The Tennessee Legislature passed a new sentencing bill in the last minutes of the legislative session. The proposed new law would establish a new enhancement factor for defendants who are aliens illegally or unlawfully in this country and who have previously been deported for a criminal offense. If the sentence cannot be agreed to by
Williamson County Practice Update
This post is a practice update from Williamson County , Tennessee . It appears the courts may not accept plea bargains in cases involving periodic confinement. Periodic confinement is simply allowing a defendant to serve their jail sentence over a period of time rather than to serve the sentence straight. Periodic confinement is authorized by statute
Should Your Client Testify at a Sentencing Hearing ?
Being a criminal defense attorney requires you to use many types of advocacy. You have preliminary hearings , motion hearings , jury trials ,and sentencing hearings. Each area requires different skills of persuasion. Today , I want to discuss one aspect of sentencing hearings.
Sometimes your client is found guilty after trial or agrees to
Tennessee Supreme Court Changes Standard of Review in Sentencing
Appealing a sentence or the denial of probation just got tougher under Tennessee law. In years past , the Court of Criminal Appeals and the Tennessee Supreme Court would review a sentence or the denial of probation based upon a standard of review referred to as de novo based with a presumption of correctness. In
What If Jerry Sandusky Was Sentenced In Tennessee ?
Jerry Sandusky is going to prison to serve between 30 to 60 years for being convicted of over 40 counts of abusing children. I am not sure of his convictions. The news reports just refer to molesting children or sex abuse. Under Tennessee law, it could be rape of a child or aggravated child
Sentencing Guidelines in Firearm Cases
I attended an advanced sentencing guidelines training course today sponsored by the Federal Public Defender here in Nashville . It was a great program and thanks to the office for hosting the program. Here is a video on firearms sentencing that may be helpful. It was produced by the U.S. Sentencing Commission. I hope the video