© 2024 KUAF
NPR Affiliate since 1985
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
KUAF is hiring a general manager! This position will include overall management, leadership, and planning, as well as fundraising, content development and delivery, and technical system development. Click here to apply and to learn more!

TN Politics: Major Court Cases and Their Impacts in Tennessee

WKNO-FM

In the first case, judges in Louisiana and Kentucky issued an injunction against the Biden Administration's vaccination mandates. Tennessee, which passed a law banning public and private businesses from having mandates, immediately quit issuing exemptions for companies and institutions concerned about the loss of federal funding.

This week the U.S. Supreme Court also held arguments in the closely watched Mississippi case over abortion restrictions. Whatever the outcome, more abortion rights cases are likely to follow. The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed to hear a case regarding Tennessee's restrictive new laws — a ban on abortions after six weeks — with other states' lining up legal challenges as well.

A separate Supreme Court ruling recently sided with Memphis and Tennesseeon the issue of underground water rights. Mississippi claimed ownership of the contents of the aquifer where MLGW pumps its groundwater. The state was asking for more than $600 million in compensation. Judges ruled that water was an intrastate resource — a decision that relieves Memphis of what would have been a huge financial liability.

Copyright 2021 WKNO

A native "Florida Man," Christopher started in this business as a copy clerk at the renowned St. Petersburg Times before persuading editors to let him write. He moved to Memphis in 2001 to cover arts and entertainment at the Commercial Appeal. Since then, he has contributed to nearly every publication in Shelby County, writing features on everything from the Civil War to Civil Rights. Also, Elvis... a lot of Elvis.