Coty Wamp
Coty Wamp says she plans on pushing for three to four trials a month in criminal court if she is elected as Hamilton County’s next district attorney. She told the Civitan Club that her office will not negotiate for lower sentences on lesser charges with those charged with violent offenses such as murder or child abuse.
“The state decides what goes to trial. The defense attorney has something to do with how quickly it goes to trial,” Ms.
Wamp said. “Every time we have court, I want my prosecutors to say 'Judge, we’re ready for trial.' ” The judge is not always the one who has anything to say about the trial except to preside over and make big decisions during the trial. The state decides what goes to trial.”
As District Attorney, Ms. Wamp said she would tell her office to prioritize certain types of violent crime over non-violent crimes.
“I consider heroin and fentanyl violent crimes, as are any child sex abuse or child abuse cases,” the speaker said. “We’re going to prioritize them. We’re going to negotiate more on lesser cases so we can sort of free up the system to focus on the cases we care about the most as a community.”
Like at previous speaking engagements, Ms. Wamp promised to be a vocal district attorney who will constantly be speaking to the Hamilton County community. She said that while there are rules around what the DA can and cannot say about pending investigations, she believes the incumbent Neal Pinkston "picks and chooses when he is allowed to speak about pending cases."
“There is no state rule or ethics rule that says a DA cannot give any commentary on ongoing cases,” Ms. Wamp said. “You just have to be really careful, so you don’t jeopardize anything or get sued for defamation.”
“My opponent comments on ongoing cases all the time. For example, a month ago we found out there was a man (named Ryan Meyung) who allegedly raped different children across the country, including here in Hamilton County. The DA’s office had a huge press conference on it, and it took place in his office.”
The press conference Ms. Wamp referred to occurred on Jan. 10. The press conference was preceded by a press release, which asked people to contact law enforcement with information pertinent to the investigation.
“After the local Chattanooga media published a story regarding Meyung’s initial arrest, individuals from other states have contacted case investigators about potential criminal law violations regarding Meyung and other children,” The last section of the press release reads.
“Investigations are beginning in these other states. General Pinkston said there may be more victims in the southeast Tennessee and north Georgia area. “If you have any information related to Meyung’s arrest, or if you suspect that your child might be one of his victims, you are encouraged to call the HSI Tipline at 866-347-2423, or you can contact them online at https://www.ice.gov/tipline.”
According to Rule 3.8 in a section of the Tennessee Rules of the Supreme Court, these are the guidelines put in place for prosecutors in regard to speaking about unresolved cases. A prosecutor should not make statements to the public….
“…except for statements that are necessary to inform the public of the nature and extent of the prosecutor's action and that serve a legitimate law enforcement purpose, shall refrain from making extrajudicial comments that have a substantial likelihood of heightening public condemnation of the accused and exercise reasonable care to prevent employees of the prosecutor's office from making an extrajudicial statement that the prosecutor would be prohibited from making.”
Ms. Wamp also said that her DA’s office will employ a dedicated child sex abuse prosecutor to handle cases involving that crime. She said such a prosecutor would have been assigned to the last two trials criminal court has tried over the last two weeks.
She said that would free up the other ADA’s to focus on other cases. She also said that if her office pushes for and has more trials, those assistant district attorneys will gain experience in trials that she does not believe they are getting under Neal Pinkston.
When asked for a comment on the report from the Tennessee Comptroller’s office that said DA Pinkston violated state nepotism policies by employing his wife and brother-in-law, Ms. Wamp declined to comment.
“It has nothing to do with this campaign,” Ms. Wamp said. “That happened and became an issue way before I started running for office, and I hope the office doesn’t collect any more black eyes than it already has. I hope the best for him, but it’s not a campaign issue. They can deal with it on the state side of things.”