Seems a bit unfair to charge a guy with DUI when he’s caught sleeping in his car. Of course, the car motor was running and he was on a public road in the middle of a neighborhood.

DA Charme Allen’s team won a conviction and the “sleeping while driving under the influence” case is set for sentencing on June 18, 2025. Allen stressed: “You cannot avoid responsibility by refusing to submit to a blood draw. If you were intoxicated, we will take you to trial and seek a conviction.”

The 60-year-old male driver told officers he had consumed two beers, but refused to consent to a blood alcohol test. The incident occurred on September 7, 2023, in the Dante area of North Knox County. Additional details here.

Knox man sentenced to 60 years for production of child pornography

On April 15, 2025, United States District Judge Thomas A. Varlan sentenced a 26-year-old Knoxville man to 720 months in federal prison. As part of the plea agreement filed with the court, the man agreed to plead guilty to an indictment charging him with two counts of production of child pornography.

This case actually tracks back to October 13, 2017, when the Knoxville Police Department (KPD) was contacted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police about a video posted on the dark web showing the rape of a 16-month-old victim. This followed the May 15, 2017, KPD receipt of a video from another jurisdiction, also depicting the rape. Details here.

In an unrelated case, a Blount County man was sentenced on April 16, 2025, to 189 months, also by Judge Varlan, for possession of child pornography. This case was worked by the Maryville Police Department and the Department of Homeland Security, according to a release by Rachelle Barnes. Details here.

Both cases were brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006, by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.

Bar Foundation open for grant proposals

The Knoxville Bar Foundation has awarded more than $580,000 in grants for local law-related projects and programs since its founding in 1992.

In June 2025, the Foundation will again award grants to deserving applicants. The individual grant awards usually are $5,000 or less, and the deadline for submitting grant applications is May 30, 2025. Please note that grant funding may not be used for operating costs and endowments.

Learn more about the Knoxville Bar Foundation and submit an online application here.

Notes & Quotes

Joyce White Vance has hit a high gear in untangling and explaining various lawsuits around deportation including last week’s middle-of-the-night Supreme Court decision. If you want to deep dive into her commentary, check it out here.

Here’s the 9-0 Supreme Court remand of the case styled Noem v. Abrego Garcia, issued by Chief Justice John Roberts on April 10, 2025: Supreme Court 9-0_Abrego Garcia 24a949-order