Month: August 2011
Testimony is Sufficient Evidence Where Video is Inconclusive
It is common in DUI cases to review patrol car video of the initial stop to help determine whether that stop was legally justified (something to be considered in any DUI case where a police officer has initiated a stop of the Defendant’s vehicle). Though the video can in some cases be very helpful in determining the
Consecutive Sentencing Upheld in a Vehicular Homicide Case
In criminal sentencing for multiple convictions where the convictions are not required by law to run consecutive to each other, the trial court can, in the court’s discretion, impose the convictions consecutively if the court finds one of several specific statutory conditions apply. The conditions are listed in Tennessee Code Annotated 40-35-115(b). One of those conditions is
Sixth Circuit Addresses Retroactive Application of SORNA
In July 2006, Congress passed the Sex-Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”), which provides federal criminal penalties for sex offenders who move across state lines and fail to comply with sex offender registration requirements. The act indicated that the Attorney General would have the authority to specify how and to what extent the act would apply to
Defense Win in a Search and Seizure Case
Appellate challenges to trial court rulings on admissibility of evidence in criminal cases, including questions of whether a particular search and seizure was reasonable, do not often result in reversals. Appellate courts must rely on a trial court’s findings of fact and determine whether the trial court’s application of law to those facts was reversible error.