A Criminal Defendant who has entered a guilty plea and later believes that he was coerced or that he received ineffective assistance of counsel (which could be receiving bad legal advice or insufficient legal advice regarding the charges and the consequences of the...
Sentence Based on “Professional Criminal” Factor Upheld
When sentencing a defendant found guilty of multiple crimes, a trial court must not only determine the specific sentence for each crime, but also determine whether those sentences should be served at the same time or stacked consecutively. A few crimes and...
Court Affirms Eight Year Prison Sentence For Vehicular Assault
Vehicular Assault is a Tennessee felony offense committed when a person, as a result of intoxication, causes serious bodily injury to another person by operating a motor vehicle. It is often charged, along with DUI, when an impaired driving incident seriously injures...
Trial Court Has Wide Discretion in Weighing Sentencing Factors
Since the 2005 amendments to the Sentencing Act in Tennessee, trial courts were afforded expanded discretion in the consideration of enhancement and mitigating factors and in selecting a sentence within the appropriate statutory range for a criminal offense. In...
Post-Trial Request for DNA Testing Must Meet Statutory Criteria
DNA evidence can be critical evidence in a criminal case. In recent decades, advances in biomedical technology has led to the capability to ascertain information from biological evidence which could not be ascertained before. So, when collected and preserved,...
