TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Nov 9, 2017
In a case involving questions about jury deliberations that continued into the early morning hours, the Tennessee Supreme Court determined that the defense did not adequately object to the late-night session to appeal and that the issue cannot be reviewed under the plain error doctrine. To provide direction on this issue to attorneys and judges, a majority of the Court determined the appropriate standard of review for future cases involving late-night jury deliberations is abuse of discretion. Justice Roger A. Page authored the majority opinion in the case, State of Tennessee v. Susan Jo Walls, while Justice Sharon G. Lee wrote a concurring opinion.