing.

✈️ Eleventh Circuit — Delta Air Lines and Aeromexico successfully challenged the Department of Transportation’s termination of their joint venture and antitrust immunity. The Court concluded that DOT failed to reasonably explain its departure from prior market-analysis practices and its different treatment of similar joint ventures.

🏛️ Attorney General — The Alabama Attorney General concluded that Act 2026-345 did not remove the Public Service Commission’s authority under § 37-1-12.1 to employ qualified personnel in the unclassified service.

📖 Catch up on these developments and more in the August 28 edition of Alabama Law Weekly!

Subscribers will receive their issue via email on August 27, 2026.

08/24/2026

MONDAY IN TAM (Vol. 51, No. 36)

Supreme Court Ruling on Conditional Guilty Pleas: What happens when an appellate court determines that a reserved certified question of law isn't "dispositive"? For years, defendants faced automatic appellate dismissal—leaving their conviction intact without receiving the review bargained for in their plea deal. In a major unanimous ruling, the Tennessee Supreme Court changes the game (State v. Bishop): appellate courts can no longer simply dismiss the appeal—they must vacate the conviction and remand to allow the defendant the opportunity to withdraw the conditional guilty plea.

Also featured in Monday's issue: Family Law: Why awarding alternating-week parenting time to a father absent for nearly 3 years was an abuse of discretion when parents are completely incapable of basic communication (Coleman).

Class Actions & Healthcare: Can unnamed class members bypass mandatory THCLA pre-suit notice requirements? The Court of Appeals rules on class certification in a dental exposure case (Doxley).

Government & School Budgets: A new Attorney General opinion outlines enforcement mechanisms during county educational budget impasses and default TISA funding rules.

Workers' Comp: Why seeking benefits for a common condition like "trigger finger" opens the door to 10 years of prior medical records (Kean).

Subscribers will receive their issue on Monday at 5PM.

08/19/2026

The next issue of the Fourth Circuit Review (42FCR17) will be delivered to subscribers' inboxes by 8:00 AM on Monday, August 24.

This issue includes opinions related to bankruptcy, civil procedure, civil rights, criminal law, employment law, government, immigration, and more.

To subscribe, contact Customer Service at 1 (800) 727-5257 or via email at [email protected].

08/18/2026

⚖️ This Week in Alabama Law Weekly (Vol. 35, No. 34) August 21, 2026

Alabama’s 2026 election is taking shape amid significant court battles affecting both the state’s congressional races and the race for governor. This week’s feature examines the redistricting litigation that reshaped several congressional contests and the pending Alabama Supreme Court appeal challenging Republican gubernatorial nominee Tommy Tuberville’s residency eligibility.

Also in this week’s edition:

⚖️ Alabama Supreme Court — State Farm obtained partial mandamus relief in a dispute over a protective order permitting confidential discovery to be shared in other bad-faith roof-claim cases. The Court allowed discovery sharing but required tighter limits and additional safeguards.

🚆 Eleventh Circuit — The Court upheld the Federal Railroad Administration’s 2024 Crew Size Rule, rejecting challenges to the agency’s authority and decision-making in generally requiring two-person train crews while allowing pathways for one-person operations.

🏠 Insurance — The Eleventh Circuit held that Alabama law did not prohibit USAA’s innocent-insured exclusion, vacating a breach-of-contract judgment and remanding for a new trial while affirming summary judgment on the bad-faith claim.

🌿 Administrative Law — The Eleventh Circuit rejected a challenge to EPA approval of Mosaic Fertilizer’s use of phosphogypsum in a Florida road project, concluding that the agency adequately supported its technical risk assessment.

📖 Catch up on these developments and more in the August 21 edition of Alabama Law Weekly!
Subscribers will receive their issue via email on August 21, 2026

08/18/2026

The Trial Court Vacancy Commission met in Memphis recently to select nominees for two vacancies in the 30th Judicial District Violent Criminal Court. After holding a public hearing and conducting public interviews, nominees for the two vacancies include:

Paul Hagerman
Melanie M. Headley
Marques T. Young
Jessica Van D**e

You may view the nominees’ applications here:

08/14/2026

Coming Monday in TAM (Vol. 51, No. 35):

For nearly 40 years, a minor drafting error on a certified question meant automatic appellate dismissal. In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court partially overrules Preston (1988) and replaces the strict "four-corners" rule with a new "question-plus-record" test.

