Dahlia Lithwick covers the U.S.Supreme Court for Slate.Ms Lithwick reviewed  the book "Autobiography of an an Execution’ by David Dow. Mr. Dow wrote an autobiography of his work in defending those who got the death sentence.NPR interviewed Mr. Dow about his book and his work in the field of capital punishment.It was an excellant interview that I happened to catch.

In the "Upfront "section of the New York Times Book Review, Ms. Lithwick is asked the question of what Americans don’t know about the legal system.She replied :"That the legal system might be the single worst place to seek closure."  whatever closure is.Nobody is happy after a trip to  court.Nobody  ever feels vindicated or truly heard.."

I agree in some of her comments especially in the area of divorce or civil law.However, the criminal justice system provides closure.You enter a plea bargain ,the state may dismiss or you set it for trial.At trial, you will hear guilty of not guilty by the jury foreman . Case closed except for the appeals.

Most counties outside of Nashville Davidson County use blood tests to determine blood alcohol concentration.Most police departments in Willamson County such as Franklin Police Department and Brentwood Police Department always request a DUI suspect to submit to a blood alcohol test.Also Sumner County law enforcement agencies like Hendersonville Police Department and Gallatin Police Department use blood alcohol tests as well. Here’s a short video on some issues that come up in a DUI blood test case. 

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Nashville ,Tn. television station WSMV is running gavel to gavel coverage of the trial of Ron Killings this week. Killings is on trial for the homicide of a young girl.It is alleged that Killings was driving his car at twice the legal speed when he struck and killed the young girl.  Killings was on duty as a law enforcement officer in Rutherford County.The District Attorney’s theory was that it was a reckless homicide.A jury was brought in from Chattanooga,Tn to decide the case.Mr. Killings attorney moved for a change of venue due to pretrial publicity.

Rule 21 of The Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure provides for a change of venue under certain conditions.The court may change venue of a criminal case on the defendant’s motion or on it’s own initiative with the defendant’s consent.The court should order a venue change when a fair trial is unlikely because of undue excitement against the defendant in the county where the offense was committed or for  other cause.

 

Continue Reading A Change of Venue In Murfreesboro Murder Case

Men’s Health Magazine listed America"s drunkest cities in a recent article.How did they determine the list ? The list was based upon death rates from liver disease, alcohol impaired car crashes , the number of DUI arrests , and the severity of the punishment.Two Tennessee cities made it on the top 100 list. Nashville,Tn was number 14.Memphis ,Tn was number 71.

Last week , I had a hearing where the head of  Metro Nashville Police Department"s Traffic enforcement unit testified on the statistics on DUI arrests and vehicular homicide cases in Nashville.

Here are the numbers:

1.In 2009, there were 4238 DUI arrests and 24 traffic deaths related to impaired driving.

2.In 2008, 5595 DUI arrests and 24 traffic deaths were related to impaired driving.

There was no report of the number of vehicular homicide convictions in these past two years.

Nicole Young and Clay Carey of The Tennessean reported about the use of social media by Detective Dean Haney of the Metro Nashville Police Department to combat crime.The use of social media such as Facebook,Twitter , and My Space is growing at a tremendous rate. I even have a Facebook page.Using Facebook and other social media in criminal and personal injury cases have been used since it’s inception, but now it’s use is exploding.

Detective Haney searches the photos he retrieves from MySpace and Facebook to post on the wall at Nashville’s North Precinct.It amazes me what people post on Facebook.Haney reports that he has seen AK-47 rifles , weapons, and stacks of cash.In under age consumption of alcohol cases , The Franklin Police Department and the Brentwood Police Department routinely search social media sites to corroborate the charges.Police in Chattanooga,Tn discovered an on line forum of people planning illegal drag races.

Continue Reading The Use of Facebook to Gather Evidence Takes Off

On Sunday , the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts do battle in Super Bowl XL IV.Sports bars will be packed with fans cheering on their favorite team. TheTennessean ran a list of sports bars that are running wing and draft beer specials.Fans across Tennessee will be out going to Super Bowl parties.However, DUI enforcement units will be out in force as well in Nashville,Sumner County ,and Williamson County.

Police officers in Middle Tennessee routinely step up DUI enforcement around "adult holidays".The Super Bowl’s one of the premier sporting events in our country.Police are probably planning DUI checkpoints and will be putting extra officers on the roadways.Failure to signal , driving with expired tags, or weaving are all valid reasons to pull a driver over on Super Sunday.

Some drivers may want to research the location of DUI checkpoints or roadblocks before heading out to watch the game. Most times the police publish the location of the DUI checkpoints in advance.Simply goggle Tennessee DUI roadblocks or list Tennessee Highway Patrol or your your local police for example Franklin Police Department .

Continue Reading Super Bowl XL IV and DUI Checkpoints

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