Nashville Lawyer Blog

KoulisMotion Letter.pdf

David Raybin recently filed an appeal with the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals seeking to vacate the conviction of his client, Dr. Christ Koulis, a former plastic surgeon that was convicted of criminally negligent homicide in Franklin, Tennessee (Williamson County) in a case that drew significant media attention.

Mr. Raybin had originally filed an appeal challenging both the sufficiency of the evidence and raising a double jeopardy claim. Dr. Koulis died this past week. Mr. Raybin's recent appeal seeks to vacate Dr. Koulis' conviction by reason of death. In Mr. Raybin's most recent filing he cites the majority rule of law which requires that the appeal be abated and the conviction be vacated.

Below are links to a number of news sources reporting on this case:

Nashville City Paper Story

WKRN Channel 2 Story

Nashville Newschannel 5 Story

Williamson Herald Story

The Tennessee Supreme Court recently held in State v. Turner that when a person asks a police officer to retrieve his cell phone, which apparently contained the cell phone number of a pre-paid legal services provider, and telling an officer that he could want an attorney if he could afford one that such was not unequivocal enough to assert a right to counsel. The Tennessee Supreme Court reviewed the police interview of a murder suspect by Smyrna police officers in which the suspect made such requests. The court found that when such statements were taken into context of the conversation between the officer and the Defendant that it was reasonable for the interrogating officer to further attempt to clarify the nature of his inquiry, rather than terminate the interview as would be required to do if the Defendant had simply stated that he wanted to speak to an attorney.

The Rutherford County trial judge had originally found that the Defendant had unequivocally asserted his right to counsel when he asked the officers to retrieve his cell phone, which apparently contained the cell phone number of a pre-paid legal services provider. The Court of Criminal Appeals held otherwise, and the Tennessee Supreme Court affirmed the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals.

Based on this case, if ever questioned by police, be sure to say "I want a lawyer" in no uncertain terms.

Our office represents individuals charged with probation violations in Nashville (Davidson County), Tennessee and surrounding counties including Wilson, Williamson, Dickson, Sumner, and Robertson Counties. A probation violation is something to take very seriously. Since the court does not give any sentence credit for time served on probation, a person could be sentenced to serve the entire sentence in jail at a probation revocation hearing despite having served the majority of their probation without incident. The following is an outline of what could happen at a probation violation hearing.

If a trial judge determines a violation of probation has occurred, the trial judge has basically three options: (1) he or she can order the defendant to serve his sentence in
incarceration; (2) to return to probaton, or to serve the probationary term, beginning anew; or (3) serve a probationary
period that is extended for up to an additional two years. State v. Hunter, 1 S.W.3d 643, 647
(Tenn. 1999).

Additionally, under Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-35-310(b), the trial court
may also resentence the defendant for the remainder of the unexpired term to
community corrections (a very intense form of probation) provided, that the violation of the defendant's suspension of sentence is a technical one and does not involve the commission of a new offense.

Tennessee Code Annotated §§ 40-35-310 and 40-35-311 govern the procedure for revocation of probation. If a trial court determines that a defendant has violated the conditions of probation, it has the authority to revoke the defendant's probation and cause execution of the original judgment.

Thus, if a criminal defendant is charged with a violation of probation, he or she could be required to serve the entire sentence that was originally ordered to be suspended and served on probation to be served in prison or in jail. It is very important to contact an attorney to ensure that your case is presented in the most favorable way to the trial court so you have your best chance to avoid serving your entire sentence incarcerated. A good criminal attorney may be able to convince the court that you either did not violate your probatoin, that despite violating your probation that you should be returned to probation or may be able to convince the court to allow you to submit to drug treatment or some other form of rehabilitative treatment instead of being incarcerated for your entire sentence.

You should contact Vince Wyatt about a probation violation matter or any other legal matter at vwyatt@hwylaw.com or 615-256-6666.

A Nashville resident, Anthony McCoy, recovered $95,000 from Metro in a highly publicized lawsuit covered by the Tennessean. Mr. McCoy suffered significant dental damage when a Metro Sheriff's Deputy forceably ripped his cemented dental grill out of his mouth.

Read the entire article here:
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20100316/NEWS03/3160334/Ripping+grill+off+teeth+of+man+in+custody+costs+Metro++100+000For questions about this or any legal matters, please contact David Raybin or any of the attorneys at Hollins, Raybin & Weissman, PC at draybin@hwylaw.com or 615-256-6666.

The attorneys and staff at Hollins, Raybin & Weissman, PC congratulate David Raybin for his great work on behalf of an incarcerated man whose dental grill was forceably ripped out by a Sheriff's deputy.

The incident in November started with McCoy's arrest after failing to pay child support. A sheriff's deputy told him to remove the gold grill attached to his teeth. But when McCoy, 31, told the deputy it was permanently attached, Lt. Tanya Mayhew stepped in. She put on a rubber glove, stuck her hand in his mouth and yanked out the gold jewelry grill cemented to his teeth.

