Today’s post is was written by Thomas Hutto ,a third year law student at the Nashville School of Law . Thomas and I met when he started following the www.Nashvillecriminallawreport.com . This is his first guest post and I hope you enjoy it . He has a couple of more that will be appearing .
Am I Trouble If I Missed My Criminal Court Date ?
Sometimes people miss their court date in Tennessee . One question that comes up is what can I do about it and am I in trouble . Missing your court date can trigger an additional charge of Failure to Appear . I recently wrote an article on the issue . You can click here
How Long Does It Take for an Expungement to Come Off Your Record
Yes, Tre I do check the comments . Tre posted a question on what is the amount of time that passes before an expungement order is processed . In Nashville , Tn. , an expungement order will take somewhere between 30-60 days to be processed . Tre’s question is how long does it take for the Tennessee Bureau
Alcohol Offenses in Tennessee
High School students over 18 or college students can face criminal charges under Tennessee law for alcohol offenses.There are two laws which may be charged with different penalties..
Possession of alcohol or purchasing alcohol by someone under 21 is a Class A misdemeanor . The kicker is pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated 57-3-412 (C)(i) a
Injustice In South Carolina
South Carolina criminal defense attorney Bobby Frederick recently reported of Horry County , South Carolina public defenders who don’t go to preliminary hearings . It appears the public defenders refuse to go to court on preliminary hearings . The court refuses to hear their case because they have a court appointed attorney and the hearing
Can Beyond Reasonable Doubt Be defined ?
Shaun Martin and Scott Greenfield have recently commented on most criminal courts’ problem in explaining what is beyond a reasonable doubt . Proof " Beyond A Reasonable Doubt " is the most important protections that a citizen is given in facing criminal charges .Yet , it is the hardest to explain to jurors and even to other lawyers . I am not aware of any jury instruction that adequately explains the concept.
The current debate of the definition of " Beyond A Reasonable doubt " was sparked by a recent case in the great state of California . California’s a hotbed of traditional criminal jurisprudence . A temporary judge began with a series of examples of what beyond a reasonable doubt means . The defendant was convicted and appealed . At the appellate level , the defendant argued that the trial court’s examples lowered the state’s burden of proof by his examples . The California Court of Appeals upheld the conviction . They cited some persuasive authority . In the opinion , the court reminds the trial court to be careful in giving examples . They cite the legal scholars John Lennon and Paul McCartney . The California Court’s suggestion is " To Let It Be" .Here’s Tennessee’s instruction on reasonable doubt .Notice the omission of the term beyond.
T.P.I. — CRIM. 2.03
REASONABLE DOUBT
Reasonable doubt is that doubt engendered by an investigation of all the proof in the case and an inability, after such investigation, to let the mind rest easily as to the certainty of guilt. Reasonable doubt does not mean a doubt that may arise from possibility. Absolute certainty of guilt is not demanded by the law to convict of any criminal charge, but moral certainty is required, and this certainty is required as to every proposition of proof requisite to constitute the offense.
One Way To Win Your Case
Clients always ask what can they do to help their case . It’s simple write. Once your arrested start writing notes . Immediately write detailed notes about the case . Don’t leave anything out . Witnesses , weather conditions , potential alibi witnesses are just some examples of what to write down . Notes are important to you
Innocent Until Proven Guilty
As I leave the office on a Sunday afternoon preparing for a child abuse trial on Monday. I watched a short video from the San Francisco Public Defenders office. With images alone , it gets right to the point of what beyond reasonable doubt and innocent until proven guilty is all about . It reminds
What Makes Evading Arrest a Felony in Tennessee ?
One of the worst decisions you can make is to try to outrun the police.My tip for the day on how to get along with police on the roadway is to pull over immediately once you see the blue lights.However, some folks get scared and confused and don’t stop as directed. Evading arrest in
The Defense of Entrapment in Tennessee
Sometimes police or law enforcement are mush like the spider.The spider creates the web and hopes it’s prey stumbles into the web where it can’t escape.Some of my clients in drug and patronizing prostitution cases assert they were entrapped into their criminal conduct.However, the defense of entrapment seldom applies.
The Entrapment Defense was first