Tennessee Criminal Lawyer Blog

On the heels of yesterday's blog article discussing the offense of custodial interference in Tennessee comes a possible real-life example of custodial interference pertaining to the taking of two Crossville children, 2 year-old Anna Shuey and 5 year-old Kylie Shuey, by their biological father, Richard Shuey, from the apparent custody of the childrens' grandmother. It should be noted that all of the facts surrounding this situation are not known and that this case is merely being analyzed in this blog as a possible case of custodial interference. Mr. Shuey is innocent of any and all crimes until his guilt is proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

Continue reading "Endangered Child Alert Issued for Crossville Children" »

Custodial interference occurs when family members take certain other family members in contravention of court orders. This contravention of court orders is the essential difference between custodial interference and kidnapping/ false imprisonment. The elements of custodial interference are set out in Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-306.

Custodial interference applies to the following persons: natural or adoptive parents, step-parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, nieces, or nephews. It is a violation of the law for any of these persons to remove a relative under the age of 18 from the state, or to detain that child within the state, in violation of child custody determinations, the rightful custody of the parents, parental visitation rights, or temporary court orders regarding the custody and care of the child. Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-306 also makes it illegal for persons to remove an incompetent relative from the state, or to detain that incompetent relative within the state, in violation of a court order regarding the custody or care of the incompetent relative.

Continue reading "Tennessee Custodial Interference" »