‘Ban the box’ goes to governor
Tweet The state House on Monday approved a bill to eliminate a question about a job applicant’s criminal history on forms filled out when seeking employment with state government, reports The...
View ArticleCity manager charged with DUI
Tweet Mt. Pleasant’s city manager has been charged with drunken driving, according to the Columbia Daily Herald. Katherine Suzanne Collier, 54, of 1004 Mill Pond Road, was swerving and not staying in...
View ArticleTN Veterans Home employee charged with theft
Tweet News release from state comptroller’s office: Former receptionist Marilyn Truss has been charged with theft after a Comptroller’s investigation revealed that she stole at least $7,906 from the...
View ArticleSenate balks at revising social media stalking law
Tweet Tennessee lawmakers have rejected a plan to fight stalking over social media, reports WPLN. The proposal, Senate Bill 1962, would have made it illegal to use “third parties” — like social media...
View ArticleTBI reports overall campus crime declined in 2015; rape increased
Tweet News release from TBI NASHVILLE – Today, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation released to the public its 2015 ‘Crime on Campus’ report. The annual study compiles crime data submitted to TBI by...
View ArticleVote delayed on changing DUI, drug possession penalties
Tweet The sponsor of a bill aimed to increase penalties for offenders convicted of multiple DUIs and decrease the punishment for those found carrying small amounts of drugs pulled back the measure on...
View ArticleTheft from state museum brings 20-year sentence
Tweet A Nashville judge has sentenced a former Tennessee State Museum employee who stole more than $60,000 to 20 years in prison, according to the Tennessean. Kathy Alexander, 61, must serve nine of...
View Article‘Fetal assault bill’ dies on tie vote in House sub
Tweet A controversial law that criminalizes women who give birth to drug-dependent babies will sunset later this year after a bill in front of a House committee failed Tuesday, reports The Tennessean....
View ArticleTN cancer charities face $75M fraud penalty
Tweet By Travis Loller, Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Two Tennessee-based cancer charities labeled “shams” by the Federal Trade Commission have settled a massive fraud case, along with their...
View ArticleHouse votes higher penalties for DUI, lower for drug possession
Tweet From WPLN: The Tennessee House of Representatives has approved a plan to lower the legal penalties for repeated drug possession and raise them for driving drunk six times or more. Lawmakers...
View ArticleAP story on demise of TN ‘fetal assault’ law
Tweet By Sheila Burke, Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Brittany Hudson was pregnant, addicted to painkillers and afraid of a Tennessee law that calls for the arrest of mothers of drug-dependent...
View ArticleHouse debates denying pensions to teachers, legislators for minor sex crimes
Tweet A bill denying pension benefits to teachers convicted of misdemeanor sexual crimes has been revised on the House floor to apply to state legislators as well. The change to the bill — SB1656 —...
View ArticleApproved bill makes penalties higher for repeat DUI, lower for drug possession
Tweet A bill increasing penalties for repeat DUI offenders while reducing the penalties for simple drug possession has won final legislative approval with a 32-0 vote Monday in the state Senate....
View ArticleCourt strikes down TN law boosting penalties for gang members
Tweet Using a Knox County case, an appellate court has struck down as unconstitutional a Tennessee law that allows harsher penalties for crime-committing gang members, reports the News Sentinel. The...
View ArticleRape charge against former Kingsport alderman dropped
Tweet Charges of rape and kidnapping filed against former Kingsport Alderman Hoyt Denton, 74, Monday after a security camera video refuted parts of the allege victim’s testimony, reports the...
View ArticleErasure of criminal charges without conviction to become easier
Tweet by Sheila Burke, Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee courts are going to make it easier for people who have been arrested but never convicted of a crime to have their criminal records...
View Article‘Spiritual treatment’ no longer an exemption from TN child abuse laws
Tweet The House gave final legislative approval Thursday to a bill repealing a controversial 1994 law that was at the center of a long court fight over the 2002 death of a Loudon County child whose...
View ArticleTN crime down overall in 2015; murders and rapes up
Tweet News release from Tennessee Bureau of Investigation NASHVILLE – Today, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation released its 2015 ‘Crime in Tennessee’ report, revealing an overall decrease in...
View ArticleBlack Caucus asks state, federal probes in handcuffing of Murfreesboro kids
Tweet News release from Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators NASHVILLE—At a press conference today The Tennessee Black Caucus of State Legislators called for a state and federal investigation...
View ArticleAppeals court splits along racial lines in racial assault case
Tweet From a News-Sentinel report: Viewing the same video and reading the same facts and testimony, two Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals judges, both white, saw Stevean Wilson, a young black man,...
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