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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

How is Anabolic Steroid Use a Crime in Tennessee?

Posted on July 17, 2009
Anabolic Steroids are classified as a Schedule III controlled substance in both the Tennessee and United States Code because of their potential for abuse and harmful side effects. Under Schedule III, any drug or hormonal substance that is chemically related to testosterone is an anabolic steroid...

Prohibition on Handguns in TN Parks

Posted on July 16, 2009
Under existing law, it is a Class A misdemeanor for any person to possess or carry a handgun in a public park, playground, civic center or other property owned, used or operated by a municipal, county or state government for recreational purposes. The prohibition, however, does not apply to peace officers, soldiers, security guards, hunters, persons attending gun shows or persons delivering or picking up passengers...

Federal Crimes Attorneys in Tennessee

Posted on July 15, 2009
When determining who to retain as defense counsel when charged with a federal offense, the same principles apply to hiring a federal criminal defense lawyer as hiring a Tennessee criminal defense lawyer. Essentially, you will want someone who has experience trying cases in federal court...

Right to a Jury in Tennessee

Posted on July 14, 2009
Under Article III of the U.S. Constitution as applied to the states through the 14th Amendment, all persons have a right to a jury when accused of a crime. The Supreme Court has decided, however, that the right does not extend to petty offenses. Under this judicial interpretation, states are free to determine which offenses are petty and which are not...

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Carjacking Crimes in Tennessee

Posted on July 13, 2009
In designating carjacking as a more serious crime than and theft and robbery in Tennessee, the General Assembly recognized that carjacking is usually committed by someone who tries to flee from the scene of another crime and that such action creates a substantial risk of harm to the public...

Presumption of Innocence and the Standard of Proof in Criminal Trials

Posted on July 10, 2009
Individuals who have been accused of crimes will sometimes resign themselves to defeat. They feel that the evidence is too strong or that they will buckle under the pressure. However, all accused persons in the United States and Tennessee are entitled to what is called the presumption of innocence...

What Qualifies as Entrapment in Tennessee?

Posted on July 08, 2009
From time to time, a potential client accused of a crime will call up one of our TN criminal defense attorneys with allegations that an undercover police officer tricked him into doing an unlawful act. When the officer merely provides an opportunity for a suspect to commit a crime, the client has no defense...

Felony Versus Misdemeanor in Tennessee

Posted on July 07, 2009
Tennessee classifies crimes in one of two categories: misdemeanor and felony. For both of these categories, the state must prove that the suspect committed an unlawful act with criminal intent. For example, first degree murder in Tennessee is a felony and is characterized as the premeditated and intentional killing of another...

Defenses to TN Crimes: Self-Defense

Posted on June 24, 2009
When charged with a violent crime, including homicide or assault in Tennessee, the defendant may enter a plea of not guilty along with a plea of self-defense. If proven, self-defense is a complete bar to criminal liability. When people are threatened by the use of force or threat of force, creating in their mind a reasonable belief of imminent fear of death or serious bodily injury, they are legally justified in threatening or using force to defend themselves?even to the extent of killing the initial aggressor...

Radar Jamming Devices

Posted on June 23, 2009
Despite widespread sale over the Internet and in flea markets nationwide, it is unlawful in the state of Tennessee to knowingly possess, sell, use, or operate a radar jamming device, jammer or scrambler that is designed or intended to interfere with, disrupt, or scramble the radar or laser used by law enforcement agencies and officers to measure the speed of motor vehicles...

Bonnaroo: An Overview of Criminal Charges and Their Consequences

Posted on June 15, 2009
Every year, young people without criminal records go to Bonnaroo seeking a good time only to have their future prospects diminished because of a criminal citation or arrest. Once the person pleads guilty, the consequences can be devastating?from jail time and fines to academic disqualification and financial aid ineligibility...

Can I Consult a Lawyer Without My Parents Knowing?

Posted on June 15, 2009
When you hire an attorney, the attorney?s responsibility is to you and not your parents. In fact, the Professional Code of Ethics for the State of Tennessee requires the attorney to maintain a normal client-lawyer relationship with a minor so long as the minor?s ability to make adequately considered decisions in connection with the representation is not impaired...

Child Arrested or Cited at Bonnaroo? Consult an Attorney

Posted on June 15, 2009
If your child has been cited or arrested while at Bonnaroo for a drug offense in Tennessee or other offense, the criminal juvenile defense attorneys at Baker Associates can help. Every year, we defend children who have been charged with a crime while at Bonnaroo or traveling to or from the festival...

Bonnaroo: The Consequences of a Drug Conviction

Posted on June 15, 2009
If you have been charged with a drug-related offense while at Bonnaroo or while leaving Bonnaroo to return home, we encourage you to consult a criminal defense attorney at Baker Associates immediately. A lot is riding on the decisions you make right now because choosing an inexperienced attorney or pleading guilty without the full knowledge of your rights can have a devastating impact on your future life prospects...

Drug Citations and Arrests at Bonnaroo

Posted on June 15, 2009
Did you know that at last year?s Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, Tennessee, State Troopers logged more than 5,600 man-hours and wrote 323 citations and 55 warnings?many of which involved drug-related charges in Tennessee. That?s simply staggering. While there are several types of drugs available at Bonnaroo, some of the more common drugs seized at Bonnaroo last year were: ? Marijuana ? Nitrous Oxide ? LSD, and ? Mescaline However, given the growing diversity of Bonnaroo-goers, there is likely to be found such drugs as OxyContin, Crystal Meth (methamphetamines), Cocaine, and Heroine at this year?s festival...

