§ 39-17-307 — Obstructing highway or other passageway

(a) A person commits an offense who, without legal privilege, intentionally, knowingly or recklessly: (1) Obstructs a highway, street, sidewalk, railway, waterway, elevator, aisle, or hallway to which the public, or a substantial portion of the public, has access; or any other place used for the passage of persons, vehicles or conveyances, whether the obstruction arises from the person's acts alone or from the person's acts and the acts of others; or (2) Disobeys a reasonable request or order to move issued by a person known to be a law enforcement officer, a firefighter, or a person with authority to control the use of the premises to: (A) Prevent obstruction of a highway or passageway; or (B) Maintain public safety by dispersing those gathered in dangerous proximity to a fire, riot or other hazard. (b) For purposes of this section, "obstruct" means to render impassable or to render passage unreasonably inconvenient or potentially injurious to persons or property. (c) (1) A violation of subdivision (a)(1) is a Class A misdemeanor. (2) A violation of subdivision (a)(2) is a Class C misdemeanor. (3) Notwithstanding subdivision (c)(1), a violation of subdivision (a)(1) is a Class E felony if the obstruction prevents an emergency vehicle from accessing a highway or street, the obstruction prevents a first responder from responding to an emergency, or if the obstruction prevents access to an emergency exit. For purposes of this subdivision (c)(3): (A) "Emergency exit" means a doorway in a building or facility used for egress to the outdoors only when there is an immediate threat to the health or safety of an individual; (B) "Emergency vehicle" means any vehicle of a governmental department or public service corporation when responding to an emergency, any vehicle of a police or fire department, and any ambulance; and (C) "First responder" has the same definition as used in § 39-13-116(d) . (d) (1) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section, which must be proven by a preponderance of the evidence, that: (A) Solicitation and collection of charitable donations at a highway or street intersection were undertaken by members of an organization that has received a determination of exemption from the internal revenue service under 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3) or (4) ; (B) The members of the organization undertook reasonable and prudent precautions to prevent both disruption of traffic flow and injury to person or property; and (C) The solicitation and collection at the specific time and place and the specific precautions were proposed in advance to, and received the prior written approval of, the administrative head of the local law enforcement agency in whose jurisdiction the intersection is located. (2) No liability for any accident or other occurrence that arises from solicitations shall attach to the sheriff or government involved in issuing the permit, but shall be borne solely by the organization obtaining the permit. (3) This subsection (d) shall not be construed to supersede or affect any ordinance relative to collecting donations at public intersections in effect on July 1, 1993. (4) Any municipality by ordinance may prohibit roadblocks within its corporate limits notwithstanding this subsection (d). (e) If a person suffers loss or injury as a result of a violation of subdivision (a)(1) in which the defendant intentionally obstructed a highway, street, or other place used for the passage of vehicles or conveyances, then the person may bring a cause of action against the person who violated subdivision (a)(1) to recover compensatory damages from the loss or injury.

Legislative History

Amended by 2024 Tenn. Acts, ch. 958,s 1, eff. 7/1/2024. Amended by 2020EX2 Tenn. Acts, ch. 3, s 15, eff. 8/20/2020. Amended by 2017 Tenn. Acts, ch. 121, s 1, eff. 7/1/2017. Amended by 2015 Tenn. Acts, ch. 138, s 1, eff. 4/17/2015. Acts 1989, ch. 591, § 1; 1993, ch. 148, §§ 1-5.