New Implied Consent Decision

Judge Tipton of the Court of Criminal Appeals has remanded an implied consent violation for a new hearing. He did so because the implied consent determination was made by a jury. This is a clear instruction from this Judge. In his opinion, the civil implied consent determiniation is not a matter for a jury. In this case the Judge affirmed the jury decision as the 13th juror. That was enough for dissenting Judge Ogle, who would have affirmed the determination. However, she was in a 2-1 minority, so the Trial Court will now make the determination without a jury. The lesson for prosecutors is pretty simple. Request a determination by the Judge. These cases can and should be determined in the Sessions Court as soon as possible, but if any are flowing with the DUI, they have to be made by the Judge, not the jury according to Judge Tipton. Read the majority opinion at: http://www.tsc.state.tn.us/OPINIONS/TCCA/PDF/111/State%20vs%20Andrew%20Reginald%20MacKinnon.pdf Read the dissenting opinion at: http://www.tsc.state.tn.us/OPINIONS/TCCA/PDF/111/State%20vs%20Andrew%20Reginald%20MacKinnon%20DIS.pdf