STANDING UP FOR YOU WITH SKILLED ADVOCACY

Going to college is an exciting transition in young people’s lives. For many of them, it is the first time they have lived away from home. The typical dorm rooms are small and cramped, and the RA is just down the hall, but it gives the students who live in them their first taste of

The problem isn’t new. Experts have recognized for more than a decade that much of the forensic science we rely on in criminal cases is flawed or unreliable. In 2009, the National Research Council issued a report to the Justice Department, finding that a great deal of forensic science, especially pattern-matching evidence, is not based

Part of the role of the criminal justice system is rehabilitation. It’s not all about punishment and revenge. The juvenile system is even more centered around rehabilitation than the adult criminal justice system, as our society has long recognized that juveniles are somewhat less culpable than adults and perhaps less set in their ways. Young

Law enforcement is increasingly using facial recognition technology to identify suspects who are caught on camera. It’s as if there were a perpetual lineup that includes every American. If you have a photo on file with the government – and you almost certainly do – police and federal agencies may have had an artificial intelligence

Defendants are starting to see trials now that the courts are resuming some in-person operations of the past. But do safety rules change what your day in court means? The Tennessee Supreme Court suspended many in-person court proceedings through the beginning of this year because of COVID-19. Only recently, have trials begun to make a comeback. But

It’s the worst sort of phone call. Your child, a college student, has been charged with a crime on campus. Now, there will be a disciplinary hearing and the possibility they will be kicked out of school. Even worse, criminal charges could follow. If you or your child attends an institution of higher learning in

In America today, the traditional trial by jury, with its many due process protections, was already endangered. Across the U.S., nearly 95% of all felony convictions are obtained by plea bargain instead of trial. Now, the Coronavirus pandemic has further curtailed the number of jury trials, at least in person. The Tennessee Supreme Court has

Generally, yes. In 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that police may not ordinarily go through the contents of your phone without first getting a warrant. That said, they could still do so if they could show it was an emergency or that you would otherwise delete evidence of criminal activity. In 2014’s Riley v.

The painkiller OxyContin has played an outsized role in the opioid crisis, which has killed at least 470,000 people since 2000. Originally intended as a drug for severe pain, OxyContin was prescribed widely for moderate pain, exposing millions to the risk of addiction and overdose. While many factors may have contributed to the opioid crisis,

The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) defines domestic violence as “the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault and/or other abusive behavior as part of a systemic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another.” The frequency and severity can vary dramatically, but the events include everything from threats and