New Supreme Court decision

In a 4-1 decision, the Tennessee Supreme Court has reversed the CCA and reinstated a disorderly conduct conviction related to a Tea Party rally in Greeneville. The pundits will most likely pick up on the free speech versus disorderly conduct issue. It is interesting and the Court found that a riled up, angry person using a racially deragatory term and acting like a jackass can be convicted. However, for those of us troubled by the decision in State v Binnette and subsequent cases that seemed to give more weight to a video recording that to credible testimony, this decision gives hope that sanity is returning to Tennessee in the weighing of videotape reviews. In this case the CCA decided that video recordings were in conflict with the testimony of various officers. The Supreme Court states that the credibility decision was properly made at the trial level and videotapes were not the be all and end all after all. Read the majority decision by Justice Wade at: http://www.tsc.state.tn.us/OPINIONS/TSC/PDF/111/SC%20State%20of%20Tennessee%20v%20Teddy%20Ray%20Mitchell%20opn.pdf The dissenting opinion by Justice Lee is available at: http://www.tsc.state.tn.us/OPINIONS/TSC/PDF/111/SC%20State%20of%20Tennessee%20v%20Teddy%20Ray%20Mitchell%20DIS.pdf