Mr. McCoy had the enamel on his front four teeth ripped away and was denied proper medical treatment afterward. He asked to see a dentist but was given Tylenol instead. It took 10 days locked away before the dentist came.

The incident left his teeth disfigured and needed at least $10,000 in dental work. Metro lawyers have scrambled to reach a $95,000 legal settlement, including pain and suffering.

Many attorneys would likely avoid representing an individual under such circumstances. However, at Hollins, Raybin & Weissman, we believe justice is not reserved only for the rich. Kudos to David Raybin for exemplifying this behavior.

David may be reached about personal injury, criminal defense, or any other legal matters at draybin@hwylaw.com or 615-256-6666.

Nashville Metro Davidson County police officers are patrolling each night looking for persons that may be driving under the influence of alcohol. Here are the top ways to avoid getting a DUI.

1. Do NOT get into your vehicle if you are not immediately prepared to take a breathalyzer test. This one seems obvious, but far too many people go to a bar or restaurant with the plan to have one or two beers and end up having four or five beers or more. Public transportation is not an option for most in Nashville so many after five beers think they are fine to drive, but if they really considered that moments after getting into their car that they could be forced to submit to a breathalyzer and/or get arrested for DUI, chances are they would think differently. The best approach is obviously to always have a designated driver or use a taxi, but the discipline not to drink more than one or two drinks is sometimes the only reasonable choice.

2. Don't give the Police a reason to pull you over. Even if you have only truly had a couple of beers, no one wants to be pulled over in the early morning hours and be questioned by a police officer. While Tennessee law says that no one should be required to submit to a breathalyzer unless the police officer has reasonable suspicion that such individual is under the influence of drugs or alcohol, chances are that if you are honest with the police officer that you have had a couple of beers, then the police officer is going to assume that you have underestimated the amount of alcohol that you have actually had (since many drivers do this) and you will find yourself being requested to perform field sobriety tests and the slightest misstep or failure to follow instructions is what the police officer is likely to use as a basis to require a breathalyzer test. One good way to avoid getting caught up in this, is by not violating any traffic laws. Police officers cannot just pull you over because you leave a bar at 2:00 a.m. They have to have a valid reason for pulling you over. In Nashville, it is common for police officers to patrol West End Avenue, 17th Avenue, 21st Avenue, Wedgewood Avenue, etc. in the early morning hours looking for persons having trouble driving under the 30 mph posted speed limit when there is very little traffic on the road. While speeding is not an indication of driving under the influence, it gives the officers a valid reason to pull you over. Other common reasons an officer might pull you over: driving on expired tags, driving without your lights on or with a headlight or taillight out, weaving, running a stop sign or red light, etc.

Continue reading "What Nashville (Davidson County Tennessee) Police Officers don't want you to know about avoiding a DUI" »

It may surprise many to know that in Davidson County, Nashville, Tennessee, that hundreds of police hours are devoted each month to undercover sting operations aimed at arresting those that may be susceptible to offers of prositution. Many of those charged with such offenses are arrested after they initiate contact with females through online classified ads such as craigslist.com or backpage.com only to discover that such individual is actually an undercover police officer; however, very many are charged after an undercover police officer initiates contact with individuals stopped at stop signs or various locations along Charlotte Pike, Murfreesboro Road, or Dickerson Pike and other locations throughout Davidson County.

While each case presents its own sets of facts, undercover police officers that focus too much on making arrests walk a tightrope teetering on entrapment. Entrapement is a defense under Tennessee law when a law enforcement official induces or persuades and otherwise unwilling person to commit an unlawful act when the person was not predisposed to do so.

A person charged with such offense would be wise to contact an attorney to help with their defense. Patronizing Prositution is a class B misdemeanor and carries upto a six month jail sentence and a $500 fine. Such offense within 100 feet of a church or within 1 and 1/2 mile from a school is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by jail upto 11 months and 29 days in jail and a $2500 fine.

A person convicted of patronizing prostitution within 1 and 1/2 miles of a school (pubic or private K-12) is required to serve at least 7 days in jail and faces a minimum fine of $1,000.

Should you have any questions about this article, or any other legal matters, please call Vince Wyatt at 615-256-6666.

Nashville and other Middle Tennessee Police officers often seize automobiles when they find drivers in the possession of drugs. Tennessee law permits law enforcement to confiscate an automobile that is used in to transport illegal drugs. The person found in possession of drugs is issued a notice of seizure and is informed that they must submit a petition to the Tennessee Department of Safety if they wish to contest the seizure. There is an exception to a seizure under Tennessee law for those that simply possess such drugs for their own personal use. Drug users that tend to buy in bulk may get charged with felony drug possesion and find themselves without a car. An attorney may be necessary to challenge the felony possession charges and help the person get their car back.

Should you have any questions about this article, or any other legal matters, please call Vince Wyatt at 615-256-6666.