Many days I get people who call me and they've had a child with someone else, and they are not married. And that does change the structure and the layout of the case and how we move forward from there. Unfortunately, right now in the state of Tennessee, if you are the man and you have a child with someone and you are not married, at that point, you do not have any rights to [...]
The criminal justice system in the United States utilizes two types of juries – trial juries and grand juries. Many people are familiar with trial juries, either through their own participation or from the depiction on popular TV programs. A grand jury and a trial jury consist of randomly selected U.S. citizens, given the great responsibility to hear and consider evidence and arrive at a binding legal decision. However, there are certain distinct differences between the [...]
Did you slip, trip, or fall on someone else’s property and sustain an injury? Attorney Chris Beavers answers your questions about premises liability claims. What do I do if I’m injured on another person’s property? What can you do if you're injured on another person's property? Well, the first thing to do is to determine why you were injured. If you were injured due to someone else's negligence or due to the actions of someone [...]
Remote working, also called telecommuting, has exploded in popularity in recent years. Many companies – large and small – are allowing their employees to work remotely from home, either full-time or part-time. Workers’ compensation laws in Tennessee cover employees who work remotely and suffer an injury on-the-job. If you have sustained an injury as a telecommuter, you are likely eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. However, as a remote employee, you must be able to prove the [...]
What exactly is an arraignment? An arraignment is generally the first step in the criminal process. Sometimes you'll hear it referred to as an initial appearance. It is where you're brought before a neutral, detached magistrate and apprised of your Constitutional rights. That is the right to remain silent and the right to have counsel of your choice, and/or counsel appointed for you. When we talk about counsel, we're talking about folks like me, T. [...]
The dangerous effects of e-cigs have been underreported and misjudged until recently. However, this is starting to change. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recently published information indicating that the use of these devices resulted in more than 2,000 hospitalizations associated with burn and explosion injuries from 2015 to 2017. In 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration published a consumer warning about the extreme dangers of exploding vape pens, although these occurrences are rare. The [...]
Going to trial in criminal cases Do I always have the right to have my case tried before a jury? Fortunately, in the United States, we have a process that affords rights to the criminal defendant. Those rights have been secured by the United States Constitution and ere in East Tennessee, by the Tennessee Constitution, which is basically the governing body of law for the state of Tennessee. Those inalienable rights give you the right [...]
Traditionally, law enforcement officials were the only individuals who had access to breathalyzer devices that are supposed to measure a person’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC). However, these devices are now available to anyone. Although some degree of accuracy may be achieved with these DIY breathalyzers, there also serious questions as to the reliability of the readings they can produce. In addition, there are other potential negative consequences of relying on these devices to keep you out [...]
Texting or distracted driving can lead to accidents. It can also to lead to liability, in particular if you're using any type of a mobile device – you can call it texting, you can call it Facebook, you can call it Snapchat, Instagram – however you use that device, if it distracts your ability to maintain a lookout in the direction in which you are driving then you're likely going to have a problem. Also [...]
So your 18-year-old son got a simple possession of marijuana charge. It's anything but simple. Marijuana in the state of Tennessee is illegal. We're not the "just say no" police; we're the reality folks that help you in this time of need. A marijuana charge has ramifications outside of the criminal system, including but not limited to an effect on an ability to get student loans, and to qualify for financial aid packages in the [...]
We have no control over the actions of other drivers, passengers, traffic or road conditions. As a result, auto accidents unfortunately can and do happen, leading to a wide variety of minor and major injuries. One such trauma which often results from auto accidents is whiplash. Although whiplash isn’t a visible physical injury, it can cause a patient long-term pain and discomfort. What is whiplash? Also known as neck strain or neck sprain, whiplash is a [...]
A lot of times, people call and they ask what percentage of their income they have to pay as child support. In the state of Tennessee, the law changed several years ago, and it's no longer a percentage of your income, but rather it's done on a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, wherein certain factors are plugged in; and based on those numbers, there's a formula in that spreadsheet, and it tells you how much the child [...]
