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Criminal Law

Tennessee Criminal Lawyer Blog

Covers DUI, Narcotics and Drugs, White Collar Offenses and other Criminal Defense law issues with a focus on Tennessee State law.
By Baker Associates

Post Frequency: 5.4/day

Last Entry: March 31, 2011 at 00:14:19

Mitigating Factors: "I'm a Werewolf"

Posted on January 28, 2010
Understandably, one of the most pressing questions facing any person convicted of a criminal offense is some version of ?How can I avoid jail time?? The unfortunate truth for many of those convicted of a criminal offense is that jail time is sometimes impossible to avoid...

The Right to Remain Silent

Posted on January 27, 2010
For many people, the phrase ?you have the right to remain silent?? is just a snazzy saying they hear on police dramas. For others, however, it is an important reminder of a Constitutional right that can be extremely beneficial if invoked when necessary...

Plea Bargaining Helps Man Avoid Lengthy Sentence

Posted on January 26, 2010
A New Jersey man pleaded guilty today to assault by automobile, two counts of aggravated assault and driving while intoxicated stemming from an accident in which the man?s drunk driving was responsible for seriously injuring three women. At the time of the wreck, which occurred on April 18, 2009, the man?s blood-alcohol content was reportedly twice the legal limit...

Man Gets DUI in Inoperable Vehicle

Posted on January 25, 2010
The scope of Minnesota?s DUI statute was extended substantially last Thursday when the Supreme Court of Minnesota upheld a DUI conviction for a man who was found intoxicated behind the wheel of an inoperable vehicle. Officers found the man asleep in his legally parked car at his apartment complex...

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Waiving the Right to Appeal

Posted on January 22, 2010
Criminal defendants, for various reasons, are often unhappy with the way at least one issue was handled by the court at trial, especially if the trial results in a conviction accompanied by a lengthy prison sentence. Luckily for criminal defendants they have the right to appeal the trial court?s decision as long as they comply with certain procedural requirements and avoid certain pitfalls that cause them to lose that right...

Mitigating Factors: Assisting the Authorities

Posted on January 21, 2010
The mitigating factor discussed in today?s blog can be found in T.C.A. section 40-35-113(10) and reads: ?The defendant assisted the authorities in locating or recovering any property or person involved in the crime;? This can be a very useful mitigating factor for defendants, and is one that has been extended by Tennessee courts to encompass more than what is revealed in the statute...

Mitigating Factors: Unusual Circumstances

Posted on January 20, 2010
One potential mitigating factor that defendants can use at sentencing in an effort to get a reduced sentence is where ?the defendant, although guilty of the crime, committed the offense under such unusual circumstances that it is unlikely that a sustained intent to violate the law motivated the criminal conduct...

Mitigating Factors: Righting the Wrong before Detection

Posted on January 19, 2010
Today?s blog unsurprisingly continues with the recent focus of our criminal blogs on the mitigating factors defendants may be able to use to receive a more favorable outcome at sentencing. These mitigating factors are recognized by the laws of the State of Tennessee as factors that tend to mitigate a defendant?s responsibility for a crime and may lead to the defendant receiving a less severe sentence following a conviction...

Mitigating Factor: Necessity

Posted on January 18, 2010
Our blog has recently focused on mitigating factors and with good reason. Statutorily-recognized mitigating factors are a tremendous tool that defendants can use in Tennessee to obtain more favorable treatment at sentencing. Sometimes this means a defendant can obtain a sentence below the presumptive sentence, and sometimes mitigating factors simply serve to counteract the effect of enhancement factors, allowing the defendant to avoid a sentence harsher than the presumptive sentence...

Arbitrary Traffic Stops in Tennessee

Posted on January 15, 2010
Over thirty years ago, the United States Supreme Court decided the case of Delaware v. Prouse, where they tackled the issue of arbitrary traffic stops of drivers by police officers or other similar government officials. Although over three decades have passed since the decision, the ramifications of the case are still extremely pertinent today...

Mitigating Factors: Provocation

Posted on January 14, 2010
Our blog today once again delves into the mitigating factors that are available for use by a criminal defendant at sentencing by exploring the mitigating factor of provocation. Tennessee law provides that the fact that ?the defendant acted under strong provocation? can be used as a mitigating factor by the sentencing court when determining a defendant?s sentence...

Mitigating Factors: Minor Role in the Offense

Posted on January 13, 2010
Many of our previous blogs have discussed mitigating factors that may be useful to defendants in the sentencing phase of their criminal trials and this one continues that trend. The fact that the defendant played a minor role in the offense for which he or she was convicted is a useful mitigating factor recognized by the State of Tennessee that may serve to reduce the defendant?s sentence...

Mitigating Factors: Non-Violence

Posted on January 12, 2010
Statutorily-recognized mitigating factors are among the most powerful tools available to a defendant seeking to argue for a reduced sentence. These factors allow the defendant to claim that certain aspects of his or her alleged criminal activity fits into one or more categories recognized by the State of Tennessee as behavior or circumstances that make an offense less serious than it otherwise would be...

Young Girls Suspected in Bank Robbery

Posted on January 11, 2010
Bucking the long-standing tradition of teenage girls asking their parents for money when they needed some, a couple of young girls, one age twelve and the other about fourteen or fifteen, decided to ?ask? the bank instead. The two girls walked into an Ohio bank earlier this month around 3 p...

Warrantless Searches: Vehicle Exception

Posted on January 08, 2010
As discussed in some of our previous blogs, searches of persons or property by law enforcement officials are generally considered to be invasions of privacy and will be considered unconstitutional (meaning evidence gathered from the searches may be inadmissible in court) unless the law enforcement official conducting the search has obtained a search warrant by demonstrating probable cause that the search will uncover evidence of criminal activity...

