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News in Brief

Article • August 1, 2025 • from CLN August, 2025

Filed under: Assault by Police, Misconduct/Corruption, Guard Misconduct, Police Misconduct, Stun Guns/Tasers, Immigration, False Arrest, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of

News in Brief by Alabama: Walker County Sheriff Nick Smith faces six misdemeanor counts after a grand jury indicted him on May 30, 2025, for knowingly employing uncertified personnel. WBRC in Birmingham reported that Smith’s second-in-command, Chief Deputy Ralph Williams, was also indicted on one count of providing false or …

Shelby County DA Oversees Retesting After Forensic Analyst’s Dismissal for ‘Unethical Conduct’

Article • July 1, 2025 • from CLN July, 2025

Filed under: Crime Labs, Appealable Issues/Orders, Sufficiency of Evidence, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of

Shelby County DA Oversees Retesting After Forensic Analyst’s Dismissal for ‘Unethical Conduct’ by Sam Rutherford Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy is overseeing the retesting of forensic evidence in multiple sexual assault cases after the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (“TBI”) terminated a forensic analyst at its Jackson laboratory for “unethical …

News in Brief

Article • July 1, 2025 • from CLN July, 2025

Filed under: Misconduct/Corruption, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Shootings, Dogs, Police--Excessive Force, Brady Violations, Home Search, Bribery/Extortion/Theft, Brady Rule violations, Perjury/Perjured Testimony

News in Brief by Arkansas: The downward spiral of former Hot Spring County Sheriff Derek “Scott” Finkbeiner, 47, continued with his fourth arrest on May 2, 2025, reported KATV out of Little Rock. The arrest stemmed from Finkbeiner’s attempt to contact a witness, co-defendant Jordan Hammond, through the Signal app, …

News in Brief

Article • May 15, 2025 • from CLN June, 2025

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: On March 31, 2025, in State of Alabama v. Mac Marquette, Morgan County Circuit Judge Charles Elliott denied former Decatur Police Department officer Marquette’s motion for self-defense immunity in the fatal shooting of Steve Perkins. According to the Associate Press, the denial depended legally on …

NEWS IN BRIEF

Article • March 15, 2025 • from CLN April, 2025

Filed under: News in Brief

NEWS IN BRIEF by Alabama: On February 19, 2025, a grand jury called for the immediate abolition of the Hanceville Police Department for its “rampant culture of corruption” that turned it into a criminal enterprise. The New York Post reported that an investigation followed the death of dispatcher Christopher Willingham, …

News in Brief

Article • February 15, 2025 • from CLN March, 2025

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alaska: In a rare move, federal prosecutors asked an Alaska judge to vacate the 2019 assault conviction of long-time felon Johnny-Lee Preston Burk, citing a concealed relationship between the presiding judge and a prosecutor in the case. The Alaska Beacon reported that United States District Judge …

News in Brief

Article • February 1, 2025 • from CLN February, 2025

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Arizona: Phoenix resident Penny McCarthy, 66, endured a terrifying ordeal after United States Marshals arrested her at gunpoint in her home, mistaking her for a fugitive, according to KNXV. Body camera footage shows officers refusing to confirm her identity despite McCarthy repeatedly asking them. “I truly …

News in Brief

Article • December 15, 2024 • from CLN January, 2025

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Alabama: A former Huntsville, Alabama police officer, William “Ben” Darby, was sentenced again on October 26, 2024, to 25 years for the fatal shooting of a suicidal man in 2018, according to the Slate Report. Darby was convicted for the second time in May 2024 of …

Sixth Circuit Strikes Retroactive Application of Parts of Tennessee’s Sweeping Sex Offender Registration, Verification, and Tracking Law

Article • October 1, 2024 • from CLN October, 2024

Filed under: Sex Offender Registration, Retroactivity

Sixth Circuit Strikes Retroactive Application of Parts of Tennessee’s Sweeping Sex Offender Registration, Verification, and Tracking Law by Sam Rutherford by Sam Rutherford The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit overturned a ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, enjoining enforcement of Tennessee’s …

Tennessee Supreme Court Announces Prospective Abrogation of Common Law Accomplice-Corroboration Rule

Article • July 15, 2024 • from CLN July, 2024

Filed under: State Law Claims, Co-onspirator and Accomplice Statements/Testimony, Accessories and Accomplices

Tennessee Supreme Court Announces Prospective Abrogation of Common Law Accomplice-Corroboration Rule by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney   The Supreme Court of Tennessee abrogated the common law accomplice-corroboration rule on a prospective basis and dismissed the murder conviction of Laronda Turner due to insufficient evidence. Turner, along with codefendants Tony …

Decedent’s End-of-Life Condition and Toxicology May Alter Time-of-Death Estimation

Article • June 15, 2024 • from CLN June, 2024

Filed under: Forensic Sciences

Decedent’s End-of-Life Condition and Toxicology May Alter Time-of-Death Estimation by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney   Anthropology professor Dawnie Steadman, Director of the Forensic Anthropology Center at the University of Tennessee (“University”), and her colleagues “hypothesized that drugs found in decomposing bodies could have an influence on the behaviors of …

