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TN Supreme Court Finds Metro Sheriff Can Enforce Law

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The Tennessee Supreme Court says Davidson County’s sheriff does have some law enforcement power. The question was at the center of a case challenging an immigration enforcement program known as 287(g).

The state’s high court heard arguments over Metro’s 50-year-old charter, which named the police chief – not the sheriff – as the “principal conservator of the peace.” But in an opinion released Thursday, the Supreme Court says the sheriff retained some law enforcement functions.

The lawsuit was intended to stop the controversial 287(g) program, which has put thousands of immigrants arrested in Nashville on a path toward deportation. However, Sheriff Daron Hall has already pulled the plug on the 5-year-old federal partnership.

In an attempt to clear up what the Sheriff is allowed to do besides managing the jails, voters in Davidson County will weigh in on a ballot initiative expanding the department’s legal authority.

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Blake Farmer, Host, This Is Nashville

Blake Farmer is the host of “This Is Nashville,” the flagship weekday show of Nashville Public Radio. Previously, Blake spent 16 years at WPLN News, serving as host, editor and news director. Before a two-year radio hiatus with a Nashville-based healthcare company, Blake was one of the country’s most prolific healthcare audio journalists. He produced stories for both local and national programs, extending the reach of his reporting through a partnership with KFF Health News. Outside of work, Blake can be found running or biking on roads that other Nashvillians consider too busy for such activities. So far, he has always made it home to his wife of 20 years and two children.

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