Here is a summary of new decisions from the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals: HIGHLIGHTS: Evidence that the Defendant performed poorly on field sobriety tests supports his conviction for DUI, regardless of Defendant’s testimony that he was uncoordinated and could not perform the tests even when sober – State v. Spiva <http://www.tsc.state.tn.us/OPINIONS/Tcca/PDF/083/SpiveyRobertBradleyOPN.pdf> . Sentences are [...]
Archive for July, 2008
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Recent Successes – One Year Probation on School Zone Charge
July 22nd, 2008 
Nathan Moore State v. W.C. July 21, 2008 W.C. was charged with criminal trespass, and while being cited, was found to possess a felony amount of marijuana within 1000 feet of a public library. As charged, W.C. faced a Class D felony at 100% service, which means that if convicted, he faced up to 4 years in [...]
Thin and Free
July 20th, 2008 Nathan Moore From the chronicles of the bizarre near Houston, Texas The vent was less than a foot wide, and authorities said Darryl Layne Norris had been losing weight since arriving at the Waller County Jail in April. “We just found out he’s been slimming down a lot recently,” Waller County Sheriff Randy Smith said. I do [...]
BREAKING John Ford Guilty on All Counts
July 18th, 2008 Nathan Moore A federal jury has found former Tennessee State Senator John Ford guilty on all counts. Bookmark and Share:
Recent Successes – Six Year Sentence Suspended
July 18th, 2008 Nathan Moore State v. J.D. July 16, 2008 J.D. had initially pleaded guilty to a robbery charge, and had been sentenced to 6 years on probation. He had violated his probation previously, and had been forced to serve a portion of his 6 year sentence. We advised J.D. to address his drug problem and life issues by [...]
Search Warrants, Walls and All
July 15th, 2008 Nathan Moore According to the federal court in the Eastern DIstrict of Tennessee, a search warrant for drugs in “the entire premises” includes, indeed, the entire premises. From the Fourth Amendment blog Finally, the Becker court stated that while destruction of property in carrying out a search is “not favored,” reasonable destruction of property does not violate [...]
The Right to Say No
July 14th, 2008 Nathan Moore Indeed, this a right everyone should no. Very little can be gained from being initially overly cooperative with the state (eventual cooperation, with a defined benefit, can be helpful later). This is a hard fact for some people to comprehend, especially after a series of empty promises from a smooth talking detective who you now [...]
Tennessee Opinions Released July 10, 2008
July 10th, 2008 Nathan Moore STATE OF TENNESSEE v. ANDRE DOTSON Corrected Opinion Court: TSC Attorneys: William G. Gosnell, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellant, Andre Dotson. Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General & Reporter; Michael E. Moore, Solicitor General; and David H. Findley, Assistant Attorney General for the appellee, State of Tennessee. Judge: WADE The Defendant, Andre Dotson, was convicted [...]
DUI Defense in Tennessee – Know Your Fifth Amendment Rights
July 10th, 2008 Nathan Moore It is particularly easy to get oneself convicted of a DUI nowadays. A 0.08 BAC, which is now the law, takes very little alcholic intake to achieve. But, one should never forget, the only way the state can get that particular bit of evidence against you is for you to allow them to get it. [...]
Reaching to the Small of One’s Back Constitutes Reasonable Suspicion in the 6th Circuit
July 8th, 2008 Nathan Moore The Sixth Circuit, of which Tennessee is a part, has held that reaching to the small of one’s back in a high crime area constitutes reasonable suspicion, and gives law enforcement the right to temporarily detain you. From United States v. Pearce, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 14187, 2008 FED App. 0240P (6th Cir. July 3, [...]
Recent Success – Only 10 Days in Jail – Could Have Received 11 Months and 29 Days
July 4th, 2008 Nathan Moore State v. J.M. July 1, 2008 J.M. was caught removing materials from a construction site. He also had a lengthy record of approximately 30 prior misdemeanor convictions. After negotiating with the State, we were able to help J.M. receive only 10 days in jail. With the time he had already built up, he was released [...]
Recent Success – Client’s Probation Violation Retired – Probation Reinstated
July 3rd, 2008 Nathan Moore State v. L.O. July 1, 2008 L.O. was on supervised probation for reckless aggravated assault. He was rearrested on a criminal trespass warrant, and pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nine days in jail. After reviewing the new charge, it became clear that L.O. should never have been arrested in the first place. He was [...]
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