Presumptive Sentences in Tennessee

Posted on January 07, 2010
Criminal sentencing can be a confusing issue for many defendants. For example, if a defendant is looking at a Class B felony conviction, he or she will be looking at eight to thirty years. Obviously there is a huge difference between serving eight years in prison and serving thirty years in prison, meaning the decision-making process behind determining where in the range of possible sentences to sentence a defendant is of primary importance in criminal cases...

Child Endangerment: "Knowing" Requirement

Posted on January 06, 2010
A fifty-five year-old bus driver from New York recently pleaded guilty to child endangerment and driving while intoxicated after she took students on a terrifying bus ride while reportedly driving a school bus while intoxicated. Students apparently begged the driver to stop because she was in no condition to operate the school bus...

Statute of Limitations: Exceptions

Posted on January 05, 2010
A statute of limitations is a statute that declares a maximum length of time during which a legal claim can be made after which time it is no longer available. For example, Tennessee?s statute of limitations on petitions for post-conviction relief in criminal cases is one year from the date on which judgment becomes final in cases where no appeal is taken...

Field Sobriety Test Results are Issues of Fact

Posted on January 04, 2010
In a criminal trial, there is a substantial difference between questions of law and questions of fact. While the issue of what distinguishes the two questions is ultimately more complex than the examination necessary for the purposes of this blog, it will be sufficient here to say that questions of law are decided by the court while questions of fact are decided by a jury...

Court of Criminal Appeals Overturns Probation Revocation

Posted on January 01, 2010
In a case styled State v. Williams, the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals recently overturned a trial judge?s decision to revoke a defendant?s probation by holding that it was based on the wrong standard of proof. The defendant had previously pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact and was sentenced to one year in the county workhouse...

Warrantless Searches: Exception for Parolees

Posted on December 31, 2009
As discussed in our last blog, searches of persons, residences, or automobiles without probable cause or consent are presumed unlawful unless an exception is met. In a 2009 case styled State v. Turner, the Tennessee Supreme Court was asked to decide if a search of a parolee?s home without consent or probable cause was nevertheless a legal search due to the fact that the parolee had agreed to warrantless searches as a condition of her parole...

Warrantless Searches: Searches Incident to a Lawful Arrest

Posted on December 30, 2009
In a case styled State v. Richards, the Tennessee Supreme Court recently dealt with the issue of warrantless searches. After receiving an anonymous tip that three individuals at a particular location were involved in drug trafficking, the officers traveled to that location, found four individuals gathered around a table and saw them engage in suspicious behavior...

Tennessee Supreme Court Rules on Miranda Issue

Posted on December 29, 2009
The United States Constitution gives a multitude of rights to those considered suspects in a criminal case. Unfortunately, many suspects are unaware of those rights. Prior to the landmark case of Miranda v. Arizona, which eventually made its way to the United States Supreme Court, law enforcement officials who intended to question suspects who were in custody for purposes of using the suspect?s answers at trial were not required to advise the suspect of his or her constitutional rights...

Man Gets DUI on Forklift

Posted on December 28, 2009
DUI cases are a pretty common occurrence today, but it is not every day you see someone charged with a DUI for operating a forklift. A man from Fairbanks, Alaska pleaded guilty recently to just that after police caught him operating the machinery while drunk a couple of weeks ago as he was trying to pull two trucks out of a ditch...

Merry Christmas? Gets Arrested

Posted on December 25, 2009
With a name that certainly got her teased at school, it is no wonder that Merry Christmas, a forty-four year-old woman from Boynton Beach, Florida, was in a bad mood when police showed up to investigate a public disturbance in a Florida neighborhood two Sundays ago...

Woman Stabs Man with Ice Pick for Stealing Parking Space

Posted on December 24, 2009
Some people are more easily angered than others. Some people seemingly take everything in stride, while others seem to overreact to every twist and turn life throws their way. If you are one of those who are angered a little too easily, driving during the holiday season may not be for you...

Woman Charged with DUI after Wreaking Havoc at Sonic Drive-In

Posted on December 23, 2009
In what reads like part of a script from a good comedy movie, a woman has been charged with DUI after her escapades resulted in her trying to pay a police officer for her food at a Sonic drive-in. A 911 caller reported that the woman had nearly struck several vehicles while trying to navigate the complex obstacle course that is the Sonic parking lot before safely settling in a parking space...

Soldier Arrested on Child Pornography Charges

Posted on December 22, 2009
A twenty-seven year-old soldier stationed in Fort Campbell, Kentucky has been charged with especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor after authorities found him in a Blount County motel room with a fifteen year-old girl. Detectives entered the room to find rose petals scattered on the floor and candles burning, which would have been the perfect ambience for a romantic evening had the tryst itself not been felonious...

Flashing Teen Gets Hit by Car, Citation

Posted on December 21, 2009
A New Zealand teen recently provided a perfect example of why disorderly conduct is considered a criminal offense. The teen, apparently under the influence of alcohol, decided that it might be fun to stand in the median of a four-lane highway and expose herself to drivers that passed...

Impatient Driver Charged with Aggravated Assault

Posted on December 18, 2009
If you have driven a motor vehicle for very long, you have undoubtedly come across someone like Christopher Tilas of Ocean Township, New Jersey. Mr. Tilas, like many drivers, is apparently far too busy to drive behind your car at the speed of your choosing and will attempt to pass you anytime, anywhere...

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