TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Suzanne Robertson on Aug 8, 2016

A story in TBA Today in July that also was published in the Tennessee Bar Journal's August issue incorrectly quoted Attorney General Opinion 16-24. The opinion did not contain the language used in quotation marks within the stories, thereby misrepresenting the position of the Attorney General. The opinion addressed the question whether Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-8-198(b)(1) permits “employees of private traffic camera companies who are neither law enforcement officers nor residents of Tennessee to review video footage from unmanned traffic cameras and determine whether there is a traffic violation before the private employees submit the footage to law enforcement officers for their review and final determination of a violation.” The opinion found that review of the footage by these companies’ employees is permitted and does not violate state law, but “only POST-certified or state-commissioned law enforcement officers — and no one else — has authority to review traffic camera evidence and determine, based on that review, whether a traffic violation has occurred.”