By Jedidiah McKeehan

Many people see being an attorney as a very solemn and serious profession.  People have seen Law & Order and those lawyers on there are rarely smiling, not to mention that ominous music playing in the background.

No question, lawyers handle crisis-level situations that people are facing that can even have life and death ramifications.  That can weigh heavy on lawyers who carry around, not only their own problems, but their clients problems as well.

Thankfully, there can be humor found in the legal profession occasionally.  I happened across the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page for Jefferson County, TN, Juvenile Court one day and the questions gave me a good chuckle because I know the questions have been asked by multiple people or they would not even be listed on the FAQs page.  Before we dive in to the questions, let me say that every single questions was answered with a respectful and professional response.

Court clerks are always put in a tough position, because no matter how often they tell people they cannot give legal advice (because they are not attorneys), people just WILL NOT STOP ASKING THEM FOR LEGAL ADVICE.

Let’s get to a couple of questions though.  If you would like to verify these questions for yourself, you can find them at: jeffersoncountytn.gov/juvenile-court/

Actual questions and their answers pulled directly from the page:

QUESTION: Can I have my child put in Mountain View Youth Development Center for a wake-up call?

ANSWER: No. Juveniles placed at Mountain View Youth Development Center, which is operated by the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, must be adjudicated delinquent and placed in state custody. And, even then, the decision for placement there is up to DCS.

QUESTION: I want to file a complaint against the judge that heard our case. What do I need to do?

ANSWER: You may wish to visit the website for the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary to learn more about your request.

Those are just two questions that cause me to smile because I have heard SO MANY people ask me these questions (I am sorry, as often as I have heard people claim it happened, you likely did not get done in by hometown politics or a corrupt judge).

Let me put in a plug for Jefferson County Juvenile Court Clerk’s Office.  Their FAQs page is truly a great resource and answers lots of basic questions that many people have.  I have a few copies of this page printed out in my office to hand to people with a juvenile case and may have some of these various questions rattling around in their mind.

Jedidiah McKeehan is an attorney practicing in Knox County and surrounding counties.  He works in many areas, including personal injury, divorce and custody, criminal and landlord-tenant law. Visit attorney-knoxville.com for more information about this legal issue and other legal issues.