What is the booking process if you have been issued a criminal citation in Nashville , Tennessee ?  Metro Nashville Police  in some types of cases like simple possession of drugs , patronizing prostitution , and driving on a revoked driver’s license issue a criminal citation in lieu of an arrest warrant . I recently was asked  what is the booking process.

On the criminal citation , you are given a date in which to appear . The booking process starts at 7:00 A.M. and continues until 10:00 a.M. The location is the A.A. Birch Building which is pictured above .  After you enter the building , you go into the booking room where you provide some brief information , a mug shot photograph is taken , and you are fingerprinted . A trip down to Courtroom 1A is next . You sit there until the paperwork is processed . If you don’t have an attorney , you sit there until an assistant district attorney calls you to discuss the case .

An attorney can speed up the process , look for any defenses in the case , and possibly  negotiate a plea bargain or set the case for trial if needed .Also , an attorney can continue the court date if you have a conflict with the court date . Most importantly there may be ways to have the case dismissed and later expunged from your criminal record . Representing yourself may result in a criminal conviction that will be on your record for life .

So , that’s the basics of the booking process in Nashville.

Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe declared that he did not plan to grant pardons in the West Memphis Three case unless evidence showed that someone else committed the murders. The West Memphis Three were convicted of three murders in 1993 . The case was based in large part on a suspect confession by one of the co-defendants who had a low IQ. It appears that this confession was false.

 

Last week , a plea bargain deal was cut . In exchange for a plea to murder , the West Memphis Three got a get out jail card along with 10 years of unsupervised probation . Also , The West Memphis Three enter a Alford Plea or best interest plea which allowed them to maintain their innocence .Under Tennessee criminal law , there are three types of pleas that can be made at the plea bargain process ;

  • A guilty plea
  • A Nolo Contendere Plea
  • An Alford plea or best interest plea.

Rule 11 of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure governs the plea bargain process. There is a whole lot more involved in the plea bargain and the underlying facts of the case. A deal was cut to avoid years of protracted courtroom battles and to take a man off death row.I will just wait for the movie.

 

 

 Yesterday ,   I posted on the trial of a woman who was shackled during labor by members of the Nashville Davidson County Sheriff’s Office Ms.Villegas was awarded $2300,000.00 by a Federal jury in less than an hour of deliberations. Brian Hass and Michael Cass of  The Tennessean reported on the trial during the week . My comments were focused on what lessons could be learned from the trial.

One of the post verdict comments focused on the award . Attorney Jerry Gonzalez stated it was his philosophy to not ask for anything in closing argument. I respectfully disagree with that strategy. A trial lawyer must  argue to the jury what Justice they want. In a civil case , the only thing a jury can do is award monetary damages. How will a jury know what the value of a case is unless they  are given a hint  ? In criminal trials each side always ask for the justice they want.

A Nashville Federal Judge criticized the lawyer for Metro Nashville for his techniques during a civil rights trial. U.S. District Court Judge William Haynes has already ruled that the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office violated Juana Villegas’ civil rights when she was shackled during and after her labor during childbirth . The only issue is how much should be awarded in damages.

Two key points in in becoming a better trial lawyer have been demonstrated in this case . The judge got onto Metro’s attorney on two occasions . First , the court  admonished Metro’s lawyer for "performing to the jury ‘ and  he later attacked Ms. Villegas in cross- examination. The court commented that the attorney’s conduct " mystified this court ‘ Some lessons I discovered from the Trial Lawyers College were violated in this trial. The story of the case is what is important not the lawyer . I must admit I have been guilty as charged  for doing the same thing before learning what is really important about trying cases. Also , the violent and ruthless cross- examination is sometimes not fruitful. If the lawyer kills the witness on cross examination , the jury may not feel inclined to do the same . Let the jury discover who and what the witness is about .There is an exception to that general statement of the look good cross-examination and that is  police and expert witnesses  are professional witnesses . You may also may be given permission by the jury  to be more aggressive with the witness if that witness gives you permission by being evasive or other similar conduct.

Secondly , the court excluded proof at the trial the witness is in the country illegally. Another lesson learned from the Trial Lawyers college is don’t hide from the truth . The jury is already wondering if she is illegal . Why not deal with in jury selection and at trial . A criminal defense lawyer must recognize the danger points of any case and deal with them. I have learned to embrace most aspects of the case and not hide from them.

final argument is today . The case will soon be with the jury.

Last week at the annual meeting of The Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (TACDL) in Memphis ,  Shelby County Judge Mark Ward presented an update on the law of search and seizure in Tennessee. It was insightful to get a criminal trial judge’s perspective on the topic of search and seizure which is a dominant theme in most criminal cases.

One question posed by Judge Ward was the ethics of motion practice. Who controls the decision on whether to file a motion to suppress evidence in a criminal case ?

The decision whether to file a motion to suppress is a strategic decision made by the  criminal defense attorney after consultation with the client where feasible and appropriate.

One thing to point out. A good criminal defense lawyer will make that evaluation early in the case . Most attorneys file a suppression motion where it has a good faith basis . There are several reasons to file a motion to suppress evidence.

One additional comment is worth noting . All Tennessee criminal defense lawyers should be a member of TACDL. There are many benefits but the first one is the information you gain is critical to helping you grow as a criminal defense lawyer and to help your client . For the client looking for a lawyer it is an important question to ask when deciding to hire a criminal defense attorney . If a lawyer does not care about spending a little bit of money to stay up to date on the complex issues in criminal law . Can you afford to place your life in there hands ? Here is a link to the membership directory. I checked the link . Then called the TACDL office when my name wasn’t there . I am the President-Elect. So I learned you have to add your name to the directory. It will be up soon.

