Peter Keane, a current law professor and former chief assistant public defender in San Francisco, did an NPR segment and detailed why defending those charged with crimes is so important to our system of government I know that most people have great difficulty understanding this. Indeed, many are horrified by it. But reflect for a [...]
Archive for the ‘Moore Law Blog’ Category
DUI Reduced to Reckless Driving
October 15th, 2008 
Nathan Moore State v. C.G. October 14, 2008 C.G. was stopped on Hermitage Avenue in Nashville by an officer who said he saw C.G. swerve over the dividing yellow line. Upon seizure, the officer noted he detected a smell of alcohol on C.G.’s breath. No blood tests were performed. Negotiations with the state resulted in a reduced [...]
Recent Success: Three Felonies Dismissed
October 10th, 2008 Nathan Moore State v. B.D., October 9, 2008 B.D. was charged with Aggravated Burglary, Possession of Burglary Tools, Vandalism Over $1,000, and misdemeanor harassment. He was accused of breaking into his estranged girlfriend’s home, damaging property, and stealing her wallet, along with a few other items. Intensive negotiation, coupled with the good behavior of B.D. while out [...]
Posted in Moore Law Blog, Recent Successes 
Tags: criminal defense, felony defense, tennessee criminal law 
No Comments »Recent Success: One Year Probation on Counterfeiting Charge
October 2nd, 2008 Nathan Moore C.W. was charged as part of an operation of bleaching five dollar bills and then color copying one hundred dollar bills onto the newly bleached paper. Though there was a federal investigation, and the potential of more serious federal charges, we were able to negotiate a plea deal in state court of Criminal Simulation: Less [...]
Civil Rights and CCA
September 4th, 2008 Nathan Moore Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the largest private prison operator, and based in Nashville, Tennessee, is used to getting sued. In fact, they should expect it, since their business model largely consists of treating people like slaughterhouse cattle. Among the most recent suits is one on behalf of a mentally ill man, who was denied [...]
Opinions from the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals
September 3rd, 2008 Nathan Moore Not much came out today. Check below if you would like to look for yourself. STATE OF TENNESSEE v. KENNETH B. NEVELS Court: TCCA Attorneys: Roger Eric Nell, District Public Defender; and Rebecca F. Stevens, Assistant Public Defender, Clarksville, Tennessee, for the appellant Kenneth B. Nevels. Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Andrew [...]
Self-Defense and the No-Retreat Doctrine
September 3rd, 2008 Nathan Moore A large plurality of states (to include Tennessee), have adopted the no-retreat doctrine, which holds that one has no duty to retreat if threatened with violence, and if threatened within one’s home, can use any measure of force necessary. The Kentucky Supreme Court is scheduled to hear argument on whether a man’s conviction for murder, [...]
The Post-Conviction Process
September 1st, 2008 Nathan Moore In Tennessee, even if things have not turned out as hoped at trial, and the appeals have not gone your way, there is still one more procedural remedy remaining – the post-conviction relief statute. Post-conviction relief is meant to remedy constitutional violations at the trial court level. Juror selection issues, violations of due process rights, [...]
Defending the False Accusation
August 30th, 2008 Nathan Moore It is a public misconception that when someone is charged with a crime, it is likely because he or she is guilty. This sort of thinking trusts our government a bit too much. If the government was perfect, we would not have civil rights laws, and the heated debates the Founders had over the Bill [...]
Defending Against Criminal Prosecution
August 29th, 2008 Nathan Moore When one is charged with a crime, the whole power of the state or federal government is put in play to prosecute you. Your only real defense comes with counsel that realizes what the government can and cannot do, and what evidence they must produce in their prosecution. The adversarial system is at the heart [...]
Not Your Usual Supermarket Wares
August 28th, 2008 Nathan Moore Typically when one goes to the supermarket, you get milk, bread, maybe some cookies, perhaps a Coke. In three places in Nashville, you can also get yourself a crack pipe. A recent investigation netted five employees of three markets (one, sweet with irony, was called “Lucky’s”), over 1200 crack pipes, and a pile of cash. [...]
Recent Success: School Zone Charge Reduced, Probation
August 21st, 2008 Nathan Moore State v. W.C. August 21, 2008 W.C. was charged with selling marijuana within 1,000 feet of a school or daycare. He was facing a potential sentence of 4 years at 100%, which meant he would never be elgible for parole. After negotiating with the state, a plea deal was reached that reduced the charge to [...]
DUI 3rd Reduced to DUI 1st
August 18th, 2008 Nathan Moore State v. J.B. August 12, 2008 Client was sideswiped by an illegal immigrant, who was never found. Upon doing field sobriety tests, client was arrested for DUI. In negotiations with the assistant DA, the charged was maintained as a DUI 1st, saving J.B. 119 days in jail. Bookmark and Share:
New TCCA Cases Released
July 29th, 2008 Nathan Moore 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 [...]
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 [...]
