Nashville Criminal Defense Attorneys

Yell loudly if you want to remain silent

2010-06-01T13:17:00.003-05:00

Today, the United States Supreme Court, by a 5-4 vote, placed the burden on the defendant to speak up and "unambiguously" assert his or her right to remain silent. According to the Court, simply remaining silent (for nearly three-hours) does not make it clear to the police that a defendant might really wish to remain silent. The case is Berghuis v. Thompkins. Justice

Padilla v. Kentucky – Advice to Non-U.S. Citizen Client

2010-04-06T15:48:00.001-05:00

Last week in Padilla v. Kentucky, No. 08-651 (March 31, 2010), the United States Supreme Court held that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel contemplates that effective representation of the non-citizen defendant includes advising that defendant of potential immigration consequences stemming from a criminal conviction. Mr. Padilla was a lawful, permanent, resident alien

Court Does Not Assume Resale from Vague Allegation of “Marijuana Plants”

2010-03-09T14:14:00.001-06:00

In another search warrant case from the Court of Criminal Appeals, State of Tennessee v. Jody D. Bearden, 2010 WL 481199 (Tenn. Crim. App. Feb. 11, 2010), where a police officer claimed in his search warrant application (an application requesting a search of the defendant’s computer for evidence of drug trafficking) that the officer “recognized the odor of marijuana” and “

Justice Scalia rules for the defense

2010-03-02T09:56:00.002-06:00

Justice Scalia rules for the defense and finds that a simple battery is not a violent felony, and is not a predicate for finding a defendant an “armed career criminal.” Today in Johnson v. United States, Justice Scalia further restrained the government’s use of the armed career criminal enhancement found in 18 U.S.C. 924(e). In Johnson the government

Crime Rate Dropping??

2010-02-26T14:44:00.001-06:00

According to the Tennessean, Nashville crime has fallen to its lowest level in thirty-one years. Though I hate to be a naysayer, I wonder about the reliability of the statistics as reported. Some of you may already be familiar with COMPSTAT, a statistics based approach to crime fighting employed famously in the fictional Baltimore Police of HBO’s The Wire. Although I was generally a big fan of

United States Supreme Court issues “Miranda” decision.

2010-02-23T11:22:00.006-06:00

As the New York Times reported the U.S. Supreme Court has just issued an opinion approving a “watered-down” Miranda warning. In Florida v. Powell a 7-2 majority accepted this warning:“You have the right to remain silent. If you give up the right to remain silent, anything you say can be used against you in court. You have the right to talk to a lawyer before answering any of our questions. If

Great Search Warrant Case: Single Sale Alone is Not Enough for Nexus

2010-02-23T11:03:00.003-06:00

With regularity, search warrants allowing police to search a home after someone engages in a single sale at the home, and nothing more, have been upheld despite arguments to the contrary. The problem, of course, is that that single sale does not indicate whether drugs would be located at the home in the future. Thus, previously, if a houseguest engaged in drug activity at your home, police

Drug Court Needs YOU

2010-02-15T16:08:00.000-06:00

From Nicole Young in Today's Tennessean. Judge Norman's highly successful, unique and revolutionary program is apparently at risk. We cannot put into words how much this program means to our clients.DC4 drug treatment program may run out of funds"A highly successful drug treatment program in Davidson County is in danger of having to close its doors because of a lack of funding.DC4, short for

Greetings!

2010-02-15T15:53:00.000-06:00

We three lawyers here at Bell, Tennent & Frogge have started this little blog as a way to communicate our passion for representing the accused. To start, here is a list of some questions and answers that come up frequently for us. Enjoy!Do I need an attorney even if I am innocent? Yes. The Government, as represented by prosecutors and police officers, is generally in the business of