The Concurrent Grand Jury for May-August had high praise for the court system and strongly recommends a veterans' court.
Here is the Concurrent Grand Jury Report for Second Term, May-August
The Concurrent Grand Jury was sworn in on May 1 and met between May 2 and Aug. 29 every other Monday and Tuesday, with no hearings on July 4 or June 19. The other grand jury met on the same days in the intervening weeks. Hamilton County has two grand juries; one is called the Regular Grand Jury and one the Concurrent Grand Jury. Both have the same duties and responsibilities – basically, to hear evidence and determine if the person being investigated for a crime should be formally charged with that crime. This report is only from the Concurrent Grand Jury- the Regular Grand Jury has its separate report.
The CGA was a mixed group in terms of professions, expertise, life experiences, beliefs, ideologies, and age. There were 13 grand jurors with five alternates. We were an active group who listened and questioned the testifying officers, sought legal clarification from the district attorneys, and endeavored to consider as much information as needed to make crucial and independent decisions.
With every case, we considered the impact on the victims, the accused, and the public before rendering our decisions. Some decisions were vigorously discussed, but all were unanimous.
We heard 192 cases and returned 162 “true bills” (indictments) and 31 “no bills” (not indicted) out of those cases. The 192 cases contained 558 separate charges, on which we returned 472 true bills and 86 no bills. We considered 44 direct presentments of case facts for which returned 43 true bills and one no bill. The 44 presentments contained 116 separate charges, and we returned 115 true bills and one no bill.
Grand juries are sometimes criticized for “rubber stamping” cases and always indicting. This criticism is neither accurate nor valid. But it is accurate that when a case is presented to the CGJ, the officers have generally already spent countless hours on arrests, follow-up investigations, paperwork and reports to the District Attorney’s office and the courts. The crimes and charges then presented to the CGJ are not frivolous. If there are minor or duplicative charges against an accused, those are often culled out before the cases are brought to us. At times, the DA’s office even recommends that the CGJ return a no bill - for instance, if the charge is consumed by another charge against the same defendant, if there are duplicate charges, or if it believes that a charge is not viable and should not be pursued. So it is true that most cases are true billed. This CGJ makes no apology for that because the cases it hears have been well investigated and considered by law enforcement and the DA’s office before they are heard by us.
Case Presentations and Issues; Information Provided by Law Enforcement
The facts of each case are presented by law enforcement officers from many surrounding jurisdictions, including Hamilton County, Chattanooga, East Ridge, Collegedale, Lookout Mountain, Signal Mountain, Soddy Daisy and Sale Creek. Officers from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, the Tennessee Highway Patrol and UTC also presented cases.
We heard details of many different crimes, including first-degree premeditated murder, second degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment, rape, child rape, child abuse, aggravated assault, theft, breaking and entering, domestic assault, fraud, false reports to police, criminal simulation, identity theft, and many variations of unlawful drug manufacture and sales (some resulting in death or serious injuries, some with children involved or present), driving under the influence, neighborhood and random shootings, and even some more serious traffic violations.
The cases occurred as long as three years ago, although most happened within the last 6-18 months. The older cases are often the result of backlogs in the system (partly a result of COVID), a problem the current District Attorney General Coty Wamp and her assistant district attorneys continue to unwind. We appreciate their efforts and understand there are a variety of reasons we might hear a case that is older – victims and witnesses die or leave the area (even the country), perpetrators flee the jurisdiction, and evidence sometimes is not available or discovered until considerable time has passed since the crime occurred.
DA Wamp, ADA Tom Landis, or another ADA are present for all cases presented to the CGJ. They assist in answering any legal or process questions the jurors have but are not present when we vote to true bill or no bill a case or a charge. No persons other than the grand jurors and the foreman are present for consideration, discussions, and voting on each case.
The staff that handles the order and presentation of witnesses to the CGJ does a very good job of coordinating many schedules and contingencies. We are seldom aware of all the scheduling challenges that the testifying officers and the liaison staff face. Don Klasing, CGJ Liaison on behalf of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s office, and Sgts. April Bolton and Mike Russ of the Chattanooga Police Department are indispensable in their continuing efforts to assure law enforcement officers are available to explain their facts and cases. This is no easy task as officers have many duties, time constraints, and emergency situations that sometimes make it difficult to come before the grand jury at a time certain. The CGJ recommends that the staff and officers continue these efforts so there is minimal downtime during CGJ sessions. Despite everyone’s best efforts, we acknowledge that some officers are frustrated when they come to the CGJ to present and then must sit and wait – the CGJ is equally frustrated when it is ready to go and there are no officers to present cases. However, everyone involved generally shows grace and patience as we work on these timing issues, and the CGJ truly appreciates that.
Sgts. Bolton and Russ (as well as others in the various law enforcement departments) sometimes present case facts for officers who cannot be in attendance, and the CGJ believes this arrangement is often helpful in preventing lag time, but it does present its own challenges. If an officer testifies for one who cannot attend, the presenter is limited to the facts that are on the face of the affidavits of complaints or case reports. If these written materials are thorough and coherent, the presenter can properly outline the facts and answer any questions we might have. However, if the written reports are lacking or not well-written, then the CGJ might delay its decisions and ask the original officers to come before it to clarify. Almost always, the original officers can answer the questions.
The CGJ is impressed with the thoroughness of the testifying officers, not only in presenting but in answering follow-up questions. These answers provide both context for law enforcement procedures and clarification of specific case facts.
We recommend that all officers remain diligent and trained in what facts the CGJ needs to render its decisions, and that those facts are presented in clear and understandable language, whether written or verbal.
