Being charged with any type of crime should not be taken lightly. Depending on the severity of the offense, the penalties can range from costly fines to significant jail time. Sex crimes, especially those committed against children, often carry harsher punishments if convicted. In Tennessee, these offenses can include child abuse, sexual assault, and child pornography. For anyone facing charges for this type of offense, it is important to seek skilled legal representation. Besides demonstrating that the alleged offenses did not occur, it may be possible to defend against these charges by demonstrating a lack of intent, meaning the person who was allegedly in possession of child pornography did not know the materials involved a minor. An experienced criminal defense attorney can carefully review the circumstances of the case and make sure a defendant’s rights are protected throughout the proceedings.  

What Is Child Pornography?

Pornography is defined as the explicit description or display of sexual subject matter for the purpose of sexual arousal. Child pornography includes any pornographic material in which children are exploited for sexual stimulation. It may involve the direct sexual assault of a child, or images or sexual acts may be simulated. Child pornography may be viewed through different mediums, including books, magazines, photographs, drawings, paintings, animation, audio recordings, and videos. It may be created for profit or for other reasons.  

Child pornography is the depiction of offensive sexual activity involving a minor such as:

This past year has been turbulent, to say the least. With an international pandemic, racial turmoil and protests, and the 2020 presidential election all occurring in the last 12 months, many are looking forward to the start of the new year. This includes legislators who have been filing 2021 bills over the past few months. The subjects that these bills cover include a wide range, but many are in response to this past year’s events. 2020’s record of looting and destroyed property in cities across the country has one Tennessee lawmaker looking for loosened restrictions when it comes to self-defense and citizens’ responses to property crimes.

House Bill 11

The current Tennessee law regarding self-defense is clear: Deadly force for the purpose of self-defense is only legal if you fear for your life or someone else’s. For those who are victims of property crimes, in other words, someone is stealing or damaging their belongings, using deadly force against the perpetrator is considered a felony. While widening these restrictions may not have been on legislators’ minds in the previous sessions, the infamous looting and significant property damage that occurred throughout 2020 has one lawmaker looking for a change.

If you are a parent, you know that it is far from uncommon for teens to push the limits. Their desire for independence can lead them to defy your rules, any regulations set by their high school, and even legal limits that apply to all Americans. Testing the limits is not always a bad thing, but when drugs and alcohol are involved, things can quickly take a turn for the worse. For those who are at the legal drinking age, the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit is 0.08 percent. For those under 21, Tennessee law enforcement has no tolerance for a BAC over zero. Unfortunately, many teens will get behind the wheel after drinking or doing drugs, assuming that they are OK to drive, but then they end up facing driving under the influence (DUI) charges. Such penalties often lead to losing your driver’s license, but what about other drug or alcohol violations that were not committed while driving?

Drug Free Youth Act Offenses

For those between the ages of 13 and 17, the Tennessee Drug Free Youth Act allows a court to limit your driving privileges if the minor faces any form of drug charges—even those not committed while driving. This includes any criminal offenses, violations, status offenses, or infractions that involve the possession, sale, use, or consumption of any controlled substance. The severity of the penalties correlates with the number of offenses that the minor has on his or her record.

While it may seem like an excuse, there is something to say about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The words “murder” and “homicide” raise immediate red flags, often bringing gun violence to mind in this day and age. However, what if you caused a car accident and the other driver’s injuries were fatal? Or perhaps a weapon malfunction while hunting led to your friend’s death? These are two examples of unintentionally causing the death of another person, also known as involuntary manslaughter. The state of Tennessee recognizes that not all deaths, or crimes, are one in the same, and the law reflects this by dividing involuntary manslaughter charges into three separate criminal categories.

Reckless and Criminally Negligent Homicide

Although these two are technically separate charges, the legal descriptions are fairly similar. The state loosely defines criminal negligence and reckless homicide in order to leave room for a number of criminal behaviors to fall within these categories. Reckless homicide occurs when a person is aware of the risks of serious injury or death that their actions pose to the other person, but he or she continues to act and the other person dies as a result. A common example of this is the accidental discharging of a firearm. A more rare occurrence is playing a dangerous game like Russian roulette, where both parties are aware of the potential risks, and one of the individuals dies in the process. 

Finding out that your child has broken the law and is facing criminal charges for his or her mistake is a difficult pill for parents to swallow. You are likely feeling a combination of emotions—anger and disappointment in your child, concern for his or her future, as well as confusion regarding how the Tennessee court system works for minors. If your child is facing juvenile charges and this is your first time dealing with the Tennessee court system, you may be bursting with questions about how the legal process will work and where your child will end up afterward. It is always advisable to speak with an experienced criminal defense attorney who is familiar with the juvenile court system before taking any further action, but we have compiled a list of frequently asked questions to inform you about the process moving forward.

1. Is a juvenile hearing just like an adult trial? The short answer to this question is no. While the legal process will still occur in a courtroom in front of a judge and both juveniles and adults have the right to an attorney, juveniles have certain rights that adult offenders do not. For instance, juveniles have a level of confidentiality to their records that adults are not given. Alternatively, juveniles are not allowed a jury trial or the opportunity for bail. 

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