Criminal law

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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

Dwight Lewis of the Nashville Tennessean recently wrote about the need for a complete overhaul of the criminal justice system.Mr Lewis was addressing the federal system. However , the criminal justice system is in a shambles on the state level. You only have to look at the Tennessee State Legislature to find the problem.

The goal of a state legislator is not to help the public ,but to get reelected.So, everybody jumps on the get tough with crime agenda without any thoughts on how it effects the system.Two recent stories in The Tennessean illustrate the problem.

First, Gary Odom , a State Legislator from Nashville is proposing a new bill to revamp the sentencing laws that would require violent criminals to serve longer sentences.No copy of the bill has been provided .No details of funding were provided.When the sentencing laws were reformed in 1989 a commission was appointed and great detail and work was performed when The Sentencing Reform Act of 1989 was enacted.Continue Reading Why The Criminal Justice System is Broke in Tennessee

One of the primary questions I get in my practice is, "can I get my criminal charges expunged?" And once you plead guilty to a criminal offense, you cannot get your criminal record expunged at a later date. This is why it’s important to avoid a conviction in the first place. 

However, under certain…