How long does court last? Well, that's an open ended question because sometimes the court date is open ended. It normally starts at 9:00 AM, and sometimes you're done by noon; sometimes you may be required to be there all day. Usually there are a lot of cases on the docket and the courts attended to them in the manner that is most expedient. Your attorney should keep you apprised of it. We do our [...]
Another recent development in Tennessee law deals with the application of school zones to drug-related felonies. In these particular situations, the legislature has determined that when there is drug activity of a resale type variety – could be delivery, could be possession – within 1,000 feet of a school that it constitutes a drug free school zone violation. That means that the actual felony – let's say it's a schedule 2 cocaine case – is [...]
A recent study has correlated the occurrence of pediatric brain injuries to everyday consumer products used in many homes. The study shows how traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) in children, while commonly a result of sporting activities, also happen for other reasons. The Brain Injury study A pediatric brain injury occurs when the head comes into direct contact with an object resulting in a change in the way the brain handles and distributes information. The aforementioned peer-reviewed [...]
When parties have divorced and they have minor children, those children are allowed to be claimed for tax purposes as exemptions. A big question that I get a lot of times is, “Who gets to claim the children?” That depends on a lot of things in some situations. However, the laws in the state of Tennessee are very clear and it says that the parent receiving child support is the parent entitled to deductions. But, [...]
Tennessee laws are strict when it comes to punishing drunk drivers. Sentencing for DUIs in the state can include months or years in jail, hefty fines, court costs, and restrictions or complete loss of driving privileges. An additional and recent addition to these penalties is the requirement for the one convicted of DUI to install an ignition interlock device (IID) on his or her vehicle in order to be given a restricted driver’s license. Operation of [...]
A lot of times claims arise because drivers of large trucks are tired. They've been on the road too long. How do you know if they're tired? How do you know if they've been overworked or exceeded the hours that are permitted? We have abilities to access their electronic logs, and/or in the event that they actually have handwritten logs, those are also required to be maintained by the trucking company and by the driver. [...]
Mediation is a process in the state of Tennessee for different types of cases, but when you're going through a divorce, mediation is required in the state of Tennessee unless you and your spouse can resolve your case prior to that process. Mediation is also required before you are allowed to try any issues in your divorce case in the state of Tennessee. Mediation is a process where you and your attorney, along with your [...]
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) almost 30 people in the U.S. are killed in drunk driving crashes each day. The state of Tennessee takes the threat imposed by drunk driving very seriously. If you are pulled over on the suspicion of driving under the influence, the attending police officer may ask you to step out of your vehicle and comply with a series of field sobriety tests (FSTs). These tests are standardized [...]
If you drive while you are drunk and/or high on illegal and/or prescription drugs, you face a wide variety of consequences. This wide variety of consequences includes field sobriety tests. Field sobriety tests (FSTs) usually consist of three specific tests (though there are others that are less commonly used): the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test, the Walk and Turn (WAT) test, and the One Leg Stand (OLS) test. Police officers administer these tests at traffic stops [...]
If you're convicted, how does the court decide what your sentence is? There are a lot of factors that come into play, but basically, felonies are graded on a letter system: A being the most serious, E being the least serious. Misdemeanors, likewise, from A being the most serious, to C being the least serious. The court will normally request a pre-sentence report – that is unless the charge requires a mandatory prison term, or [...]
