Tennessee Criminal Defense Legal Questions

Without knowing the specifics of your case, it is difficult to answer the question. As a general rule, if you enter a plea to a charge you can not seek post conviction relief untess you have a certified question that was reserved at the time that you entered you plea or you are alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. You can not file for post conviction relief just because you don't like what happened. You have to have specific mistakes that were made in order to be granted post conviction relief. Even if  you file the request that doesn't mean that it will be granted because very few are granted.... Read More

Our courts are very reluctant to get involved in the handling of issues as you described that occur at schools. Our Supreme Court has stated when reviewing a school official's decisions regarding student discipline "[c]reating a climate conducive to learning and maintaining discipline in public schools between kindergarten and the twelfth grade are not judicial functions." You are required to first exhaust the administrative remedy of letting the county/city school board handle the issue. It is only then will you be allowed to go seek a court review of how the school board handled the issue.... Read More

Under TCA 40-39-203(a)(2), regardless of an offender's date of conviction or discharge from supervision, an offender whose contact with this state (TN) is sufficient to satisfy the requirements of subdivision of (a)(1) TCA 40-39-203, and who was an adult when the offense occurred is required to register or report as required by this part, if the person was required to register as any form of sexual offender in another jurisdiction prior to the offender's presence in this state (TN). "Violent sexual offenders" are required to register for life. " Nothing in this communication is meant to establish an attorney-client relationship. This information is provided for educational purposes only."... Read More

Statutory Rape is a charge - a felony, too - that can arise when someone who is 18 or older (which would apply to you) has sex with someone who is at least 4 years younger than them. And that 4 years is 4 years to the day, so someone who just turns 18 cannot be charged with Statutory Rape if the other person is already 14, because the age difference would not be 4 years. Do the math first!... Read More

Since you missed court on June 1st, a capias was issued. A capias is a warrant issued by a judge when someone does not appear in court. The local authorities will continue to look for you until the warrant is served and you are taken to jail. To get the capias taken off, your attorney can go to the judge and ask the judge to 'set aside' or withdraw the capias and to give you a new court date. They will continue to look for you until you are caught so take care of this immediately.... Read More

Once a violation warrant is issued, your time stops running. It doesn't start back running until the violation is disposed of/handled to it's finality. Jail credit that is earned from the date the warrant is served to the date the violation is disposed of will count toward the sentence, though.... Read More

The easiest way to avoid any sentence being imposed is to comply with whatever it is conditions are required. So, obviously, in this case you should therefore attend the classes you are ordered to attend and complete. If you can't attend the classes for whatever reason, you should ask the P.O. what other classes you should attend instead.... Read More

If it is alleged that you committed a criminal offense in the State of Tennessee and you were under the age of 18 when it is alleged you committed that offense, the prosecution of that alleged offense must begin in a juvenile court. This is the case regardless of the time and your age when you are actually notified by law enforcement of the allegation. In other words, you go to juvenile court whether you are 'arrested' before or after your 18th birthday.... Read More

Obviously, seeking the counsel of an attorney immediately after discovering that you might be charged with a crime is the smart thing to do. You need to make sure you are taking all of the right steps right off the bat, which might mitigate the situation. And occasionally, depending on the jurisdiction, a skilled attorney might be able to speak to the DA and/or the local police prior to the issuance of a warrant, and might possibly prevent that from happening.... Read More

Depending on which county this happened in will determine the answer to your question. If it happened in Davidson County, there are ways to get the case dismissed. If it is Williamson County, there is almost no way for it to be dismissed. And in many other counties, there are ways to get this case dismissed also.... Read More

In Tennessee, there are several forms of Burglary. Here they are, from least serious to most serious: Burglary is defined as: 39-14-402. Burglary. (a) A person commits burglary who, without the effective consent of the property owner: (1) Enters a building other than a habitation (or any portion thereof) not open to the public, with intent to commit a felony, theft or assault; (2) Remains concealed, with the intent to commit a felony, theft or assault, in a building; (3) Enters a building and commits or attempts to commit a felony, theft or assault; or (4) Enters any freight or passenger car, automobile, truck, trailer, boat, airplane or other motor vehicle with intent to commit a felony, theft or assault or commits or attempts to commit a felony, theft or assault. (b) As used in this section, "enter" means: (1) Intrusion of any part of the body; or (2) Intrusion of any object in physical contact with the body or any object controlled by remote control, electronic or otherwise. (c) Burglary under subdivision (a)(1), (2) or (3) is a Class D felony, punishable by between 2 and 12 years, depending on the person's prior criminal history. (d) Burglary under subdivision (a)(4) is a Class E felony, punishable by between 1 and 6 years, depending on the person's prior criminal history. Then, there's Aggravated Burglary. 39-14-403. Aggravated burglary. (a) Aggravated burglary is burglary of a habitation as defined in ?? 39-14-401 and 39-14-402. (b) Aggravated burglary is a Class C felony, punishable by between 3 and 15 years, depending on the person's prior criminal history. Finally, there Especially Aggravated Burglary: 39-14-404. Especially aggravated burglary. (a) Especially aggravated burglary is: (1) Burglary of a habitation or building other than a habitation; and (2) Where the victim suffers serious bodily injury. (b) For the purposes of this section, "victim" means any person lawfully on the premises. (c) Especially aggravated burglary is a Class B felony, punishable by between 8 and 30 years, depending on the person's prior criminal history. The punishment for theft of a gun depends on the value of the gun. (1) A Class A misdemeanor if the value of the property or services obtained is five hundred dollars ($500) or less; (2) A Class E felony if the value of the property or services obtained is more than five hundred dollars ($500) but less than one thousand dollars ($1,000); (3) A Class D felony if the value of the property or services obtained is one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more but less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000); (4) A Class C felony if the value of the property or services obtained is ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or more but less than sixty thousand dollars ($60,000); (5) A Class B felony if the value of the property or services obtained is sixty thousand dollars ($60,000) or more but less than two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000); and (6) A Class A felony if the value of the property or services obtained is two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) or more.... Read More

Under the scenario you've outlined, the first thing you need to do for your son is to let your son's attorney know all of this. Then you need to demand a meeting with the DA prosecuting the case and make sure that the DA knows what the police told you and why you made the statements you did, and be sure to tell the DA that you have already let your son's attorney know about this information. Your son's attorney will make sure that, if this case goes to trial, all of this will be revealed.... Read More

While cooperating in such a situation might mitigate, or lessen, your potential exposure to legal action against you, it does not preclude or prevent an arrest or indictment against you. Additionally, assisting in helping detect or discover other alleged crimes will also help mitigate your potential exposure to legal action against you, it does not preclude or prevent an arrest or indictment against you. The State of Tennessee, not your (former) employer, will be prosecuting you in the event charges are ever brought. Naturally, the State of Tennessee will not know about this situation unless the company tells them about it.... Read More