Legal Question in Traffic Law in Tennessee

Jurisdiction

I was pulled over for speeding in Bristol, Tnn by a Bluff City, Tnn police officer. He said he radared me supposedly doing 71 in a 55 speed zone. He was conducting the radar with-in the Bristol, Tnn city limits. Did he have jurisdiction

to pull me over and site me for speeding? Where he pulled me over at was exactly 1.5 miles inside of the Bristol City limits. If he didn't have jurisdiction, what should have been the proper procedure that he should have followed?


Asked on 2/07/05, 6:23 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Re: Jurisdiction

Since no Tennessee lawyer has come forward to answer your question, I will venture the following: If the jurisdictions of Bluff City

and Bristol are near or adjoining one another, officers of each may have the right to pursue alleged offenders or violators across the jurisdictional boundaries of the other.

Also, if the Bluff City officer actually stopped you 1.5 miles inside the jurisdictional limits of Bristol, you may in fact have been "painted" by his radar while you were still outside the Bristol

city limits which is where the alleged violation for legal purposes would've been presumed to have occurred. (I'm aware that 1.5 miles is a rather long line of sight for a radar gun, but you haven't indicated where the officer was positioned

along the road on which you were stopped or whether you even know.)

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Answered on 2/11/05, 10:01 am


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