“Noah’s Law” Passes The House

Last night in Nashville, the Tennessee House of Representatives unanimously passed what is known as “Noah’s Law”. This law allows a custodial parent, under certain circumstances, to seek an emergency court order declaring a child to be in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death. As a result, the noncustodial parent would be ordered to return the child to the custodial parent immediately. The law was inspired by the case of 3 year old Noah Clare who was taken by his non-custodial father last November. The two were finally found in California. It took 11 days for authorities to issue an Amber alert because Noah’s case didn’t fit federal criteria. The Amber Alert system has four prong guidelines that must be met before an alert is issued. One of them is eminent danger. Noah’s law makes it easier for an Amber Alert to be issued earlier. The law had already passed the state senate, so it now goes to Governor Bill Lee’s desk where he is expected to sign it into law.