Use Pre-Trial Motions to Avoid Pitfalls in Sex Offender Registry Cases
Recent cases have highlighted a couple of common issues in cases involving alleged violations of the Sex Offender Registry Statute, Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 40-39-201 to -218. Pre-trial motions are recommended to deal with these issues preemptively and preserve them for appeal. When the State charges a violation of the Sex Offender Registry Statute, one […]
Novel Search and Seizure Issues Arising From Federal Administrative Actions
While Padilla held that effective assistance of counsel requires competence in immigration-related collateral consequences for clients who are accused of state crimes, recent policy shifts in the federal administrative context are beginning to elevate novel search and seizure issues beyond clients’ typical interactions with law enforcement; thus, effective assistance requires competency in that context too. […]
Important Changes in Registry Law for HIV-Related Offenses
We all know that the sex offender registry is ever evolving, and usually to the great detriment of our clients. However, Rachel Meeropol, ACLU Senior Counsel, recently reached out to me to highlight a class of potential clients that are no longer subject to registry requirements, should not be charged with registry violations, and are […]
Helping Clients With Mental Illness and Intellectual Disabilities Navigate the Criminal Legal System
Recently, Dallas Crews, the Conference’s Social Work Program Director, provided some guidance for social workers helping our clients who suffer from mental illness and/or intellectual disability, and it is worth sharing whether the attorney has access to a social worker or not. I: IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM First, when working clienwhots are severely and/or persistently mentally […]
New Office of Conflict Counsel Gets Funded but Remains Undefined
Most of you have heard that a new system for selecting, funding and training attorneys who take our conflicts is coming, but nobody seems sure of exactly what it will look like, in large part because the Administrative Office of the Courts got funding to move forward without any authorizing legislation spelling out the details. […]