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Burden of Proof- Should it be lower so Someone Like Casey Anthony Gets Convicted Bill O’Reilly of Fox News “The O’Reilly Factor” says ” Dumb, beyond a reasonable doubt.” Seriously?  What burden of proof should the State have to meet to deprive a person of life? Mr. O’Reilly asks “is the burden of proof too high? ” and claims that Casey Anthony’s attorney did not raise reasonable doubt as a defense, implying that the jury should not have followed that line of thinking.  Fortunately, whether or not a defense attorney “raises” reasonable doubt, the American system of justice requires criminal juries to convict if andRead More →

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Casey Anthony – Beyond a Reasonable Doubt? As the world watched, Casey Anthony, was tried and convicted by the court of public opinion.  For the entire time the trial was ongoing in the courtroom, the media with the multiple talking heads, and so called experts like Nancy Grace, and other lawyers and former prosecutors surmised and analyzed, ultimately concluding that Casey was guilty as charged.  After all this is a mother who partied and stayed silent as her child was supposedly missing, oh but wait a minute maybe Caylee accidentally drowned in the family pool.  Add to that the incredible and detailed lies that CaseyRead More →

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In: Chattanooga Criminal Defense Attorneys, Criminal Law, DUI, Featured Articles

Tennessee Pretrial Diversion Changes, No Diversion for DUI Offenses Effective July 1, 2011, Tennessee no longer has a “Pretrial Diversion” program but judicial diversion is still available to criminal defendants. Tennessee House Bill 64 repealed T.C.A. §40-15 in its entirety and amended T.C.A. §40-35-313 [important]T.C.A. §40-35-313 is entitled ” Probation — Conditions — Discharge and dismissal — Expunction from official records” and provides the criminal court with the authority to defer further criminal proceedings in certain instances [/important] This change from pretrial diversion to only judicial diversion ultimately may appear to be a distinction without much difference.  However, under the former pretrial diversion statute theRead More →

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Can Police Track Suspect by GPS Without a Warrant? Is this a Violation of the Fourth Amendment Rights Regarding Search and Seizure? The U.S. Justice Department is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a federal appeals court decision requiring police to get a warrant before attaching a global positioning device (GPS) to a suspect’s car.  Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal urged the Supreme Court to grant cert (review of lower court’s decision) to resolve a circuit split, according to the Washington Post. At issue is whether use of the device is a “search” under the Fourth Amendment and whether a person has an expectationRead More →

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Freedom of Press and Information Act? Tennessee Senate Votes to Prevent Broadcast of 911 Calls The Tennessee Senate has passed a Bill to block public rebroadcasting of 911 emergency calls without the written consent of the person whose voice is recorded.  According to Newschannel 9 the 23 to 8 vote bans media broadcasts of 911 tapes. That includes all recordings, including that final radio call for Sergeant Tim Chapin, which was played 2 weeks ago. The Senate’s amended version does not include banning written records of those calls. Meanwhile, the House is aiming to ban the text, and that’s where the bill is headed nextRead More →