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Tullahoma Alderman Jenna Amacher will be keeping her seat on the city council following a two-day trial this past Friday which ended with Judge Robert Carter ruling in her favor.

Despite acknowledging that District Attorney Craig Northcott proved that Amacher lives outside of the city limits on her family’s property on Blue Creek Road in Franklin County, Carter concluded that the intention of Amacher to permanently reside at her property on Ledford Mill Road was enough to establish her as a resident.

This intent was taken into consideration alongside verbal statements from witnesses affirming her defense. The witnesses included Amacher’s brother, father, aunt, neighbor and real estate agent and longtime friend.

The basis for the trial was a claim by the office of the district attorney that Amacher vacated her residency in the city of Tullahoma after selling her property on Amhurst Drive in February of 2021. Six months after selling her property in Tullahoma, Amacher reportedly finalized a sale for a property on Ledford Mill Road, which is within the city limits.

Under the city charter, an alderman and the mayor must continue to reside in the city limits for their full term. The argument presented by the district attorney indicated that Amacher was not living or residing at the property on Ledford Mill Road, but rather on family-owned property on Blue Creek Road, which is in Franklin County and not within the city limits of Tullahoma.

Judge Carter acknowledged that the district attorney had proven this point during the trial through testimony and photographic evidence from law enforcement officers, Tullahoma City School representatives and billing statements that proved that Amacher and her children had been living at the Blue Creek Road property.

“If your pets are at Blue Creek Road property and you’re there pretty much every time they drive up there, you’re living there,” Carter said. “The state has proven satisfaction for the court that she lives at the Blue Creek Road property. Her protestations that she does not live there have affected my assessment of her credibility, but with that said, you have to look at the bigger picture.”

Part of Amacher’s defense was Tennessee Code annotated 2-2-122, Principles for the Determination of Residence and the Factors Involved, which says that a person does not lose residency with the definite intent to return even if one or more years pass at that temporary location. One can move into a temporary residency to build a house, but that new structure would have to be within the city or county an elected official intends to represent.

Carter cited subsection 4 of the aforementioned state code to support his decision to declare Amacher a resident of Tullahoma, despite her reportedly living on her father’s property outside of the city limits for over 2 years.

“I really looked to the intent of Ms. Amacher during the relevant period of time,” he said. “She was looking for property within the corporate bounds of the city of Tullahoma. She made an offer on the property in April of 2021. I’m not sure how much work went towards improving the property, but the testimony is pretty much unrefuted that a tornado hit and did a fair amount of damage. I’m sure there was some collateral damage that impeded Ms. Amacher’s access to the construction site.”

He went on to cite the witness statements of Amacher’s father and brother, that indicated that water lines had been laid on the property in August of 2022. Her father had testified that his contracting COVID-19 and the price of lumber had impeded the construction progress.

“It’s suspicious; it came to her attention that her residency was being challenged on Oct. 10 of 2022, at a Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting, and then all of a sudden it seems the construction project really sped up,” he said. “It’s hard for me to see that as coincidental, but nonetheless, the construction project did speed up. Here’s what I’m left with: the state has proven that she removed herself and that she’s lived outside of the residence in Franklin County; however, I do not think that [Northcott] has overcome the exception of 2-2-122, subsection 4.”

He went on to clarify that he determined his judgment based on Amacher’s intent to establish Ledford Mill Road as her primary residence, as supported by witness testimony.

“Let’s put it this way: there’s no evidence to show any contra-indication,” he said. “In essence, with the definite intention of returning, the state has not been able to overcome that.”

With this, court was adjourned, and Amacher was declared a resident of the city of Tullahoma, as determined by the Coffee County Chancery Court.