The state of Tennessee takes the crime of assault extremely seriously. An assault conviction can follow you for the rest of your life, with a criminal record that could prevent you from gainful employment, renting or buying a home, and other negative consequences. If you’ve been arrested for assault, it’s important to understand the charges against you. What are the different types of assault charges? Assault is a broad term; however, there is more than one [...]
How do you know if your employer has workers’ compensation coverage? Well, your employer is required to have workers’ compensation coverage if they have five or more employees, or if that employment is involved in the construction industry, which is very widely defined. However, a lot of times your employer may be required to have workers’ comp coverage, and they actually don't. In that situation, to find that out, you're gonna need to contact an [...]
Say you were walking around the grocery store, minding your business and trying to figure out what to purchase to make for dinner, when you slipped on a wet surface, fell, and sustained painful injuries. You were expecting to get in and out with your items, but you ended up in the hospital instead. A slip and fall might not seem like a “big deal” at first, but you can sustain injuries that leave you in [...]
When we have clients that come to us with a personal injury case, one of the first things they want to know is, who is going to pay for their pain and suffering? I always tell those clients that is one of the main factors that we consider when we are negotiating their case with an insurance company. It is a hard thing to put a dollar figure on someone's pain and suffering. And there's [...]
If you are hurt in a car crash, seeing a doctor is one of the first things you should do. However, you might not know which doctors you should visit when you have sustained certain injuries. There are several doctors that may be worth visiting, but it all depends on the specific injuries you have sustained. Primary care physician Before seeing anyone else, consider visiting with your primary care physician. During your visit with the physician, [...]
Where should you get medical care after you've been involved in an accident? Obviously, it's important to get medical care to treat your injuries following an accident, but a common question we receive is, how do you go about doing that or deciding where to go treat? I want you to remember two things when looking into somebody to treat with following an accident. First, your treatment has to make sense. So, you can't treat [...]
Consent is necessary before engaging in any sexual activity, but what happens when both people are too drunk to legally consent to anything that is going on? Can you be charged with sexual assault if you were both drunk at the time? Yes, you can. Engaging in sexual acts while intoxicated could potentially lead to accusations of sexual assault from the other person who might have been just as intoxicated as you were. While it is [...]
Clients have questions about mediation, and the process and what happens. But one thing that you really need to know is what happens if you sign a mediated agreement. I always tell my clients once you reach and sign a mediated agreement, it is binding just as if it were a court order. It is very hard to undo a mediated agreement. There may be limited circumstances where you can do that, or something may [...]
When a person is involved in an accident that leaves with them serious, extensive burn injuries, that person will often suffer from long-term effects that are associated with burn injuries. These effects can drastically alter the person’s way of life, making it nearly impossible for them to do things and participate in activities that were once a part of their daily routine. Skin grafts Skin grafting procedures are regularly performed on patients with burn injuries. During [...]
Having been charged with a DUI, you've obviously found yourself in an unfortunate situation. That situation can go one of two ways. It can go really bad for you, or it can improve through the use of a skilled advocate. I want to be that advocate. In particular, all of the information needs to be gathered. The reports from the officers, the video, the audio; anything that comes to bear on your case. The particularities [...]
When a person is acquitted of a crime, the “double jeopardy” rule prevents that person from being recharged with that same crime at a later time, even if new evidence is found. Double jeopardy, however, only applies to one specific jurisdiction. Even if a person is acquitted of a federal crime, they might still be charged with that same crime on the state level. Understanding the double jeopardy rule While the double jeopardy rule protects defendants [...]
How long does court last? Well, that's an open ended question because sometimes the court date is open ended. It normally starts at 9:00 AM, and sometimes you're done by noon; sometimes you may be required to be there all day. Usually there are a lot of cases on the docket and the courts attended to them in the manner that is most expedient. Your attorney should keep you apprised of it. We do our [...]
Another recent development in Tennessee law deals with the application of school zones to drug-related felonies. In these particular situations, the legislature has determined that when there is drug activity of a resale type variety – could be delivery, could be possession – within 1,000 feet of a school that it constitutes a drug free school zone violation. That means that the actual felony – let's say it's a schedule 2 cocaine case – is [...]
