Month: December 2012
Evidence Sufficient to Convict of Sexual Battery by an Authority Figure
The Tennessee crime of sexual battery by an authority figure involves unlawful sexual contact with a person age thirteen through seventeen, accomplished by using legal, professional, or occupational status placing the offender in a position of trust, supervisory, or legal authority over the victim. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-13-527. On appeal of the Defendant’s conviction for this crime in
Misunderstanding of Sex Offender Probation Doesn’t Invalidate Plea
Sex offender probation requirements are generally more extensive and rigid than the typical probation requirements for other criminal convictions. Rules regarding where the probationer may live and work and what activities a probationer may engage in are generally more restrictive. A sex offender probationer’s access to the Internet may be prohibited or restricted. Failing to properly
Boy Scout Connection Did Not Require Judicial Recusal
Judicial recusal is appropriate when there is a reasonable basis to question a judge’s impartiality. Defendants in criminal cases have a right to an unbiased, impartial judge. In the recent case of Brennan v. State, M2012-00187-CCA-R3-PC (Tenn.Crim.App. 12-4-2012), a defendant who had pled guilty to incest and attempted rape of a child, and received a total effective sentence