Articles Posted in Civil Litigation

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Under TCA 55-10-406 any person driving a motor vehicle in Tennessee is deemed to have given implied consent to a breath test, a blood test, or both to determine the person’s alcohol or drug content of their blood. A refusal to submit to one of these tests is a civil rather than criminal offense. Therefore, drivers cannot be punished with jail time but will face mandatory suspension periods of their driver’s license.

The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals clarified that “consent” under the implied consent statute is not voluntary consent to search but consent to certain consequences if permission to search is withheld from a driver. State v. Henry, 539 S.W.3d 223, 246 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2017).

Breath and blood tests are treated differently in Tennessee, so there are different standards and procedures prior to administering one of these tests.

Metro Nashville Police Chief Steve Anderson recently proposed a $50.1 million plan to purchase body cameras for all 1,440 of the city’s police officers and to install new dash cameras on 880 department vehicles. Although Mayor Barry has been a staunch supporter of body cameras, she raised concerns at the hearing on March 16, 2017. Her concerns were centered on the cost of this proposal in light of similar programs implemented in other states that were far less costly. Despite Mayor Barry’s concerns, Chief Anderson appears to be of the mindset that if the department is going to do it, it better be done right, and the cameras must be working at all times in order to insure public confidence.

Police body cameras, which provide video footage of arrests and encounters between police and civilians, are considered one way to reduce the potential for police misconduct. These cameras could also aid persons who are criminally charged in presenting a defense in addition to rebutting an officer’s testimony. On the flip side, the State could benefit from the video footage if it is relevant to the case and use it against the defendant at trial. For example, in a driving under the influence (DUI) case, the reason why the driver was stopped often becomes an issue. Common reasons for a traffic stop include following too closely, swerving over a traffic line, failure to come to a complete stop at a stop sign or running a red light. These “stop” issues, which fall under the probable cause standard, could be simplified by the video footage. In addition, incidents involving police officers using force or a citizen resisting arrest could also be clarified by video that will be preserved under this proposed plan.

To date, this proposed plan and its funding is essentially a work in progress, and we will keep you apprised of its progress and implementation. When and if the body and vehicle camera program is implemented, it will be a game changer in future criminal cases.

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Freeman & Fuson represents both landlords and tenants who find themselves in a dispute with the other. Whether you are facing an eviction or have a tenant who has breached the terms of the lease, we can help you with those issues or any number of the other problems that may arise. Tennessee has a set of laws that covers landlords and their tenants and the duties owed by both.

The duties of either the landlord or the tenant varies from county to county in Tennessee. That is because the Uniform Residential Landlord Tenant Acts (“URLTA”) applies to counties with a population of 68,000 or more. (Anderson, Blount, Bradley, Davidson, Greene, Hamilton, Knox, Madison, Maury, Montgomery, Putnam, Rutherford, Sevier, Shelby, Sullivan, Sumner, Washington, Williamson and Wilson).

LANDLORDS

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A recent article by CNBC stated that home ownership across the country is down to its lowest rate since 1967. This means that more people, especially young adults, are renting instead of buying. Middle Tennessee fits perfectly into this mold as well. With residential real estate prices soaring, and more people flocking to the next “it” city, rental property supply is having trouble meeting the demand. As the Wall Street Journal noted, rental rates in Nashville are rising because of the growth in population related to attractive job opportunities.

So what does all of this mean for landlords and tenants? First, landlords have a vested interest in protecting their rental property because it is a growing source of income. This means they need to (1) research potential tenants, (2) invest in a solid written lease agreement and, if needed, (3) move quickly in resolving disputes that may arise with tenants. Failing to do any of these three could result in lost rent, lost value and ultimately lost income.

Background checks are easy and inexpensive and can provide a landlord with extremely important information. Our firm runs them on almost every case we take because it can provide valuable information that we may otherwise not have found out. This can include past judgments and lawsuits, evictions and criminal history. When dealing with multiple potential renters for a property, more information is vital.

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