Name: Connie Lynn Reguli
Education: BA University Studies, emphasis in psychology and biology. Cum Laude.
Master’s coursework in psychology (emphasis on group psychology) completed in 1988. Did not complete other master’s level requirements due to acceptance to law school admission. Middle Tennessee State University.
Also attended Purdue University / Brigham Young
JD – Doctorate in Jurisprudence in 1994 – student representative leader for 1992 – 1993 academic year. Nashville School of Law
Work:
1994 – 1997 Nashville Davidson County District Attorney’s Office. Focus on domestic violence, child murder, child sexual abuse. Reguli’s very first jury trial concluded with a conviction on the murder of a two-year-old child.
1997 – 2022 Private Practice with emphasis on litigation, appellate practice, domestic and parent defense in child welfare litigation. Employed up to four attorneys and office staff. Reguli is the first, and perhaps the only Tennessee lawyer, that successfully brought a civil tort claim on behalf of children against their parents for physical and sexual abuse. The jury awarded nearly three million dollars to the children.
Work areas: Counties: Davidson, Williamson, Cheatham, Wilson, Humphreys, Sumner, Robertson, Lawrence, Marshall, Grundy, Warren, Putman, Hamilton, Morgan, Bradley, Franklin, Shelby, Cumberland, Macon, Montgomery, Knox, Sullivan, Dekalb, Maury, Macon.
Lobbying – State and Federal:
Since 2008, I have worked for better laws for families and children in opposition to the aggressive executive branch agencies. I have spoken before the Tenn. General Assembly, the State Indigent Task Force, and General Assembly Special Joint Session on Judicial Accountability.
Through social media I built a platform for a gathering of families adversely affected by the child welfare system and I have trained ordinary citizens on how to speak and request changes from legislators. Our grassroot organization of over 18,000 travels to Washington D.C. three to four times a year to seek changes in child welfare laws.
Most recently, we are lobbying for a Federal Family Advocacy Access Act to allow non-attorney advocates to work with families.
States outside of Tennessee: South Carolina, Kentucky, Maryland
Federal Jurisdictions: Reguli has practiced in the Middle District of Tennessee; Eastern District of Tennessee, Sixth Circuit Court, United States Supreme Court
Contributions to the body of law:
Tennessee: Reguli has participated in over 60 cases at the appellate level, primarily defending families. Significant decisions include:
Kershaw v. Levy, in which the Tenn. Supreme Court redefined judicial estoppel when seeking to apply the legal principle across cases.
In re Markus E., in which the Tenn. Supreme Court reversed a termination of parental rights case where the infant’s fractures could not have been attributed directly to either parent nor could the evidence show that either parent would’ve “known” about the injury, therefore, the State could not carry its burden of “failure to protect”.
Sixth Circuit: Reguli has participated in several civil rights cases regarding parental rights to carve out the 4th and 14th amendment civil rights protections for parents and children. Significant decisions include:
Andrews v. Hickman County, in which the Sixth Circuit opined that the 4th Amendment applies to social workers. https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca6/10-6464/10-6464-2012-12-03.html
J.H. v. Williamson County, in which the Sixth Circuit opined that solitary confinement for a compromised juvenile amounted to a 14th amendment violation. https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca6/18-5874/18-5874-2020-02-27.html
Speaking and Media Contribution:
2016 Indigent Task Force: https://youtu.be/lk28zLv9DCc
2017 News story on the family justice system: https://youtu.be/ZTVsLIGkXlY
2017 Detroit State of the Children: https://youtu.be/PfrDBmBJCCU
2018 County Commission: https://youtu.be/QcIUTE-E2qg
2018 Fox17 – family stories on abusive government interventions
The Ellithorpe Family, The Russell family, the Harper family, Parents speak out about juvenile judge Sharon Guffee.
2019 Tenn. General Assembly: https://youtu.be/x3FMUVaBUDM
2019 Unrig Summit: https://youtu.be/mAXmlxSRSoU
2021 Tenn. General Assembly:
2022 Sweden Scandinavian Human Rights Conference: https://youtu.be/LyUopJ6N3Ts
2022 Interview with Adult Victim of Child Sexual Abuse Interview: https://youtu.be/q2TpGRHveNw
2023 India Human Rights Conference: https://youtu.be/rxb1yvqs0OY
2022 – affiliated with Tennessee Tribune reporter on stories that affected Tenn. families
2022 – affiliated with the Tennessee Conservative News on stories regarding state agencies
Political Retaliation: Because of Reguli’s activism for legislative changes and increased transparency and accountability in the courts, she has suffered retaliatory actions intending to discredit her message. Most recently, Williamson County Judge Joseph A. Woodruff changed the statutory language of the criminal code with the specific intent of allowing Reguli and her client to be prosecuted. The Court of Criminal Appeals has reversed actions of Woodruff causing the conviction to be reversed on the faulty jury instructions.
First Amendment Protected Speech: Reguli has worked vigorously to defend the First Amendment for parents and others caught in government entanglement.
Political activity: Reguli ran for State Representative in 2008 against a long standing incumbent. Reguli was not successful, but made a lot of connections in the political arena which would become contacts for legislative changes in child welfare. Reguli ran for Juvenile Court Judge in 2022 against an incumbent platforming the county’s plan to build a juvenile detention center that suffered from some of the same deficiencies that the courts had found to be toxic. She did not succeed but was able to raise awareness and shifted to using journalism skills to continue sharing information on the inadequacies of DCS through conservative media. Reguli has spoken in state legislative committees multiple times, indigent task force tour, and local county commission on the need for dynamic changes in child welfare and child protection.
Social Media presence: Reguli developed the Family Forward Project in 2015 through the Facebook platform which has drawn families from across the United States who have been affected by the child welfare system. The group has 18,000 members, Reguli has personally 10,000 followers as well. Reguli has small groups in multiple states where she prepares presentations to help families in crisis. Reguli also hosts 12 to 15 lay persons from her groups to travel to Washington DC at least three times a year to lobby congressional committees for child welfare reform. Reguli’s stance against forced masking at Wells Fargo bank reached 5.4M viewers. Reguli’s live stream of DCS taking a 4 week old baby from a mother in a parking lot reached 200k viewers.
Personal / Professional objectives: Reguli is the mother of three adult children that were born in Russia and came to the United States when they were five years old. She also has four grandchildren whom she helps to raise. Her personal commitment to child welfare reform takes her to many forums and countries. She has spoken in Switzerland, Sweden, and India in the last year. Her heart is to improve the lives of vulnerable children and families.
Knowledgeable on the Tennessee Code / Public Acts / Private Acts / Tennessee Constitution/ Structure of the Judiciary / Agency regulations and policies / Constitutional challenges
Radical Tennessee - Radically Accountable and Radically Free 