Violent crimes – murders, rapes, aggravated assaults and robberies – dropped in Memphis and Shelby County in 2018, according to data released by the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission Friday. 

Attorneys for Sherra Wright have asked the court to bring in a jury from Davidson County to hear the murder case, fearing their client can not get a fair jury in Memphis. 

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris and Juvenile Court Judge Dan Michael agreed to hire one of the nation's leading juvenile justice statistician to dissect data at the court and find issues involving minority children.

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office said a disturbance that resulted in $3,500 to $5,000 in damages at the juvenile detention center led to five corrections officers being suspended last week.

The family of Darrius Stewart filed a civil rights lawsuit against the City of Memphis, the officer who killed the 19-year-old and the former head of the Memphis Police Department. The trial is set to start next month in federal court. 

Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk Heidi Kuhn is reviewing the idea of an expungement court docket to speed the process of wiping clean the criminal records of offenders who have stayed out of trouble for five years. 

Shelby County Commissioners Tami Sawyer and Mark Billingsley appeared on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast to talk about juvenile justice reform. 

Charges have been dropped in a "hoodie arrest" incident at Wolfchase Galleria last year, with the two men charged ordered to pay court costs. 

Shelby County Juvenile Court staff members will no longer select defense attorneys for juvenile detainees, Mayor Lee Harris’ office announced Tuesday.

A new website will give the public a chance to weigh in on the city's progress in meeting court-ordered reforms resulting from its violation of the 1978 consent decree over political surveillance.

Memphis reported 184 homicides in 2018, eight more than in 2017. The 5 percent increase is less than the record number of homicides in 2016, but authorities said one homicide is too many. 

A new Tennessee immigration law on the books for two days is already facing a challenge from Shelby County officials, who say the new measure is “unenforceable and unconstitutional” because of its “vagueness” and would not be applied locally.

A 20-year-old man is dead after he was shot by Memphis police officers Wednesday night in Whitehaven during a domestic violence incident, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and Memphis Police Department said.

The partial government shutdown is impacting Tennessee's only immigration court – located in Memphis – and some immigrants may have to wait a year or two for their cases to be rescheduled.

The 6th Circuit Appeals Court has struck down a Tennessee cap on punitive damages related to a lawsuit filed in Memphis.

Former U.S. Attorney Ed Stanton is the independent monitor who will report to U.S. District Judge Jon P. McCalla on steps the Memphis Police Department is taking to end surveillance of protesters after violating a 1978 consent decree barring such surveillance.

After finding checks stuffed in desks, no payments to agencies since 2016 and other issues, Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk Heidi Kuhn calls for an audit of her office.

Both sides in federal lawsuit over Memphis police surveillance request a year to work out differences outside of court ruling.

As the Memphis Police Department struggles to catch up with a nationwide movement to reform interrogations, its failure to record lets an accused murderer go free.

For 10 days during the holiday season, prisoners in Shelby County jails will get free five-minute phone calls to family and friends.

Shelby County is seeking to expand grand jury operations to help reduce the time a prisoner waits in jail before learning if they will be indicted or their case is resolved, officials said.

Tremaine Wilbourn, convicted last month of killing Memphis police officer Sean Bolton in 2015 and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, had 38 years added to his sentence Monday, Dec. 17, for other charges in the case.

When the Shelby County Youth Assessment Center launches next year, it will be part of a cultural shift aimed at changing the way authorities respond to juvenile offenders.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has determined the gun a man allegedly brandished before a Memphis police officer shot and killed him Thursday, Dec. 13, was a BB gun.