Chattanooga Criminal Law Blog

Domestic violence charges cut across gender, race, income and more

On behalf of Levitt & Levitt posted in Domestic Violence on Thursday, June 13, 2019.

It is not uncommon to hear or read accounts of domestic disturbances in Chattanooga news media. We read a recent Hamilton County arrest report that listed multiple arrests for domestic violence by both men and women.

A 22-year-old Chattanooga woman was charged with domestic assault, and so was a 48-year-old man and a 45-year-old woman. A 32-year-old woman was arrested for aggravated assault (domestic) and so was a 29-year-old Chattanooga man. The arrests cut across lines such as race, gender, income, education levels and more.

Can diabetes be a legitimate defense against a DUI?

On behalf of Levitt & Levitt on Wednesday, June 5, 2019.

Type 1 and type 2 diabetes can have far-reaching consequences on the way you live. It can affect your energy levels, appetite and general well-being.

If you have been accused of driving under the influence of alcohol, you may consider it unlikely that your diabetes diagnosis could be a legitimate legal defense. However, it could be entirely possible.

Local journalist charged with the sale of methamphetamine

On behalf of Levitt & Levitt posted in Drug Crimes on Tuesday, June 4, 2019.

To the northeast of Hamilton County sits our neighbor, Rhea County. Though Rhea has just one-tenth of the population of Hamilton, it is rich in natural beauty, including the Laurel-Snow State Natural Area and others.

The managing editor of the Rhea Review, an online publication covering local events, was recently arrested in Dayton. The 44-year-old was taken into custody by police and charged with drug crimes that include the sale of methamphetamine.

Tennessee police raid home, make drug-trafficking arrests

On behalf of Levitt & Levitt posted in Drug Crimes on Friday, May 31, 2019.

If you drive northeast of Chattanooga for about an hour, you will arrive in Athens, Tennessee. The town of about 13,000 residents bills itself as “the friendly city” that is “conveniently located between Knoxville and Chattanooga.”

That friendliness was nowhere to be found when law enforcement officers recently raided a home there and made two arrests on drug-trafficking charges.

Tennessee family doctor faces federal drug charges

On behalf of Levitt & Levitt posted in Drug Crimes on Monday, May 20, 2019.

If you drive north of Chattanooga for about 140 miles, you will come to small, sparsely populated Clay County. A doctor in the rural Middle Tennessee county was recently arrested on drug crime charges, accused of overprescribing opioids and benzodiazepines for no legitimate reason.

Federal prosecutors allege that 65-year-old family doctor and obstetrician Gilbert Ghearing prescribed the medications to patients he knew were abusing the drugs.

Tennessee schools director arrested for DUI

On behalf of Levitt & Levitt posted in Drunk Driving on Monday, May 13, 2019.

If you drive northwest of Chattanooga for about 180 miles, you will come to Clarksville, where an educator is struggling with a serious legal problem. According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the Stewart County director of schools has been arrested and charged with driving under the influence.

Even worse, the Highway Patrol accuses Leta Jo Joiner of leaving the scene of a motor vehicle wreck and says that the incident led to the 57-year-old’s DUI arrest.

Tennessee police: DNA evidence led to arrest in 22-year-old cold case

On behalf of Levitt & Levitt posted in Sex Crimes on Friday, May 10, 2019.

If you travel 180 miles northwest of Chattanooga and 22 years backwards in time, you will find police baffled by a murder in a suburban Clarksville mobile home park. On a late October afternoon in 1996, a young woman was found dead by her landlord on her living room floor.

The murder went unsolved until recently, when Clarksville police said a man in Arizona had matched a DNA sample taken from the crime victim. The 48-year-old man in the Phoenix area was interviewed and then taken into custody and charged with murder.

Do you understand what's actually shoplifting in Tennessee?

On behalf of Levitt & Levitt on Thursday, May 9, 2019.

Tennessee, like most states, has specific laws in place regarding different kinds of theft. People can face criminal charges for everything from armed robbery to embezzlement. One form of theft that people tend to think of as not a big deal is shoplifting.

However, shoplifting is a serious criminal allegation that can have long-term consequences. Adults accused of shoplifting could face fines and potential jail time depending on the value of the items involved. Teenagers accused of shoplifting could also face criminal consequences. Their parents could have financial liability for the value of the items involved in the shoplifting offense.

Chattanooga graduates: it's time to have fun and be careful

On behalf of Levitt & Levitt posted in Drunk Driving on Wednesday, May 1, 2019.

Graduation ceremonies for undergraduate students at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga are this Saturday, which means a weekend of fun and celebration is right ahead. That also means that some graduates, friends and family members will find themselves confronted with red and blue flashing lights, a roadside sobriety test, and in some cases, an arrest for DUI.

While an arrest is undoubtedly a disappointing and difficult way to start post-graduation life, it does not mean that all of your dreams and accomplishments are wiped out. Speak with an attorney experienced in DUI defense so that you can learn more about your legal options for avoiding some of Tennessee's harshest punishments and getting your life back on track.

Tennessee doctors, nurses indicted on federal drug-related charges

On behalf of Levitt & Levitt posted in Drug Crimes on Wednesday, April 24, 2019.

The recent news that dozens of medical professionals across the U.S. had been charged for allegedly participating in a scheme to illegally prescribe millions of pain medications rocked the medical world. Among those facing federal charges are doctors, nurses and pharmacists, news reports stated.

The state of Tennessee was especially hard hit, with indictments naming 32 medical professionals from all corners of the state. Indictments are spread across seven states, where prosecutors allege that defendants were involved in writing more than 350,000 illegal prescriptions.