Florez-Ramirez v. Jones, TN, Complaint, Excessive Force, 2024

Brief • May 20, 2024

Filed under: Excessive Force

Florez-Ramirez v. Jones, TN, Complaint, Excessive Force, 2024 Case 2:24-cv-02335 Document 1 Filed 05/20/24 Page 1 of 27 PageID 1 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE WESTERN DIVISION AT MEMPHIS DAMIAN FLOREZ-RAMIREZ, Plaintiff, v. Case No. JACQUES JONES (s-4624); TRACY WILLIAMS (s-9596); CARLUS CLEAVES …

Eden v. Bradley County, TN, Settlement Approval Hearing Docket Sheet, Denial of Medical Care, 2023

Brief • November 16, 2023

Filed under: Failure to Treat

Eden v. Bradley County, TN, Settlement Approval Hearing Docket Sheet, Denial of Medical Care, 2023 ŖįŔįġŅŊŔŕœŊńŕġńŐŖœŕġŧŰųġŵũŦġņłŔŕņœŏġŅŊŔŕœŊńŕġŐŇġŕņŏŏņŔŔņņġŢŵġńŉłŕŕłŏŐŐňłġ ġ ġ □ □ ✔ □ġġ ġġġ ġ ġ ġġ ġ ġ ġ ŎŐŕŊŐŏġŉņłœŊŏňġ őœņŕœŊłōġńŐŏŇņœņŏńņġ ġ Őŕŉņœġġ 1:18-CV-217 Eden Bradley Co. TN., et al ġ ńŢŴŦġŏŰġŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠġ ŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŷįġŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠġ ġ őœņŔņŏŕĻġ ġ ġ ŉŰůŰųŢţŭŦġŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠŠġ ġ ġ …

Sixth Circuit: Plain Error Where District Court Required Defendant at Resentencing to Admit Guilt in Order to Fully Consider Defendant’s Evidence of Rehabilitation

Article • November 1, 2023 • from CLN November, 2023

Filed under: Rehabilitation/Recidivism, Rehabilitation Factors, Admissiion of Guilt

Sixth Circuit: Plain Error Where District Court Required Defendant at Resentencing to Admit Guilt in Order to Fully Consider Defendant’s Evidence of Rehabilitation by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit found plain error where the U.S. District Court for the Middle District …

News in Brief

Article • October 1, 2023 • from CLN October, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Arizona: According to information attained by Hatewatch, the leader of the extremist Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association emailed a video regarding an investigation into his son which could potentially cause the father to be prosecuted. Richard Mack sent a video of his son’s alleged child …

News in Brief

Article • August 1, 2023 • from CLN August, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by California: The District Attorney for Los Angeles County, George Gascón, announced that a police officer in San Fernando was charged with theft. CBS News reported that the officer, Jeffrey King, 37, was handed charges on June 6, 2023, of misdemeanor petty theft, felony extortion, and felony …

Eden v. Bradley County, TN, Settlement, Denial of Medical Care, 2023

Brief • June 28, 2023

Filed under: Failure to Treat

Eden v. Bradley County, TN, Settlement, Denial of Medical Care, 2023 EXHIBIT A IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE AT CHATTANOOGA ) DARRELL EDEN; RANDY BACON; ) ESTATE OF CHRISTOPHER BROWN; ) through personal representative Paula Rhea ) Brown; ESTATE OF MARTIN ) ) …

Memphis Police Beat Man to Death

Article • June 15, 2023 • from CLN July, 2023

Filed under: Police--Excessive Force, Traffic stop

Memphis Police Beat Man to Death by Kevin Bliss by Kevin W. Bliss Five Memphis police officers have been charged with second degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct, and official oppression in the death of the 29-year-old Black motorist Tyre Nichols. Ex-Memphis police Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond …

Tennessee Supreme Court Announces State Statute Automatically Sentencing Juvenile Offenders Convicted of First-Degree Murder to Life in Prison Is Unconstitutional

Article • May 15, 2023 • from CLN June, 2023

Filed under: U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Doctrine of Unconstitutional Conditions, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders

Tennessee Supreme Court Announces State Statute Automatically Sentencing Juvenile Offenders Convicted of First-Degree Murder to Life in Prison Is Unconstitutional by Douglas Ankney by Douglas Ankney In a case of first impression, the Supreme Court of Tennessee followed the U.S. Supreme Court’s guidance for proportionality analysis when sentencing juvenile offenders …

News in Brief

Article • May 15, 2023 • from CLN June, 2023

Filed under: News in Brief

News in Brief by Arkansas: The DOJ announced on Jan. 24, 2023, that two former police officers in Crawford County were charged with excessive use of force after beating a man at a gas station. The New York Times reported that the two former officers, Zackary King and Levi White, …