Bonnaroo Speed Traps and Car Searches

Posted on June 15, 2009
Beginning Wednesday evening and continuing through Monday morning in Manchester, the Tennessee Highway Patrol along with local law enforcement will be stopping cars for speeding violations along the routes leading to and from Bonnaroo. Inevitably, officers search some of these vehicles for drugs and drug paraphernalia in Tennessee...

Distribution of Child Pornography on the Internet

Posted on June 11, 2009
On June 11, a former principal and Toys R? Us employee from New Tazewell engaged an Ohio woman in an Internet chatroom conversation and sent her child pornography videos. The Ohio woman reported the videos, and the Knoxville Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force subsequently set up an Internet sting operation...

Hamilton County Theft: Choosing Victims Based on Race or Ethnicity is a Stand-Alone Crime and Sentence Enhancement Factor

Posted on June 10, 2009
If race or ethnicity is a factor in determining the target of a Tennessee theft crime, the state may well ?throw the book? at the defendant by arguing for sentence enhancement and alleging a civil rights intimidation offense. The facts of the case, State v...

Evidence Issues in a DUI Case: Chain of Custody

Posted on June 09, 2009
Last week, a blog discussed the right of the defendant to have certain non-essential witnesses sequestered so as to prevent the potential for bias. Failure to properly sequester a witness can result in a new trial and potentially an acquittal. Using the same facts as described in the Tennessee DUI case, State v...

Tennessee Guns-in-Bars Law

Posted on June 08, 2009
On June 4, the senate in Tennessee overrode Governor Bredesen?s veto of HB 0962/SB 1127?the so-called ?guns-in-bars law.? The new gun crimes law in Tennessee will take effect on July 14. Under current Tennessee law, a person cannot possess a firearm in a building open to the public where alcoholic beverages are sold, unless the person is designated to protect customers or is a law enforcement or military officer in ?discharge of official duties...

Defending Rape Cases in Tennessee

Posted on June 05, 2009
On June 2, 2009, a Rogersville, Tennessee, woman testified before a jury that a former Hamblen county Sheriff?s Office Deputy, Dexter L. Morris, raped her in the back of his police cruiser. According to the prosecution, Deputy Morris stopped the victim?s vehicle and ordered her boyfriend to walk home after finding some marijuana...

Tennessee Archaeological Resource Laws

Posted on June 04, 2009
Tennessee is rich with prehistoric materials from cultures that have long since been relocated, assimilated or extinguished?from the ?primitive? Clovis to the more technologically advanced Mississippian cultures. These cultural materials can be found almost anywhere?in recently dug out construction sites, along riverbeds, in caves, and under rock shelters...

DUI Case Evidence Issues: Sequestration

Posted on June 03, 2009
Under Tennessee?s DUI law, it is unlawful for any person to drive any automobile or other motor driven vehicle on any public roads, alleys, or parking lots frequented by the public with a blood alcohol level of .08% or more. If you have been charged with this crime in Tennessee, it is essential that you get an experienced Knoxville DUI attorney to represent you...

Tennessee Carjack Slaying Case: Grand Jury Witness Immunity

Posted on June 02, 2009
On May 14, 2009, before Judge Baumgartner, defense counsel for Vanessa Colemen in the now-infamous carjack slaying case argued that Tennessee homicide charges against his client should be dropped because Ms. Coleman testified before a grand jury on issues related to the charges now levied against her...

Tennessee Proposed Bill to Double Fines for Assaulting a Police Officer

Posted on June 01, 2009
On May 19, the Tennessee House passed an amendment to Senate Bill 539, removing language creating two distinct offenses for assault or aggravated assault on a police officer. Instead, the amendment, if passed, would simply double fines. Thus, the fine for assault in Tennessee on a police officer would be $5,000, and aggravated assault would carry a fine of $15,000...

Tennessee?s Criminal Abortion Laws: Proposed Constitutional Amendment May Bring Change

Posted on May 31, 2009
The General Assembly passed a proposal?SJR 127?to amend Article 1 of the Tennessee Constitution. If passed, the amendment could open the door for changes to Tennessee criminal abortion laws. The proposal reads, ?Nothing in this Constitution secures or protects a right to abortion, except in cases involving rape or incest or in cases where the procedure is medically necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman...

Tennessee Criminal Law: Types of Pleas

Posted on May 30, 2009
The choice of how to plead to criminal charges in Tennessee can be a difficult and confusing matter. It can also be very stressful given the consequences that flow from entering a plea. The following is a brief description of the various pleas available in Tennessee...

Voluntariness of Post-Conviction Relief in Tennessee

Posted on May 29, 2009
On January 14, 2009, the Tennessee Criminal Court of Appeals had an opportunity to revisit the law on the voluntariness of a guilty plea. In Shockley v. State of Tennessee, a Davidson county grand jury indicted the petitioner/defendant on four counts of rape of a child and nine counts of aggravated sexual battery...

Tennessee Credit Card Fraud on the Rise

Posted on May 28, 2009
Credit card fraud in Tennessee has jumped by 38 percent over the last three years, according to a report released by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Fraud typically begins with theft of the card or some compromising of data associated with the card account (such as the account number)...

Tennessee First Degree Murder Amendment to Include Domestic Abuse

Posted on May 27, 2009
Under present law, first degree murder in Tennessee is: ? A premeditated and intentional killing of another; ? A killing of another committed in the perpetration of or attempt to perpetrate any first degree murder, act of terrorism, arson, rape, robbery, burglary, theft, kidnapping, aggravated child abuse, aggravated child neglect, rape of a child, aggravated rape of a child or aircraft piracy; or ? A killing of another committed as the result of the unlawful throwing, placing or discharging of a destructive device or bomb...

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