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
Defamation is the communication of a false statement that harms someone’s reputation, and a victim of defamation may be entitled to monetary damages. However, when an allegedly defamatory statement is made by a legislator in the course of their duties, the lawmaker is almost always immune from suit. In the recent Tennessee Court of Appeals
A St. Louis judge has ruled that it’s not unlawful to flash your headlights to signal to other drivers that there are police ahead, the Wall Street Journal’s Law Blog reports. See the full opinion here. Ellisville, Missouri, a city of about 10,000 in St. Louis County, had a track record of punishing drivers who
In October 1976, Turkey Jones slam-sacked Terry Bradshaw, throwing him on his head and leaving him with a concussion that sidelined the Steelers quarterback for weeks. Watch: The response to Turkey’s tackle led directly to the “in the grasp” and control rule which continues to govern the game, including the famous Helmet Catch of Super
The Tennessee Attorney General has issued an opinion on municipal sales of alcohol, and it’s a stiff one. Requested by the city of Clarksville and handed down earlier this month, the AG’s opinion means it’s closing time for certain beverage sales by the Parks and Rec Department at city-run festivals and venues, including its two
Some home-cooked omelettes may taste a little fresher in Nashville, now that the Metro council has voted to allow property owners throughout the jurisdiction to keep small flocks of chickens in their back yards—2, 4 or 6 birds, depending on acreage. The ruling legitimizes leghorns (and other breeds, too, but we like the alliteration) in
If you are a public official or employee in Tennessee and you are emailing, texting or otherwise communicating about public business, then those digital data–even if sent from or stored on personal devices–are considered “public records” and are open to inspection upon request. The Tennessee Public Records Act defines “public record or records” as “all
If you are active on social media—meaning that you post items to your Facebook page, Tweet or comment online—you need to be familiar with your employer’s personnel policy or your employment contract. You may think what you do online “after hours” doesn’t affect your job, and/or that you are protected by the concept of “freedom
In a recent Reuters article about a Nashville divorce case involving an entrepreneur husband and orthopedic surgeon wife, contributor Geoff Williams wrote: “Society is starting to catch up to the law. In 1979, with Orr vs. Orr, the Supreme Court made it clear that there shouldn’t be gender bias when it comes to alimony. Yet
When you are charged with a crime, anything you say can and may be used against you in court. As most people are aware, the police must inform a person arrested for a crime of this fact, prior to questioning. The reading of the Miranda Warning—named for the landmark 1966 Supreme Court Case Miranda v.