Here is a warning to all those who are accused of a criminal offense in Williamson County , Tennessee. Be ready to be drug tested at any of your court appearances.. Hold on you say. I am innocent . One of my constitutional rights is that I am presumed innocent of all charges until I am convicted by a jury or I plead guilty. I am sorry to report that you must be ready to take a drug test any time when a citizen is accused of a crime in Williamson County.

Ask for a continuance to apply for judicial diversion. Drug test. Delayed report date to jail for a DUI conviction. Drug test . the list goes on. Bottom line is once your arrested be ready to take a drug test. Currently, there are no laws concerning prejudgment drug tests. Drug tests are required once a citizen is placed on probation . The concept is that you are no longer presumed innocent at that time.

 

This is just a friendly warning . Best course is to stop smoking weed while your case is pending.

In the last few weeks , I have not posted much on the blog . I traveled to Dubois , Wyoming for three weeks and attended the Trial Lawyers College . The Trial Lawyers College was founded by Gerry Spence in 1994. My thoughts were I needed to learn something new . Over three weeks , I attended over 140 hours of training and developed new concepts to help my clients. Also , I made some life long friendships with some of the finest lawyers across America.

Over the years , Gerry Spence won cases time and time again . He developed some different approaches to the art of a jury trial. Most involve relying on discovering the story of the case. In any story , the characters are important. Lawyers refer to characters as witnesses. Gerry has written and spoken on preparing your witness and the qualities of a great witness.

In a criminal trial , one of the toughest decisions for a citizen accused to make is whether to testify in their own behalf. There is an inherent danger in calling your client as a witness in a criminal case. Most assistant district attorneys dream about cross-examining a citizen accused of a crime. A well prepared cross examination will frighten the citizen , make them angry , leave him or her confused. in some cases , It will go on and on until the witness looks like they are evasive , hostile , and can’t keep their story straight. A good cross examination will leave a innocent citizen accused appearing guilty.

How do you combat the vicious cross examination ?  First preparation is the key. Often , criminal defense attorneys practice the direct of their client , but often ignore the cross examination.However , a witness can leave a great impression with the jury if they have three qualities;

  • A great witness must remain calm.
  • A great witness must remain courteous.
  • A great witness must remain considerate.

 

I would like to thank Gerry Spence , the instructors at the Trial Lawyers College , and the staff. From time to time I will be writing about more of the concepts.

I am just reentering the legal world after spending the last three weeks at the Trial Lawyers College in Dubois , Wyoming being tutored by Gerry Spence . As I was reading the paper this morning  , I read the the editorial about a tragic vehicular homicide that happened in Lebanon , Tennessee. The facts of the case are horrendous. The driver was convicted in April.Picked up a new DUI charge  served with a probation violation , and out on bond when the deadly crash happened.

 When tragedy happens , community uproar occurs. Editorials on the issue addressed the case. One of the columnists took direct aim that the DUI laws are mocked by criminal defense lawyers in this state. As a whole most attorneys that defend a citizens guaranteed constitutional rights do not mock our laws. A DUI charge is serious business. Tennessee has some of the harshest DUI laws on the books.

Currently , Tennessee has some of the following DUI laws ;

  • Mandatory minimum jail time.
  • Bond conditions on repeat offenders.
  • A host of machines deployed by the courts such as ignition interlock devices , electronic monitoring , and SCRAM devices.
  • No alternative plea agreements in order to expunge a citizen’s record if convicted.

One problem facing Tennesseans accused of drunk driving is that the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of being presumed innocent does not apply to DUI cases.  Further , the science used in the prosecution of DUI cases is suspect .Currently , there is no duplicate testing on breath or blood alcohol samples . It appears the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is going to adopt a new breath test machine for use . The machine had numerous problems in California that resulted in DUI cases being dismissed. Yet , it appears that it will be used here.

Everyone agrees drunk driving is a problem . However , do we suspend a citizen’s rights to a fair trial ?  Hold them in jail on an excessive bail bond ?  Deny them their rights ? The country is under siege from attacks on all fronts on a citizen’s constitutional rights . That’s the issue that bothers lawyers and the citizen accused.

 

 

The punishment for multiple DUI offenders got tougher on July 1 , 2011  for those arrested in Tennessee . The new DUI law increase the mandatory license revocation period for a DUI conviction of a DUI 3rd offense from 3 to 10 years to 6 to 10 years . It also amends the revocation period on a DUI 4th offense conviction from 5 years to 8 years.

I have not posted for a while due to attending a fantastic class sponsored by the American Chemical Society . Recently , I joined select  DUI lawyers from across the country in learning about forensic chromatography .Gas chromatography is the science behind blood alcohol testing. The class was 40 hours and included both theory and a hands on experience working with the machines.

The class covered several topics in the field along with lab work .Here is some of the topics ;

  • Gas Chromatography Theory
  • Headspace Gas Chromatography
  • Capillary Columns
  • Detectors
  • Resolution
  • Quantitative Analysis
  • Troubleshooting and Maintenance

The class has given me a greater understanding of the science and methods of blood alcohol testing . I highly recommend the class for DUI defense lawyers .

I would like to thank the Dr. Harold McNair , Dr. Lee polite , Attorney Justin McShane , and Attorney Josh Lee for a great learning experience.

Science or lack of the basic scientific method should govern criminal cases and the search for just evidence . Science knows no sides and DUI defense is being increasingly about the science.

As my friend Justice McShane says " Go Science".