A conviction resulting from an unfair or procedurally compromised trial may not be the last word. The sexual assault mistrial involving several former Vanderbilt University football players is a recent example. The players were found guilty after standing trial in a Tennessee court. However, a post-conviction inquiry into the impartiality of the jurors determined that […]
Although a successful outcome is always desired, a criminal defendant should keep in mind that post-conviction options may also be available. The obvious example is filing an appeal with the appropriate state or federal court. But post-conviction DNA analysis may also be available in some circumstances. As its name suggests, post-conviction analysis of DNA evidence […]
Is preparing to file a state or federal appeal akin to being the underdog? As a law firm that has helped many clients with successful appeals, we would caution against assuming that the odds are always stacked against an appellant. Consider the many was that errors might arise in a trial. Procedural and constitutional violations […]
Although federal appeals usually involve a lower court’s judgment, there are also administrative proceedings that can be appealed to a federal court. In a recent example involving sexual discrimination claims under Title IX against several University of Tennessee athletes, several victims are appealing the outcomes they received from the university’s administrative process. The lawsuit, filed […]
Regardless of partisanship, the subject of law enforcement has come up in the 2016 presidential debates. A recent article suggests that even Tennessee authorities may need to take a second look into enforcement practices. Specifically, a recent federal lawsuit filing alleges that the Tennessee Highway Patrol is using a quota system for making arrests for […]
Prosecutorial misconduct recently made a magazine’s top 10 listing of civil liberties betrayals from 2015. The article described the misconduct in racial terms, citing examples of wrongful convictions obtained by police and prosecutors allegedly working together to game the jury or right the evidence. Unfortunately, even Tennessee saw its share of tampering with the criminal […]
