On January 1 , 2012 a new DUI law comes into effect in Tennessee. Tennessee Code Annotated 55-10-406(f) expands the circumstances in which a Tennessee law enforcement officer can require a blood alcohol test without the consent of the accused. Tennessee law will allow an officer to require a chemical test to determine the accused’s blood
An old college friend send me a message the other day. She had an important question for me . How could I represent criminals if I knew they were guilty ? It didn’t take me long to come up with an answer . All of God’s children need help. Sometimes they go astray , are lead astray , or are just wired wrong. Sometimes I represent those that are guilty but are overcharged in their cases by the government to force the accused to accept a plea bargain agreement. Sometimes they need help for defending them during the sentencing phase of the case . The most important part is the oath that criminal defense lawyers take to defend their clients zealously and to defend the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution.
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.
While I was in General Sessions Court in Cheatham County this week , I learned of the District Attorney’s new procedure on handling the implied consent component of a Tennessee DUI charge. If a citizen exercises their right to refuse to submit to a breath or blood alcohol test after a police officer has reasonable
Jerry Sandusky’s lawyer waived his right to a preliminary hearing in his sex abuse case. As I was leaving for court today , Ann Curry asked Joe Amendola if he was competent to handle these sex abuse allegations. Ms. Curry asked a hard question that most criminal defense attorneys are asking. What is Mr.
Drug Testing in the criminal justice system is currently a hot topic . My last post was on drug testing for Tennessee judges. Last week Michigan criminal defense lawyer Scott Millard was jailed when he stood up to a judge about asking his client to take a drug test . I learned about the show
The fallout from former Knox County Criminal Court Judge Richard Baumgartner continues. Judge Baumgartner presided over some of the most highly publicized murder trials in Knoxville , Tennessee . The only problem was that he was under the influence of painkillers during the trial . Special Judge Kerry Blackwood granted a motion for a new trial
As I was reading some of the new laws that were passed last session by the Tennessee State Legislature , I became concerned that Corrections Corporation of America may be housing sex offenders against Tennessee law. A new addition was added to the Tennessee Sex Offender Registry . Under Tennessee Code Annotated 40-39-211(h) , no person