On behalf of Patrick T. McNally, Attorney at Law | Jun 6, 2019 | Criminal Defense, Post Conviction
Now that the congressional session of the Tennessee General Assembly has ended, the state is facing some new changes. And for those facing criminal charges, or those who have already served time, some of these changes are good news. Criminal justice reform was Gov....
On behalf of Patrick T. McNally, Attorney at Law | May 21, 2019 | Post Conviction, Uncategorized
All too often, the result of a criminal case leaves a person facing far more severe consequences than they should. Perhaps the jury instructions pitted the jury against the defendant, or the court denied an appeal in violation of state law. When that happens, you do...
On behalf of Patrick T. McNally, Attorney at Law | Apr 19, 2019 | Post Conviction
Most have heard the term “expungement,” but few understand how it works beyond the fact that it enables one to clear their name. Here in Tennessee, expungement, expunction or sealing of records are different legal processes where the arrest, charge or...
On behalf of Patrick T. McNally, Attorney at Law | Mar 28, 2019 | Post Conviction
The circumstances of Adnan Syed’s conviction in 2000 became the basis of the Serial podcast in 2014. It reexamined without bias the conviction of Adnan Syed, who is serving a life sentence for strangling his ex-girlfriend and then burying her with help from a friend,...
On behalf of Patrick T. McNally, Attorney at Law | Apr 6, 2018 | Post Conviction
What is ineffective assistance of counsel in a criminal case? Thanks to the Sixth Amendment and associated court rulings, criminal defendants are entitled to the assistance of counsel — and that counsel is to be effective. However, the standards for determining...
On behalf of Patrick T. McNally, Attorney at Law | Mar 23, 2018 | Post Conviction
The National Registry of Exonerations has just released data on the 139 people known to have been exonerated in 2017, along with historical data. This information gives us some insight into why 139 innocent people ended up behind bars, and how they ended up getting...
On behalf of Patrick T. McNally, Attorney at Law | Jan 27, 2018 | Post Conviction
When a defendant is exonerated, what happens next? Suppose the defense proves that DNA evidence from the crime scene does not match the defendant. Or, perhaps a key witness recants their story. In some cases, misconduct by the police, prosecutors or the jury is...
On behalf of Patrick T. McNally, Attorney at Law | Jan 13, 2018 | Post Conviction
Keith Tharpe, an African-American, was convicted of a terrible crime. In 1990, a Georgia jury said he had ambushed his wife and sister-in-law while they were driving to work. He murdered the sister-in-law and then kidnapped and raped his wife. The...
On behalf of Patrick T. McNally, Attorney at Law | Dec 15, 2017 | Post Conviction
If you plead guilty in exchange for a plea bargain, what happens if the customary sentence changes? When guideline sentences are reduced, defendants are sometimes allowed to ask for the new, lower sentence. Is there a reason why people sentenced after plea bargains...
On behalf of Patrick T. McNally, Attorney at Law | Nov 17, 2017 | Post Conviction
When Wilbert Jones was convicted of a 1971 abduction and rape, he was 19. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Now 65, he is tasting freedom once more after a Louisiana judge ruled the case against him was weak and found that...
