It appears that hundreds of criminal indictments may be defective in Nashville. It appears that a Grand Jury Foreman had a felony record. The felony conviction made him ineligible to serve as a Grand Jury Foreman. It is possible that those convicted during that time frame may have their cases set aside. If you had
Who is to Blame for Tennessee’s Prescription Pill Abuse Problem ?
Prescription pill abuse is out of control in Tennessee. Early in my career as a attorney, the drugs of choice were cocaine and marijuana. In the last few years, there has been an explosion in the abuse of prescription pills. The question is why and what can we do about the problem. Most folks
Do You Have to Let the Police Search Your Car ?
My last post illustrated your constitutional right to remain silent when confronted by police. Following up on that theme is a report from the morning news. Eric Bugg was stopped for following a tractor trailer truck too closely. Once he was stopped, a Nashville police drug interdiction officer saw two duffel bags in the
A Reminder to Keep Your Mouth Shut
One of the most important things to remember when one is facing a criminal charge in Tennessee is to keep your mouth shut. I often refer to this as my "million dollar advice." I represent good folks who might have made a error in judgment. So , they were raised to cooperate with the police. even some folks blog about that who have no legal degree. They are wrong. You have no legal duty to cooperate with the police in a criminal investigation.
If you are stopped by the police , you do have to show your ID. Once that is complete , you have no legal obligation to say anything. Remember the old Dragnet show . Anything you say can and will be used against you. Here are some illustrations;
Officer: Have you had anything to drink tonight ?
Accused: I had two beers.
Next thing you are being asked to get out of your car do do some field sobriety tests. The police still don’t tell you you don’t have to do these tests.Once you admit to drinking, they can ask you to get out of the car.
Officer: Someone tells us that you may have child porn on your computer. What to talk to us about it ? Or Someone is accusing you of touching someone. Want to tell us your side ? We can help you ?
Accused; Sure I want to talk to you without a lawyer present so I can be tricked into confessing.
Driving Under the Influence of Ambien ?
I have been handling driving under the influence of ambien cases for awhile. The warnings were out there but it was sometimes hard to convince a Assistant District Attorney much less a jury of the effects of ambien. Most people can’t grasp that someone can sleep drive unless it has happened to them.Now there
Blood Draws and The Supreme Court
The U.S.Supreme Court heard a important case for all those that practice DUI defense. A blood alcohol case was on the docket today. The issue is whether the police can avoid the search warrant requirement in seizing a blood alcohol sample. Lyle Denniston wrote a recap on the oral argument on the SCOTUS Blog .
It was
Did You Pleaded Guilty or Pled Guilty ?
I read a blog post from Byran Garner who is the self appointed guru of legal writing. I enjoy Mr. Garner’s comments on writing style and word usage even though I might end a sentence with a preposition. In his post today , he commented on whether you should use pleaded guilty or pled guilty
Scouting the Opponents
I gave across a blog post by my friend Bruce Kessler who is a DUI lawyer from Florida. Bruce wrote about sitting in a courtroom on a Friday watching a trial of no major significance. His purpose was to watch the lawyers. The prosecuting lawyers were new and he was not familiar with them or their styles.