Also featured in Monday's issue:
• Civil Procedure & Settlements: Why a court-approved consent decree can't be undone on appeal by prior interlocutory order challenges.
• Property & Easements: The Statute of Frauds and why grantors can't convey road easements across land they don't own.
• Government / First Amendment: Attorney General opinion on when elected officials can—and cannot—moderate critical comments on official social media pages.

Subscribers will receive their issue via email on Aug. 17!

08/12/2026

⚖️ This Week in Alabama Law Weekly

The August 14 edition of Alabama Law Weekly is packed with significant appellate rulings from Alabama’s courts and the Eleventh Circuit.

This week’s lead story examines the Eleventh Circuit’s decision to vacate an $811,264 retaliation judgment in an Alabama employment case after concluding that the jury was not properly instructed on what an employee must communicate for a workplace complaint to qualify as protected activity. The Court also revived Davita Key’s Title VII claims against Dynamic Security after finding that a jury must determine when she was on notice of her right to sue.

Also in this issue:

⚖️ The Alabama Supreme Court grants mandamus relief in a dispute over an insurer’s duty to defend the Greene County Commission.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 The Court of Civil Appeals addresses termination of parental rights and the consequences of an untimely appeal.

💳 The Court of Civil Appeals holds that the ABC Board’s credit-card convenience fee does not violate Alabama’s statutory cap on liquor markups.

🏠 A custody-modification judgment is reversed after the trial court applied the wrong custody standard.

🇺🇸 The Eleventh Circuit addresses ineffective assistance of counsel in immigration proceedings, holding that an EOIR complaint can satisfy Matter of Lozada’s disciplinary-complaint requirement.

⚖️ Plus, a new Eleventh Circuit rulings involving habeas corpus, self-representation, sufficiency of the evidence, false arrest, excessive force, and qualified immunity.

Stay current on the appellate rulings shaping Alabama law with this week’s Alabama Law Weekly.

📖 August 14, 2026 | Vol. 35, No. 33

08/10/2026

IN THIS WEEK'S TAM (Vol. 51, No. 34):
Major Supreme Court Ruling on Civil Jury Misconduct
⚖️What happens when a juror in a medical malpractice trial conducts outside research on an EpiPen label over the weekend? In a landmark unanimous opinion, the Tennessee Supreme Court overrules prior appellate precedent to establish a brand-new, two-part burden-shifting test for civil extraneous juror research.

Also in this issue:
• AI in the Courtroom: The Court of Appeals holds a pro se appellant waived all issues on appeal after filing a brief filled with AI-generated case "hallucinations" and fake citations.
• Criminal Practice: Why withholding physical discovery from an incarcerated client can be sound legal strategy.
• Sixth Circuit / ACCA: Tennessee co***ne convictions validly qualify as predicate "serious drug offenses".

📲 Subscribers can read the full issue here.

08/10/2026

IN THIS WEEK'S TAM (Vol. 51, No. 34): Major Supreme Court Ruling on Civil Jury Misconduct.
⚖️What happens when a juror in a medical malpractice trial conducts outside research on an EpiPen label over the weekend? In a landmark unanimous opinion, the Tennessee Supreme Court overrules prior appellate precedent to establish a brand-new, two-part burden-shifting test for civil extraneous juror research.

Also in this issue:
• AI in the Courtroom: The Court of Appeals holds a pro se appellant waived all issues on appeal after filing a brief filled with AI-generated case "hallucinations" and fake citations.
• Criminal Practice: Why withholding physical discovery from an incarcerated client can be sound legal strategy.
• Sixth Circuit / ACCA: Tennessee co***ne convictions validly qualify as predicate "serious drug offenses".

📲 Subscribers can also read the full issue here.

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