Johnthony Walker has Court Date Postponed until December 15, 2016

Johnthony Walker, appearing next to his attorney, Amanda B. Dunn, requested a continuation of his court date to December 15, 2016. All parties agreed to this date change. Walker's new date is set for December 15, 2016 in the General Sessions Court of Judge Lila Statom.

http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2016/11/29/hearing-delayed-driver-charged-fatal-chattanooga-school-bus-crash/94594048/

Chattanooga

The horror of the bus crash in Chattanooga yesterday fills my heart with grief. I cannot begin to imagine how so many families will recover. I hope and pray that all our systems will respond appropriately so that justice and healing can eventually occur.

Distracted Driving

There is an excellent article in the New York Times concerning how distracted driving has expanded and is killing us on the roadways. Please read it at :

http://nyti.ms/2eW0eU9

Now put down the devices and stay safe!

Public Safety Suffers Another Loss as Three New States Legalize Recreational Marijuana

The Washington Post (story link below) tallied three new states as amongst those states that have added their weight behind the collective effort for marijuana legalization. California, Nevada, and Massachusetts have now given their stamp of approval to recreational marijuana and in other disturbing news: Florida, Arkansas, and North Dakota have given approval for medical Marijuana initiatives. Voters in Montana pushed-back the current restrictions on medical marijuana to round-out the evening as a victory for pot.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/11/08/medical-marijuana-sails-to-victory-in-florida/

Tennessee Adopts a Good-Faith Exception to the Exclusionary Rule

In the Corrin Kathleen Reynolds case, the Tennessee Supreme Court has adopted a good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule. Although the Tennessee Supreme Court held that the warrantless blood draw of Ms. Reynolds violated her Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article I, section 7 of the Tennessee State Constitution right to be protected from unreasonable searches, the Court none-the-less adopted a good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule as set-forth in the U.S. Supreme Court case of Davis v. United States, 564 U.S. 229 (2011). The Tennessee Supreme Court further held that any evidence taken from a defendant and tested should not be suppressed if it was obtained under a reasonably, objectively good-faith reliance on precedent.

STATE OF TENNESSEE v. CORRIN KATHLEEN REYNOLDS
No. E2013-02309-SC-R11-CD

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60 minutes tackles the marijuana legalization controversy

A recent story on 60 minutes discussed marijuana votes and the Colorado experience. Here are a few highlights:

1) The Governor says, WAIT for more data before considering joining the experiment;
2)More babies are being born with marijuana in their system, which is harmful to the developing brain. Their mothers indicate they did not know it was a problem for the baby;
3)Marijuana effects brain development up to about age 30;
4) The black market and organized crime are thriving;
5) Most Colorado counties have voted to ban marijuana production. The biggest producer is Pueblo County. There is a ballott measure in that county this year to ban production there.

Watch the story at:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-five-states-to-vote-on-recreational-pot/

Chattanooga Challenges

Read the story at:
http://newschannel9.com/news/local/chattanooga-police-face-major-challenges-enforcing-dui-laws

to see and understand how frustrating it is for law enforcement officers, who want to be able to do more to save lives on our roadways, but can't due to budgets. When I was the DUI Prosecutor in Chattanooga back in 2000, there was an active DUI unit in both the Chattanooga police department and the Hamilton County Sheriff's office. There were about four officers in each agency looking for impaired drivers during prime times on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.
They were so effective and our DA's office was so effective, that impaired people started looking for other ways to get home from bars that did not involve driving.  Officers were having a hard time finding impaired drivers, because the word had spread in the bars that the likelihood of getting caught and convicted was very high.
Now, things have regressed. Drinkers will not change behavior if they don't fear getting caught.  People die when impaired drivers far outweigh the number of officers on the road.