How to Prepare for Divorce
Couples who marry today have a roughly 40 to 50 percent chance of getting divorced, (for first marriages) so while divorce seems like something that happens to other people, many who are married may face it at some point. While going through a divorce is usually more traumatic than you think it will be and…
Read MoreCan I Be Arrested for a DUI after Passing the Field Sobriety Test?
You are driving along I-65 late on a Friday evening. You might have had a beer or two while you watched the game, but you are by no means drunk, or so you believe. The next thing you know, you see those flashing blue lights and hear the chirp of a police cruiser pulling you…
Read More5 Difficult Things to Accept about Divorce
There will come a time when divorce gets real for you and things might be a bit more challenging than you had bargained for. Divorce can be adversarial and it will bring out aspects of your spouse’s character that you may not have seen before. When you agree to divorce and you set off on…
Read MoreWhat is the Process for Getting a Restricted License after a DUI in Tennessee?
If you have been convicted of DUI in Tennessee, one of the penalties is that you can lose your driving privileges for one year. That means that you would be unable to drive your car to get back and forth to work, to school if you are a college student, to the doctor’s office and…
Read MoreWhat are the Consequences of a Domestic Violence Conviction in Tennessee?
Domestic violence is a serious issue in Tennessee with significant consequences. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), 43 Tennesseans were murdered by intimate partners in 2014. Firearms were involved in 75 percent of these homicides. Tennessee law enforcement received 74,023 reports of domestic violence crimes, but many also went unreported. There were…
Read MoreModifying Your Parenting Plan When Circumstances Change
When Tennessee couples with children divorce, they create (sometimes on their own, sometimes with lawyers, sometimes by ruling from a judge) a parenting plan. The basic format of the plan is supplied by the TN courts, and must be used for the creation of a new plan, or to modify an existing one. We point…
Read MoreFrequently Asked Questions about DUIs in Tennessee
There have been a lot of changes (and proposed changes) to the DUI laws in Tennessee in the last year. Because of that, people who have been charged with a DUI have been asking us a lot of questions lately about the laws, the penalties and the fines. That is why we collected a list…
Read MoreFive Signs You May be Heading for Divorce
The decision to end a marriage is always a tough one, even if both spouses are in agreement. After all, no one gets married in the hopes of one day getting a divorce. Over the years, we’ve found that there are certain indicators that a couple is ready to divorce, or at least ready to…
Read MoreCollege Students Beware: You Future Could Be on the Line if You Are Charged with a Crime, Let Alone Convicted of One
Tennessee has a lot of colleges, trade schools and universities. That means we have a lot of college “kids” running around the state at any given time of the year. Now, we say “kids” because most of these students are at least 18 years of age, which makes them adults in the eyes of the…
Read MoreBonnaroo is Almost Here, and Coffee County is Cracking Down on Citations
The 15th Annual Bonnaroo music festival is a mere days away. Last year’s festival saw more than 80,000 attendees on the 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, and we can expect at least that many this year, as Bonnaroo continues to expand. You might see a few changes this year, too – like permanent bathrooms, a…
Read MoreWhen is it OK for a Police Officer to Search Me?
Most people understand that the 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects us from having to submit to unreasonable search and seizure, but there is considerable confusion about the details. A police officer can stop you and ask you questions, but he or she is not permitted to search you unless they have probable cause…
Read MoreTips for Avoiding a DUI at Bonnaroo
Before long the 2016 Bonnaroo season will be in full swing here in Tennessee. From June 9th through the 12th, Manchester, TN will bloom into a small city with thousands of visitors who will be our guests for the four day music festival-palooza. We are going to be honest and let you know that you…
Read MoreTennessee Makes Progress to Strengthen Mandatory Ignition Interlocks and Improve DUI Conviction Reporting
Tennessee is making great strides towards strengthening the punishment for DUI offenders. A bill that would require an ignition interlock device for 120 for second-time DUI offenders has passed the Tennessee House of Representatives. The bill would also require that DUI arrest and conviction records be shared with every Tennessee court and judge immediately. The…
Read MoreQuestioning the Legality of Drug Testing Kits at Music Festivals like Bonnaroo
For five days each summer, the Old McAllister 750 acre farm located outside of Manchester, Tennessee becomes the sixth largest city in Tennessee, jam-packed with nearly 100,000 people when Bonnaroo comes to town. The largest music festival in the United States, Bonnaroo takes over the sleepy little town of Manchester with its 10,000 residents located…
Read MoreProposed Bill Would Boost Repeat DUI Penalties and Reduce Penalties for Small Amounts of Drug Possession
Rep. William Lamberth has introduced controversial legislation that would toughen drunk driving laws while simultaneously reducing the penalties for repeated drug possession. As introduced, HB 1478 would punish a sixth offense DUI as a Class C felony, punishable by three to 15 years in prison. It would define “prior convictions” for the purpose of enhancing…
Read MoreConversation Agents Cannot Replace Trusted Legal Advice
Conversational agents such as Siri, Google Now, Cortana and S Voice are computer programs housed within smart phones, which are designed to respond to user’s question in a “natural” language that attempts to follow real, human conversations. The challenge with conversational agents is that people often do not understand the limitations of the technology and…
Read MoreForfeiture and Seizure of Property in Criminal Cases in Tennessee
Under the current civil forfeiture laws in Tennessee, police and prosecutors can seize and sell your car or other property and use the proceeds without having charged you with a crime. The Institute for Justice calls Tennessee’s forfeiture and seizure laws “policing for profit” in the second edition of a report about the abuse of…
Read MoreHow Vacations and Summer Travel Impact Parenting Plans
This is the time of year when parents start planning vacations and make plans for the summer months. When you are going through a divorce, or after the divorce is finalized, the parenting plan agreement is an important document that will govern the communications between the two co-parents. Even when the co-parents have a relatively…
Read MoreDo I Have to Take a Field Sobriety Test When I Get Pulled Over in Tennessee?
That queasy feeling in the pit of your stomach that comes when you have seen the blue lights flashing in your rear-view mirror and you realize that you are being pulled over by a police officer. It is really late at night and you are on your way home from a party. You have consumed…
Read MoreBonnaroo Planning & Survival Tips
Whether you have been attending Bonnaroo since the beginning, or this is your first season at the summer music festival, you likely know that there are several versions of Bonnaroo survival guides floating around online. There are basically two flavors for these guides: the first is kind of an underground publication prepared by seasoned Bonnaroovians…
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