February 2010

Nashville ,Tn. television station WSMV is running gavel to gavel coverage of the trial of Ron Killings this week. Killings is on trial for the homicide of a young girl.It is alleged that Killings was driving his car at twice the legal speed when he struck and killed the young girl.  Killings was on duty as a law enforcement officer in Rutherford County.The District Attorney’s theory was that it was a reckless homicide.A jury was brought in from Chattanooga,Tn to decide the case.Mr. Killings attorney moved for a change of venue due to pretrial publicity.

Rule 21 of The Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure provides for a change of venue under certain conditions.The court may change venue of a criminal case on the defendant’s motion or on it’s own initiative with the defendant’s consent.The court should order a venue change when a fair trial is unlikely because of undue excitement against the defendant in the county where the offense was committed or for  other cause.

Continue Reading A Change of Venue In Murfreesboro Murder Case

Men’s Health Magazine listed America"s drunkest cities in a recent article.How did they determine the list ? The list was based upon death rates from liver disease, alcohol impaired car crashes , the number of DUI arrests , and the severity of the punishment.Two Tennessee cities made it on the top 100 list. Nashville,Tn was…

Nicole Young and Clay Carey of The Tennessean reported about the use of social media by Detective Dean Haney of the Metro Nashville Police Department to combat crime.The use of social media such as Facebook,Twitter , and My Space is growing at a tremendous rate. I even have a Facebook page.Using Facebook and other social media in criminal and personal injury cases have been used since it’s inception, but now it’s use is exploding.

Detective Haney searches the photos he retrieves from MySpace and Facebook to post on the wall at Nashville’s North Precinct.It amazes me what people post on Facebook.Haney reports that he has seen AK-47 rifles , weapons, and stacks of cash.In under age consumption of alcohol cases , The Franklin Police Department and the Brentwood Police Department routinely search social media sites to corroborate the charges.Police in Chattanooga,Tn discovered an on line forum of people planning illegal drag races.Continue Reading The Use of Facebook to Gather Evidence Takes Off

On Sunday , the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts do battle in Super Bowl XL IV.Sports bars will be packed with fans cheering on their favorite team. TheTennessean ran a list of sports bars that are running wing and draft beer specials.Fans across Tennessee will be out going to Super Bowl parties.However, DUI enforcement units will be out in force as well in Nashville,Sumner County ,and Williamson County.

Police officers in Middle Tennessee routinely step up DUI enforcement around "adult holidays".The Super Bowl’s one of the premier sporting events in our country.Police are probably planning DUI checkpoints and will be putting extra officers on the roadways.Failure to signal , driving with expired tags, or weaving are all valid reasons to pull a driver over on Super Sunday.

Some drivers may want to research the location of DUI checkpoints or roadblocks before heading out to watch the game. Most times the police publish the location of the DUI checkpoints in advance.Simply goggle Tennessee DUI roadblocks or list Tennessee Highway Patrol or your your local police for example Franklin Police Department .Continue Reading Super Bowl XL IV and DUI Checkpoints

It happens to every criminal lawyer both prosecutor and defense attorney. What to you do when your witness is missing ? Florida trial lawyer Elliott Wilcox, who writes the publication Trial Theater , wrote an article on his weekly newsletter on tips when your witness flies the coop or  is late to court. I highly recommend signing up for his free report Here’s his tips plus my take.

1. Avoid the situation. Use your support staff as your witness coordinator. The District Attorney’s Office in Nashville , Tn.uses victim witness coordinators to coordinate witnesses. Use your legal assistant or paralegal to do the same thing.Written directions are helpful to give the witness as well as telling them to be present 30 minute early. I would also suggest your witness coordinator sit at counsel table during the trial.Be mindful to instruct them regarding the sequestration rule .

2.Have a filler witness ready to go.I don’t know about this tip. I want to keep my witnesses  short so some D.A  doesn’t hammer an unsuspecting witness.

3.Take the heat. I like this one best.You have the law license.You take responsibility. A judge I clerked for gave me this advice and I still use it today.Most judges will give an attorney a little room if a witness is not there on time.

4.Ask for a break. If your staff has done their job they will pass a note that the alibi witness just got arrested. Ask for a break.Collect your thoughts and blow up the witnesses cell phone .

Continue Reading Witness Problems

 A criminal defense attorney’s work is not limited to jury trials.Most of the day to day work a criminal defense lawyer performs is trying to persuade a judge to embrace their legal position.From sentencing hearings , probation violation hearings , bond reduction hearings , and motions to suppress evidence , an attorney has to be able to make their case to the judge.

I have been rereading parts of Justice Antonin Scalia and Bryan Garner’s book , Making Your Case The Art of Persuading Judges.There are three main points that bears mentioning for my fellow attorneys.

 Continue Reading Tips From “Making Your Case”

My wife is  from Sparta ,Tn.Several years ago , her father purchased her a subscription to the local paper, The Expositor ,to keep up with local news. I often read the paper because I enjoy reading about small town life and the fabric it adds to being a Tennessean.However , I was shocked at a new feature the paper has added.

The Expositor has chosen to publish " Arrested in White County ".The Sparta, Tn.Newspaper publishes the names, photographs , and criminal charges of all those folks that have been arrested in White County. from January 1st to January 25th.  The Sparta paper does include a disclaimer that all those in this piece of journalism is innocent until they are convicted.However, once their picture is in print the damage is done.From reading the eight page report , the most popular crimes are promotion of methamphetamine  manufacture and domestic assaults. 

Continue Reading Arrested in White Couny, Tn