Tennessee Criminal Lawyers

The Nashville Metro Police Department made national headlines last year when it was discovered they were dropping a significant number of cases, more than they were making arrests on. Now, however, Metro Police are getting their numbers up and while a spokesperson says they haven’t made any procedural changes, the negative attention no doubt played a role in the about-face. [read more]

Over the past five years, crime in the city of Memphis has dropped 25%. And while the city is excited about that, they aren’t the only ones paying attention. A group of individuals from the federal government were in Memphis this past week to take a look at what’s working and what the city might need help with to continue their success in crime prevention. [read more]

Numerous domestic complaints are handled every week by police across Tennessee. But not all of the complaints amount to a crime. Without a crime, these complaints aren’t included in statewide crime statistics. Proposed legislation could tighten the reins on domestic violence reports and give the people of Tennessee a more accurate picture on the prevalence of domestic violence. [read more]

A little known side effect of high unemployment and a poor economy has been the mounting uncollected fines and fees in the local criminal courts. In Davidson County alone there’s an estimated $290 million in uncollected monies from the past ten years, with much of it mounting since 2007 when the economy first started faltering. [read more]

Over Thanksgiving weekend, the Memphis Police received 422 calls for domestic violence incidences. And as this article from the Commercial Appeal points out, that’s just the ones who actually called for help. The holidays are notorious for increased domestic violence incidences, though all signs point to this year being particularly bad. [read more]

Over the past year, a program to curb recidivism has saved the state $33 million. According to the Associated Press, the effort involved the Tennessee Board of Probation and Parole, as well as the state Corrections Department. They sought to save money, reduce recidivism, reserve prisons for the most dangerous criminals, and keep the streets safe all at once. [read more]

The Memphis Police Department is taking credit for a fairly dramatic decrease in crime over the past year, stating their Blue CRUSH program has made it all possible. While community members overall are happy with the decrease, many wonder if the police are wholly responsible or if the drop is being exaggerated. [read more]

According to The Tennessean, a dramatic increase in dropped domestic violence investigations has many wondering if the Memphis police are really acting in the interest of justice when it comes to such crimes. [read more]

A bill passed the state House in Tennessee and is likely to pass the Senate as well. The legislation involves tightening penalties for armed robbery while simultaneously reducing penalties for several property offenses. The bill is called a “balancing act” on financing by this Commercial Appeal report. [read more]

A bill is headed to the Tennessee legislature that would do away with an important option for first-time nonviolent offenders. Pretrial diversion offers such people a second chance by giving them an opportunity to fulfill a probationary period before trial and without admitting guilt. [read more]