The criminal justice system in the United States utilizes two types of juries – trial juries and grand juries. Many people are familiar with trial juries, either through their own participation or from the depiction on popular TV programs. A grand jury and a trial jury consist of randomly selected U.S. citizens, given the great responsibility to hear and consider evidence and arrive at a binding legal decision. However, there are certain distinct differences between the [...]

What exactly is an arraignment?  An arraignment is generally the first step in the criminal process. Sometimes you'll hear it referred to as an initial appearance. It is where you're brought before a neutral, detached magistrate and apprised of your Constitutional rights. That is the right to remain silent and the right to have counsel of your choice, and/or counsel appointed for you. When we talk about counsel, we're talking about folks like me, T. [...]

Going to trial in criminal cases Do I always have the right to have my case tried before a jury?  Fortunately, in the United States, we have a process that affords rights to the criminal defendant. Those rights have been secured by the United States Constitution and ere in East Tennessee, by the Tennessee Constitution, which is basically the governing body of law for the state of Tennessee. Those inalienable rights give you the right [...]

 So your 18-year-old son got a simple possession of marijuana charge. It's anything but simple. Marijuana in the state of Tennessee is illegal. We're not the "just say no" police; we're the reality folks that help you in this time of need. A marijuana charge has ramifications outside of the criminal system, including but not limited to an effect on an ability to get student loans, and to qualify for financial aid packages in the [...]

The state of Tennessee takes the crime of assault extremely seriously. An assault conviction can follow you for the rest of your life, with a criminal record that could prevent you from gainful employment, renting or buying a home, and other negative consequences. If you’ve been arrested for assault, it’s important to understand the charges against you. What are the different types of assault charges? Assault is a broad term; however, there is more than one [...]

When a person is acquitted of a crime, the “double jeopardy” rule prevents that person from being recharged with that same crime at a later time, even if new evidence is found. Double jeopardy, however, only applies to one specific jurisdiction. Even if a person is acquitted of a federal crime, they might still be charged with that same crime on the state level. Understanding the double jeopardy rule While the double jeopardy rule protects defendants [...]

 How long does court last? Well, that's an open ended question because sometimes the court date is open ended. It normally starts at 9:00 AM, and sometimes you're done by noon; sometimes you may be required to be there all day. Usually there are a lot of cases on the docket and the courts attended to them in the manner that is most expedient. Your attorney should keep you apprised of it. We do our [...]

 Another recent development in Tennessee law deals with the application of school zones to drug-related felonies. In these particular situations, the legislature has determined that when there is drug activity of a resale type variety – could be delivery, could be possession – within 1,000 feet of a school that it constitutes a drug free school zone violation. That means that the actual felony – let's say it's a schedule 2 cocaine case – is [...]

The requirement to register as a sex offender is an ignominious consequence of receiving a conviction on a sex offense in Tennessee. In the eyes of the public, it labels you as an individual not to be trusted, and particularly avoided in many cases. It also inhibits you from obtaining employment and living in certain areas. In addition, as a registered sex offender, your Tennessee driver’s license will also indicate such. The State of Tennessee has [...]

 How you should behave in court is now something that we are regularly having to tell our clients. Those cellular devices that you have with you? Any type of mobile electronics need to be turned off. You don't need to be texting in court and you need to be paying attention to the proceedings. You don't want to be a distraction in any way, shape, manner or form – and just as a matter of [...]