For non-citizen residents of the United States and undocumented persons, entering a plea of guilty to even a minor criminal offense can have very harsh immigration consequences, including loss of the ability to obtain a favorable immigration status or citizenship—and even deportation. The law requires attorneys to advise their clients regarding any such possible immigration
A first-time DUI offender in Tennessee must serve a minimum of 48 hours in jail. However, Rutherford County convicts can opt to serve their jail time at “camp DUI,” more formally known as the “DUI Education Center.” Your stay at this “jail alternative” comes with a cost of around $100 per night. Accommodations include flat-screen
In an address to students, lawyers and scholars during his recent visit to Memphis and the University of Memphis School of Law, Justice Antonin Scalia expressed in conversation that which he had already expressed to many in his written opinions (and dissents): his views on the United States Constitution. Justice Scalia views the Constitution as
This fall Tennesseans will have the opportunity to vote on a proposed amendment to the Tennessee Constitution that would solidify how appellate judges are selected—a measure which has seen support from both sides of the aisle, including from Governor Bill Haslam and former Governor Phil Bredesen. Dubbed “The Founders’ Plan,” this amendment provides that the
Davidson County Judge Hamilton “Kip” Gayden ruled last week that the Tennessee Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission, a panel set up to review the performance of Tennessee’s appellate judges, was unconstitutional because its members did not “approximate the population of the state with respect to race and gender,” as required by state law. However, Judge Gayden
An East Tennessee Judge raised debate earlier this year by refusing to allow parents to name their baby “Messiah,” reasoning that it would be against the child’s best interest to hold that name in the county, which has a large Christian population. A judge sitting over a higher court reversed her decision, finding that it
The Unconstitutional Conditions Doctrine advances the rights granted by the Constitution by preventing the government from coercing people into giving them up. Recently, in Williamson County Circuit Court, a Nashville attorney argued that the request for a blood sample following a traffic stop of a driver suspected of DUI presented an Unconstitutional Conditions issue on
On October 1, 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States heard a California case in which the police stopped a car—and ultimately arrested and charged its occupants for drug crimes—based on an anonymous tip of erratic driving called into dispatch. The California trial court found that the 911 call by a driver complaining of
The crime of “accessory after the fact” is a type of accomplice liability that occurs after the commission of a felony, when a person harbors, conceals, aids, or warns the offender of apprehension. In order to be convicted of accessory after the fact, the state must prove: (1) that a felony was committed; (2) that