Law Office of Bryan Stephenson

07/28/2026

Good grief. Threw away her career to claim some undue mileage reimbursement.

An investigation by the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office has revealed that Assistant District Attorney (ADA) Jessie Mayberry, who served in the 13th Judicial District, improperly received at least $6,021.01 in mileage reimbursements for her daily commute and submitted additional questionable mileage...

06/09/2026

Cannabis law is constantly shifting, state to state & federally. Tennessee is one of the rare states that shifted backwards in 2026.

Tennessee’s THC ban takes effect July 1, restricting which hemp-derived products can be sold statewide.

06/01/2026

A DA being reversed by SCOTUS for racist practices is incredibly rare. To see it happen twice (to the same DA) is markedly beyond the pale. It's impossible to calculate how many other violations occurred that didn't get reviewed by higher courts.

The Supreme Court divided 5-4, with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh joining the three liberal justices in the majority.

04/28/2026

Former Knox Co prosecutor *censured* for lying under oath. This is the lawyer equivalent of getting called into the principal’s office for a talking-to instead of expulsion or suspension.

03/19/2026

A nice win for the First Amendment!

https://www.avclub.com/afroman-triumphs-defamation-suit-cops-lemon-pound-cake?fbclid=IwdGRleAQpGUxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEe1jsEPdznFSINbxpPkmfkyhs6RhcjkKEOWuNDczupbqhMhqFRzpq1pLK0oKo_aem_48iM7iUV63WEzizFg8D79A

Afroman triumphs in defamation suit from cops who kicked down his door

03/07/2026

Meaningful legislation: sentence reduction if the criminal act was directly related to the person’s own abuse. Tennessee needs to follow suit.
https://boltsmag.org/massachusetts-could-give-abuse-survivors-pathway-out-of-prison/rny

The Massachusetts Survivors Act emulates recent resentencing reforms across the country that allow for reduced sentences for people with convictions related to their abuse.

02/13/2026

While most news outlets cover the sensationalist headlines, don't sleep on the smaller headlines happening in state gov't. TN lawmaker State Representative Rebecca Alexander is trying to charge citizens, journalists, etc., $$ to simply *view* public records. This would have a chilling effect on gov't accountability. And it's authoritarian.

WASHINGTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) — A bill in the Tennessee General Assembly sponsored by Representative Rebecca Alexander (R-Jonesborough) could change the way Tennesseans request public records. Th…

02/05/2026

Unfortunately, Metro Nashville still contracts with this same for-profit drug-testing company, Averhealth, to force misdemeanor probationers to pay to p*e in a cup. Favoring sp*ed (i.e. $) over accuracy--nothing "for-profit" should ever be involved in court services.

Averhealth’s lab practices have been faulted by its own accreditor, and the company has been targeted in lawsuits and dropped by two child welfare agencies, a ProPublica investigation found.

01/07/2026

A criminal defense lawyer will sometimes advise their client to waive their preliminary hearing w/o a legitimate strategy or benefit. That's legal malpractice. Those attorneys should be shamed, shunned, & banished to do hourly doc review in a cubicle until they're rehabilitated.

12/18/2025

Pennsylvania court ruling—police can access your Google search history without a warrant. This has already been happening. We’re likely going to see more courts nationwide affirming the practice.

In a decision that only affects Pennsylvanians but could have privacy implications elsewhere, the state's Supreme Court ruled that police did not need a warrant to access a r**e suspect's Google searches.