A federal judge last week halted — at least temporarily — Tennessee’s takeover of Memphis-Shelby County Schools. What that means for the future remains an open question until U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw hears the case, expected in the coming weeks. Until then, it was seemingly business as usual for the MSCS elected board, which last week approved $200 million in new contracts. And coming this week, the final $7.7 million, state-funded forensic audit report of MSCS is set to be released Wednesday.

Another high-profile federal court date was set last week as U.S. District Judge Sheryl Lipman scheduled a tentative Jan. 11, 2027, trial date for Shelby County General Sessions Court Clerk Tami Sawyer. During the June 30 hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney William Crowe said he is prepared to turn over 50,000 documents used to build the government’s case to Sawyer and her attorney, John Keith Perry, as part of the discovery process. The six-count federal indictment alleges Sawyer “embezzled, stole and knowingly converted $44,607.35 in public funds to her own use.”

Also last week, The Daily Memphian reported:

• Criminal Court Judge Lee Coffee has been absent from the bench for nearly 40% of his scheduled court days this year, continuing a pattern of absences that attorneys say goes back years.
• Luke McLaurine, a 102-year-old veteran of World War II and survivor of Nazi prison camps who says daily doughnut consumption is the key to longevity.
• A slate of new state laws that went into effect July 1, impacting everything from hotel booking fees and drone flights to public safety and classroom curriculum.

— Metro editor Jane Donahoe

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A federal judge has ordered Tennessee to halt its takeover of Memphis-Shelby County Schools. In the wake of that order, the state oversight board canceled its Wednesday afternoon meeting.

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