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In: Chattanooga Criminal Defense Attorneys, Criminal Law, DUI, Featured Articles

Tennessee Pretrial Diversion Changes, No Diversion for DUI Offenses Effective July 1, 2011, Tennessee no longer has a “Pretrial Diversion” program but judicial diversion is still available to criminal defendants. Tennessee House Bill 64 repealed T.C.A. §40-15 in its entirety and amended T.C.A. §40-35-313 [important]T.C.A. §40-35-313 is entitled ” Probation — Conditions — Discharge and dismissal — Expunction from official records” and provides the criminal court with the authority to defer further criminal proceedings in certain instances [/important] This change from pretrial diversion to only judicial diversion ultimately may appear to be a distinction without much difference.  However, under the former pretrial diversion statute theRead More →

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In: Criminal Law, Off Beat

Freedom of Press and Information Act? Tennessee Senate Votes to Prevent Broadcast of 911 Calls The Tennessee Senate has passed a Bill to block public rebroadcasting of 911 emergency calls without the written consent of the person whose voice is recorded.  According to Newschannel 9 the 23 to 8 vote bans media broadcasts of 911 tapes. That includes all recordings, including that final radio call for Sergeant Tim Chapin, which was played 2 weeks ago. The Senate’s amended version does not include banning written records of those calls. Meanwhile, the House is aiming to ban the text, and that’s where the bill is headed nextRead More →

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In: Contracts, Corporations, Not Legal Advice

 Switching to Independent Contractors Draws Scrutiny from IRS and Department of Labor With the current state of the economy, shifting from full-time employees to independent contractors is a cost-cutting measure that some businesses have implemented.  This saves the business money by shifting the burden of payroll taxes to the worker, and lowering or eliminating unemployment insurance premiums and/or workers compensation premiums. Misclassified Workers Result in Additional Taxes and Penalties But according to a recent ABA article, for those who have misclassified their workforce, the glare of the IRS spotlight may soon be upon them. According to the article, over the next three years, the InternalRead More →

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In: Chattanooga Criminal Defense Attorneys, Criminal Law, DUI, Featured Articles

Criminal Defense: Choosing An Attorney to Defend Your Rights When you are arrested and charged with a crime, the consequences are very serious.  Depending on the type of crime or illegal conduct that you are charged with, you may face many years in prison, loss of your job, driver’s license, family problems, and the list goes on.  The first and foremost action that you should take when accused of and illegal act – a crime- is to retain a criminal defense attorney. Get legal advice and counsel immediately. Choosing a criminal defense attorney is a serious decision and should be carefully considered. Being prosecuted forRead More →