Experienced criminal lawyer with fifty-three years of trial experience representing criminal defendants, former prosecutor, one of six Tennessee attorneys selected for membership in the American Board of Criminal Lawyers, Tennessee and United States Supreme Court appellate experience, AV Martindale Hubbell rating, former president of the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Top 100 Attorneys in Tennessee, Best Lawyers in America since 1983, etc. etc. etc., seeking wealthy personal injury, bankruptcy, and other radio, television, billboard, and website advertising attorneys who attempt to circumvent Public Chapter 119 out of economic necessity.
Motto: “If you want to get set free, call Jerry!”
(Early April Fool’s day joke-see more serious message below.)
Dilemmas for Lawyer Advertisers, Tennessee General Assembly
and Tennessee Supreme Court
Our recent article in the Silly Blog a few weeks ago (What’s the Difference?, Nov. 18, 2019) about the passing of Public Chapter 119 (effective July 1, 2019) limiting lawyer advertisements in the fields of prescription drugs or medical devices may create big problems for the three entities named above.
A speaker at the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association Annual Ethics and Review Seminar in Johnson City probably caused some heart palpitations when they allegedly informed the TTLA attorneys that “prosecutors (DA’s) were going to begin looking at the ads and charging lawyers that have violated the Act (go to jail).
The bill was pushed by the Chamber of Commerce to protect poor ‘ole Big Pharma and other members of the medical community who were able to convince the business-friendly General Assembly that said the legislation was in the best interests of the injured, maimed and deceased members of the Tennessee public. (The payout in Class Actions is not a deterrent to safeguard our citizens against defective medical devices and deadly drugs but is merely a part of the cost of operating their business. It’s not a big deal to pay out 100 million dollars when you are making several billion in profit. Evidently, they want to increase their profits even further with Public Chapter 119).
The Silly Blog poses just a few non-exclusive questions to those affected by this legislation with a suggestion that the neglected public should have the right to be included in the discussion. How will the lawyer advertisers (primarily on cable television) and their media outlets respond with their billion-dollar yearly bonanza since the legislation allowing “non-deceptive lawyer advertising” was approved in 1977? (Whatever that term means since the legal advertisers have been running wide open with little enforcement by the regulatory bodies and courts entrusted with this responsibility.)
How will our Tennessee Supreme Court respond since they publicly stated during the first week of a previous new term that they wanted to be “more business-friendly”?
Will the trial lawyers wake up and attempt to protect the citizens of our state by requesting that the same statute restrictions apply to all legal advertisements and not just in the areas of medical devices and drugs?
Will the Tennessee Supreme Court follow the time honored practice of upholding nearly all acts of the Tennessee General Assembly under the theory of “all acts being presumed to be constitutional” and declare Public Chapter 119 to be constitutional and possibly open up the flood gates causing all torts be included in the legal advertising restrictions?
Will some brave legal advertiser become the Judas goat to test the constitutionality of said legislation and face an imprisonment of 3-10 years in the state penitentiary and a fine of up to $250,000.00 or both?
Will the TTLA Legislative Committee regret its decision to not fight the enactment of Public Chapter 119 on the grounds of it being unconstitutional under the federal and Tennessee constitutions and file a Declaratory Judgment Action?
Since the Silly Blog has been banned from the TTLA list serve I ask the renegade members of the group that still read it to evaluate the Act very carefully and take action that is in the best interests of the citizens of Tennessee first and your pocketbook second.
I encourage you to buy local products and hire local, reputable attorneys!
IF YOU AGREE WITH THE CONTENT OF THE SILLY BLOG, PLEASE PASS ON TO OTHERS!