Kathy D. Aslinger, Esq.

A member of the criminal defense and civil litigation groups, KATHY D. ASLINGER has extensive trial and appellate experience. After practicing for several years as a government lawyer and prosecutor, Ms. Aslinger moved to private practice with Kennerly Montgomery in January 2010. During her eleven years of practice, Ms. Aslinger has tried dozens of cases and handled approximately 200 appeals.

Ms. Aslinger began her legal career as a judicial clerk for the Honorable Herschel P. Franks of the Tennessee Court of Appeals and then the Honorable David H. Welles of the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, where she honed her research and writing skills. She continued her appellate practice for the next four years as an Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Justice Division of the Office of the Tennessee Attorney General. In that capacity, Ms. Aslinger represented the State of Tennessee in multiple appeals before the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, the Tennessee Supreme Court, and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. She is also counsel of record in thirteen published opinions, including State v. Jackson, 173 S.W.3d 401 (Tenn. 2005); Hogan v. Mills, 168 S.W.3d 753 (Tenn. 2005); State v. Wilson, 164 S.W.3d 355 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2003); State v. Jordan, 116 S.W.3d 8 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2003); and State v. McCary, 119 S.W.3d 226 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2003). Additionally, Ms. Aslinger engaged in civil trial practice in the United States District Courts for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Tennessee, representing the State of Tennessee in federal habeas corpus matters.

After seven years as primarily an appellate attorney, Ms. Aslinger began prosecuting criminal cases at the trial court level as an Assistant District Attorney, first in Nashville, Tennessee, and more recently in Maryville, Tennessee. As an Assistant District Attorney, Ms. Aslinger handled all types of felony and misdemeanor offenses, but her practice focused largely on prosecuting felony drug offenses from the initial charge in General Sessions Court through jury trial in Circuit Court.

Ms. Aslinger graduated summa cum laude from the University of Tennessee College of Law in 1998 and was elected to the Order of the Coif. She received her Bachelor of Science from Middle Tennessee State University in 1994, graduating magna cum laude with Distinction in University Honors. She is admitted to practice before the trial and appellate courts of Tennessee, as well as the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States District Courts for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Tennessee. She is also a member of the Knoxville Bar Association, the Blount County Bar Association, and the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Areas of Practice

• Criminal Defense
• Civil Litigation

Education

• University of Tennessee – J.D., summa cum laude, 1998
• Middle Tennessee State University – B.S., magna cum laude, 1994

Bar Admissions

• Tennessee – 1998
• U.S. District Court, Middle District of Tennessee – 2002
• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee – 2002
• U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals – 2004

Memberships

• Knoxville Bar Association
• Blount County Bar Association
• Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

 

Practicing: Criminal Defense, Civil Litigation