Harassment Charges Lawyer in Nashville

Harassment charges in Nashville often grow out of text messages, social media exchanges, phone calls, or heated personal disputes, and they can leave a permanent mark on a record. Tennessee law reaches a wide range of communication, so people are sometimes surprised to find themselves charged over words alone. May & McKinney, PLLC, defends clients against harassment allegations throughout Davidson County. You can get to know our firm if you are weighing your options after an arrest or citation.

What Counts as Harassment Under Tennessee Law

Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-308 sets out several ways a person can commit harassment. These include communicating a threat that a reasonable person would read as a threat of harm, contacting someone anonymously or otherwise with intent to annoy, offend, alarm, or frighten, falsely telling someone that a relative has been hurt or killed, and transmitting an image meant as a malicious threat.

This statute focuses on intent and on how a reasonable recipient would perceive the message. Most violations of subsection (a) are Class A misdemeanors, while contact by an incarcerated person or someone on probation with the victim of their crime can rise to a Class E felony under subsection (b).

Penalties Nashville Residents Face

A Class A misdemeanor carries up to eleven months and twenty-nine days in jail and a fine of up to $2,500. A Class E felony raises exposure to one to six years. Beyond jail time, a harassment conviction can show up on background checks that employers, landlords, and licensing boards review. Courts in Davidson County may also enter no-contact conditions that limit where you can go and whom you can speak with while a case is pending.

How Harassment Differs From Stalking and Related Charges

Prosecutors sometimes stack harassment with stalking under § 39-17-315, cyberbullying claims, or a violation of an order of protection. Each has its own elements. Our attorneys look closely at whether the alleged conduct actually meets the statutory definition or whether it was protected speech, a single non-threatening message, or contact made for a lawful reason. Screenshots and message threads are often incomplete, and the context that an accuser leaves out can change how a communication reads.

Defense Approaches Our Firm Uses

Intent is frequently the weakest part of the State’s case. Our attorneys review the full communication history, the metadata showing who sent what and when, and any sign that the accuser invited or continued the exchange. First Amendment protections can apply where speech is unpleasant but falls short of a true threat.

We also examine whether the person charged was misidentified, a common problem with shared devices and social media accounts. Where the facts allow, we pursue dismissal, diversion that keeps the record clean, or a reduction that avoids a conviction.

How These Cases Move Through Local Court

Misdemeanor harassment cases usually begin in Davidson County General Sessions Court, while felony matters can be bound over to Criminal Court. Metro Nashville handles a high volume of these cases, and outcomes often depend on early negotiation with the district attorney’s office. Our firm reaches out to prosecutors promptly to look for resolutions before a case heads to trial.

If you are facing harassment charges anywhere in Nashville or Davidson County, May & McKinney, PLLC is ready to review your case. Call 615-256-7337 or contact us to talk through your defense.