Last night, I attended a panel discussion on criminal justice issues in Nashville, TN. The panel was hosted by the Davidson County Democratic Party. Judge Steve Dozier, District Attorney Glenn Funk, Sheriff Daron Hall, and Davidson County Juvenile Court Magistrate Carlton Lewis were a few of the panelists. Here is a few of the
May 2017
Tennessee Legislature Set To Punish Illegal Aliens Harsher
By Rob McKinney on
Posted in Sentencing Issues
The Tennessee Legislature passed a new sentencing bill in the last minutes of the legislative session. The proposed new law would establish a new enhancement factor for defendants who are aliens illegally or unlawfully in this country and who have previously been deported for a criminal offense. If the sentence cannot be agreed to by…
Can a Judge Rect a Plea Bargain Agreement ?
By Rob McKinney on
Posted in Evidence and Procedure
Plea bargains are how criminal cases are resolved today. Jed Rakoff wrote an article a few years ago on why innocent people plead guilty. Some statistics indicate that in 2013 97 % of all federal criminal cases were settled by a plea bargain agreement, In his article Mr. Rakoff discusses the evolution of the plea…