Tennessee District Public Defenders Conference

US Supreme Court refines test for Second Amendment challenges

Near the end of its 2023-2024 term, the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Rahimi, 602 U.S. —, 2024 WL 3074728 (June 21, 2024). In its opinion, the Court attempts to ratchet back some of the consequences/implications of its decision two years ago in New York State Rifle & Pistol […]

U.S. Supreme Court finds that substitute expert testimony may violate Confrontation Clause but punts the question of whether original expert’s statements are testimonial

The United States Supreme Court’s recent decision in Smith v. Arizona blunts the State’s ability to substitute experts at trial with the substitute expert basing their testimony on the original expert’s notes or reports. The Court’s ruling in this case opens the door to challenging Tennessee’s existing stance on this issue as outlined in State […]

Tenn. Sup. Ct. and CCA clarify deadlines for post-conviction petitions and writs of error coram nobis

The Court of Criminal Appeals has reinstated two first-degree murder convictions in Lowe v. State after concluding that an attorney’s “miscalculation and poor advice” on post-conviction deadlines do not toll the one-year statute of limitations for post-conviction petitions. As a result, Petitioner’s post-conviction claims were dismissed as untimely, despite the trial court’s grant of post-conviction […]