Tennessee Criminal Lawyer Blog

The old adage “familiarity breeds contempt” unfortunately rings even truer when one looks at the criminal landscape in Tennessee. Unfortunately, domestic violence situations comprise a great deal of the criminal activity in this state. There are a lot of reasons for this, but one overwhelming factor is that people who live together generally face life’s biggest ups and downs together. These situations get tense and people don’t always respond in the appropriate manner. Many of these situations result in the police being contacted to get the situation under control.

Tennesseans who are engaged in a domestic disturbance may be surprised to say the least when the police show up and arrest them but do not arrest the other person. There is, however, a good reason for law enforcement officials to do so. Under T.C.A. §36-3-619, law enforcement officials who arrive at a scene where they have probable cause to believe that two or more persons have committed domestic abuse or where two or more people make domestic abuse complaints must try to ascertain who the primary aggressor is. Once they have done that, the law dictates that the preferred response is to arrest the primary aggressor and not to arrest the person who is not the primary aggressor. This command is what gives rise to the seemingly inequitable situation described above where only one person is arrested.

There are several policy reasons for treating domestic abuse situations this way. The most significant may be that the Tennessee legislature wishes to insulate one party from being arrested and charged in order to ensure that such situations are reported to police when they arise. This allows the officers to be aware of the situation and to break it up before anyone gets hurt. Tomorrow’s blog will take a look at what factors officers can consider in determining who is the primary aggressor. Domestic abuse situations are taken very seriously by law enforcement and they can result in one or more parties being charged with serious offenses. Tennesseans who have been charged with a domestic violence-related crime should consult an experienced Tennessee criminal defense attorney who can assist them throughout the trial process.