Immigration Hotline - Why its important for all of us in Sevier County

The Immigration Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) has created a hotline for anyone who believes that they are being illegally detained as a result of their questioned United States citizenship. This hotline operates 24/7.  Why is this an important step in protecting citizens in Sevier county? You may say "I am a white/black/native american who speaks perfect english and give no indication of being other than a United States citizen -this surly wouldn't be of any interest to me right??"


Wrong. Let me give you a true example of what can potentially happen to you in Sevier County and why having this number may save you an extended stay in jail.


This year 3 black women were stopped by SPD and questioned because they fit the profile of a shoplifter. No person observed these women stealing anything.  Store employees contacted the police because the women were acting suspicious. Interestingly, the suspicious actions were actions the police told the store employees to be looking for in shoplifters.


The women were detained by SPD and asked to produce I.D. When the women stated that they did not have I.D. on them they were told that they could be held for up to three days without being charged with a crime to determine their citizenship.  There was nothing to indicate that these women were anything but United States citizens.


When questioned under oath the officer stated that the law allowing a 3-day detention was "T.C.A." meaning Tennessee Code Annotated. The prosecutor nor the Judge could find such a statute in the Tennessee Code.


I do not know if this remains a practice in Sevier county but I urge each of you to keep this ICE number handy just in case you are ever stopped without your I.D. and hauled off to jail for your citizenship to be confirmed.


The ICE hotline number is (855) 448-6903

DUI: Asleep at the wheel = crime?

Oh if I had a dollar for every time I have been posed this question - “I left a bar and after I drove a mile or so I realized I shouldn’t be driving. I pulled into a parking lot, turned off my car and went to sleep. A cop comes by, wakes me up, and charges me with DUI. Can they do that?”

Under this fact pattern they most certainly can. The accused need only be in “physical control” of a motor vehicle to meet the requirements of a DUI. In State v. Lawrence the defendant was found asleep inside a truck in the drivers seat. The engine was off and the keys were in his front pocket. Mr. Lawrence’s conviction was upheld by the Court of Appeals who stated that the vehicle was capable of being immediately placed in motion.

In a similar case, State v. Turner, two good ol boys were observed by the police staggering across a bar parking lot. They get in the vehicle and turn on the ignition but never moved the car. Cop charges Mr. Turner with DUI. Mr. Turner’s defense was that he and his buddie were just waiting in the car for his nephew to come and pick them up. The engine was turned on just to stay warm. The nephew came to court and testified that he was in fact on his way to pick up Mr. Turner.  Unfortunately, Mr. Turner’s conviction was upheld by the Court of Appeals who found that Mr. Turner was in “physical control” of the vehicle. 

 It appears that the Courts look closely at where the defendant was in the vehicle as well as the location of the car keys. While it might not save you from a DUI arrest or even a DUI conviction, if you must pull off to the side of the road to “sleep on off” then you might want to consider getting in the back seat and putting the keys far far away from the vehicle. 

What about if the vehicle has been rendered inoperable  - say a flat tire?  I intend to address that issue in my next DUI blog. Stay tuned!

Immunity from Arrest

Remember that Lethal Weapon movie where the villain did whatever he wanted because he had diplomatic immunity? Yea that was a classic but is diplomatic immunity real?

Before we get to that, there is limited immunity for arrest for non-diplomats. For example, members of the General Assembly have immunity under the Tennessee Constitution Article II § 13. They can still be arrested for treason, a felony, or breach of the peace and this immunity only applies during session of the General Assembly or traveling to and fro.  Members of the National Guard also have the same immunity as the General Assembly but such immunity only applies when engaged in military duties (See T.C.A. 58-1-226). 

But what about the guy from Lethal Weapon??  Ok,ok,  the good ol United States Constitution does  provide for immunity for (ding ding) members of Congress. It also provides for immunity for diplomats of a foreign nation.  I don’t see that in the Constitution you say! Look at the fine print under Article 1 § 6.  The Federal Statute provided for broader immunity for the staff and family members under 22 U.S.C.A. §254(d).

But wait before paying up that $10 bet to your lethal weapon fanatic buddie. It doesn’t work exactly like the movies let on. First of all, the diplomat can still be prosecuted under the laws of its home country for acts committed in the United States. Not to forget the immunity applies to the Country not the diplomat himself. A foreign country can waive its immunity and the diplomat can then be charged under U.S. law. This actually happened back in 1997 when a diplomat drove drunk and killed a 16yr old girl. From what I understand he is serving up to 21 years in federal prison. 

Why would we allow immunity like this? Simply put - we want our diplomats treated with the same protocols. Some of our laws are strange and go against long standing traditions of some of our diplomats. For example having multiple wifes or sex with a willing 12 year old in many countries is completely legal and moral. We would hate to think of sending one of our diplomats to a foreign country and him be sentenced to 40 years of hard labor because he smoked a cigarette in a public place right?

Its not a perfect system but overall I believe it works pretty well. In any case it makes one heck of a great movie theme!