Tennessee Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in Tennessee, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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Can the Tennessee House of Representatives expel a member for conduct that happened more than two decades before he took office and that voters knew about when they re-elected him?
It can, but the AG counseled that historical practice, sound policy, and constitutional limits all weigh against doing so. The expulsion power should be used only in extreme circumstances and with gre…
Would Tennessee's proposed expansion of the highway-obstruction crime, adding 'driveways' and 'public safety' and 'private property rights' language, be unconstitutionally vague?
No. The AG concluded the amendments would not render the statute void for vagueness. 'Public safety' and 'rights of private property' are commonly understood and, even as catch-all phrases, fit within…
Can a Tennessee court enter a civil contempt order by default when the alleged contemnor was served but didn't show up or respond?
Yes. The 2015 opinion concluded that a Tennessee court can enter a civil contempt default judgment if the alleged contemnor was properly served, given at least 5 days' notice of the hearing under Rule…
Can Tennessee put cameras on school buses to ticket drivers who pass them while they are stopped?
Probably not in the form HB2196 proposed. The bill mailed citations to the registered owner and bundled them with driver-license points and $300 to $1,000 fines. That looks criminal rather than civil,…
Is Tennessee's proposed gang-injunction law constitutional, and can it bar suspected gang members from public spaces?
Mostly defensible, but with some pressure points. The AG concluded SB 1634 was facially constitutional, but flagged that due process may require an unnamed person to have a chance to contest gang memb…
If a Tennessee juvenile commits a violent sex offense before turning 14 but is adjudicated after, do they go on the sex offender registry, and is that constitutional?
Yes to both. Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-39-202(27), registry status is triggered by adjudication of delinquency (not by the date of the offense), so a juvenile adjudicated after age 14 for an offense …
Does Tennessee annexation by ordinance violate property owners' constitutional rights when they don't get to vote on being absorbed by the city?
No. Absent invidious discrimination or violation of the one person, one vote principle, annexation by ordinance under Tenn. Code Ann. § 6-51-102 is constitutional. Neither the U.S. nor the Tennessee C…
Can Tennessee bar Metro Nashville's Fair Board from using the trademark 'Tennessee State Fair' even though the Board registered it first?
Yes. The Tennessee State Fair and Exposition Act, Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-57-106, restricts use of 'Tennessee State Fair' to entities authorized by the Department of Agriculture and the Commission. A muni…
Is it constitutional for one Tennessee municipal hearing officer to issue a building code citation and then preside over the appeal?
Yes. The AG concluded the Municipal Administrative Hearing Officer Act (Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 6-54-1001 to -1018) satisfies due process. An officer can make an initial determination and then conduct the …
Can Tennessee constitutionally bar public officials charged with on-the-job crimes from pretrial or judicial diversion?
Yes. The AG concluded Chapter 766 of the 2012 Public Acts does not violate the U.S. or Tennessee Constitutions. Pretrial and judicial diversion are not fundamental rights; public officials are not a s…
Can Tennessee suspend a doctor, nurse, or insurance agent's professional license because they fell behind on their student loans?
Yes, with proper process. The AG concluded that a bill suspending professional licenses for student-loan delinquency could survive constitutional scrutiny under rational-basis review. The state had a …
Would it violate any constitutional right of Tennessee prisoners if the General Assembly repealed the Tennessee Post-Conviction Procedure Act?
The AG concluded that repealing the Post-Conviction Procedure Act would not infringe state or federal constitutional rights of state prisoners, because the weight of U.S. Supreme Court and Tennessee S…
Does the Stewart decision require Tennessee drug court judges to recuse themselves before imposing short jail sanctions on a drug court participant, and do those participants get full probation-revocation due process when facing remedial incarceration?
The AG concluded that a drug court team may discuss and vote on sanctions, including remedial incarceration short of program termination, and the presiding judge need not recuse for those team-voted s…
Do federal HUD Section 8 voucher regulations override Tennessee's Administrative Procedures Act when a tenant fights a voucher termination?
No. The Tennessee AG concluded in 2010 that HUD's Housing Choice Voucher regulations did not preempt the Tennessee Administrative Procedures Act. The state APA gave voucher participants extra due proc…
Can Tennessee cap pay to court-appointed lawyers for indigent defendants when state funds run out, paying each lawyer a pro rata share?
Yes. A statute that limits compensation to appointed criminal-defense counsel on a pro rata basis when quarterly funds run short is constitutionally defensible. Capping compensation does not violate a…
Can Tennessee make it a crime for a sex offender stepparent to live with a minor by 'presuming' the prior victim was under 13, when the actual age cannot be proven?
No. The proposed amendment would have created an unconstitutional 'conclusive presumption' that the prior victim was under 13 whenever the State could not prove age from child pornography images. That…
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Attorney general opinions in Tennessee are written by the Tennessee Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.