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 in some those cases recently . Judge Baumgartner got the trifecta due to his actions a  resignation , a felony conviction , and disbarment. The family of the victims are now facing another trial after they thought they had closure. The defendants now get another trial due to the court’s misdeeds.

 

Now Tennessee State Legislators are on the attack. At a luncheon this week , State Senator Stacey Campfield suggested that judges should be drug tested . Then , another state legislator suggested that criminal defense lawyers should be drug tested . I wish the state legislators would venture into a Tennessee courtroom and do a little research before they starting popping off about drug testing for judges. Wait a minute . State Representative Curry Todd has been inside the courtroom. I am against any drug testing unless a defendant is on probation.

First , state legislators want the judges drug tested . Then , it is on to the criminal defense lawyers .Why not the police and the district attorneys. I guess we should drug test the jurors. There is one group the state legislators did not want drug tested ; themselves. My suggestion is to drug test the state legislators every day they are on Capital Hill proposing some insane law for some special interest group. The proposal to require drug testing for lawyers is just plain wrong.