Some of the cases that come before the jury are difficult to hear. The CGJ understands that what is difficult for it to hear and consider, is even harder for the law enforcement women and men facing these situations. The CGJ recommends that informal and formal counseling continue to be made available to anyone in the system who requests or needs it. It knows some such procedures are in place and recommends those be extended and braced up where needed to make access easy and meaningful. This recommendation has been made by previous grand juries but remains an independent recommendation of this CGJ at this time.
Law enforcement officers also explained to us the structures, challenges, and internal workings of processing various crimes. Officer Terry Topping of the Chattanooga Police Department was hands-on excellent in teaching us about some of the drug issues – quantities of drugs, dosages, effects of certain drugs on the human body, Narcan and other methods of saving lives from overdoses, and what happens in the field to victims, the accused, and the officers.
Officer Ryan Lynn of the CPD provided us the same excellent type information for DUI issues in the field. And ADAs Parker Garrett and Jamie Pellido assisted in answering questions on these issues. We learned detailed information about the field sobriety testing process – how it works, when it’s used, and why it might not be used in some instances. We are very concerned about the recidivism rate of DUI offenders as well as the blood alcohol and illegal drug content of repeat offenders. Again, we recommend our legislature continue to explore this area of criminal law and help protect the populace from the terrible costs of human life and limb, as well as property damage.
Officer Brandon Watson shared information about the Crisis Co-Response Unit and how that unit has combined law enforcement officers, social workers, caseworkers, hospitals, first responders, and courts in assisting citizens in need of mental health care. His department works with many local, state, and nationwide mental health resource providers. He and his team work to assure outcomes of the least harm to victims, first responders including officers, and the citizens accused of crimes.
The CGJ was very impressed with Officer Watson’s work and encourages continued and robust funding for the CCRU. We share the very serious concern that mental health issues of both perpetrators and victims of crimes permeate the day-to-day work of law enforcement and the criminal courts. We recommend ongoing training for officers and other necessary personnel facing the challenges that mental health problems create during responses, investigations, arrests, and victim assistance. And we strongly believe that the CCRU is exactly the type of program the departments should be developing and implementing.
The CGJ knows that Sheriff Austin Garrett and his staff are also working with inmates to assist them with their mental and emotional issues. We also learned from Judge Lila Statom the workings of her mental health court and how it and her staff assist certain defendants with mental health needs. Her court and work is crucial and impressive. And Judge Alex McVeigh talked with us about the drug court and its processes. The CGJ is impressed with the structure and success rate of that program as well. There is no doubt of the dedication and time that both Judges McVeigh and Statom put into these programs. But of course, more resources are needed – money for personnel, space, and expanded ability to serve those needing the programs.
The CGJ strongly recommends a veterans’ court and understands that such a court is being considered and investigated. We recognize that these specialized programs are not resourced or funded as much as everyone wishes they were or as they need to be. However, it appears that the steps for resources, grants, programs, and other assistance are moving in the right direction. Both the Trump and Biden administrations have funded mental health and drug court programs, and Governor Lee also supports these programs. We continue to recommend the efforts and their enhancement to the greatest extent possible.
Previous grand juries have recommended and we concur that illegal drugs are an obstacle to a well-functioning society. Illegal drugs are killing our citizens, adults and children. And the criminals who sell and buy them are clogging the legal system and using precious law enforcement resources. Illegal drugs raise problems on every level of societal structure, and some of those problems have their genesis in other countries and across borders when the manufacture and distribution of illegal drugs is brought into the U.S. The law enforcement personnel who deal with drug offenses are most aware of the breadth, width, and depth of the problems.
The CGJ highly recommends that continuing and additional resources (money and staff) are provided for drug enforcement training, including additional cooperation among municipal, state, and federal agencies. We gave heard sad and horrific case facts, including murder, rape, and even child rape and abuse resulting from illegal drug crimes. Lives wasted and legal systems slowed down are goals to eliminate. We recognize that doesn’t happen all at once but the work should never stop and must be well funded.
Officer Chris Bruce of the CPD explained the workings of the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network to us in an informative and helpful manner. The NIBIN Program automates ballistics evaluations and provides actionable investigative leads in a timely manner. It allows localities to work together on firearm ballistics that cross jurisdictional lines and can be of great assistance in solving gun crimes and identifying if a certain gun has been used on other crimes or in other jurisdictions. Officer Bruce has cutting-edge knowledge of this area of the law and helps other officers learn about NIBIN and ballistics. We learned much from him.
We enjoyed hearing Officer Lucas Timmons, who came with his canine officer Bert, who is part of the CPD gun team. We learned more about how canine officers are trained and used in the field, and enjoyed observing Bert’s serious approach to chewing on his Kong while his handler answered our many questions.
Chief Celeste Murphy of the CPD spoke to us about the challenges of her administration and the various steps put into place to make Chattanooga safer. She has gained raises for her officers, has reorganized some nighttime officer resources where needed, and is providing training to help close more crimes of opportunity – for instance thefts and muggings during tourist seasons. She stated that the CPD has a 90percent clear rate on homicides, and that there had been nine homicides as of May 15 in 2023. She explained the drone system the CPD is developing and how it has aided in solving crimes. She emphasized that drone footage was not kept just because it was recorded but was destroyed “right away” if not used as evidence.
The CGJ recommends to Chief Murphy and to Sheriff Garrett that the departments hold or attend as many job fair-type programs as possible to explain the job opportunities for law enforcement work in our area. There is an obvious shortage of officers and although that may be alleviating somewhat, everything should be done to make law enforcement jobs viable – emphasizing better pay, excellent training, and exploring every way to win the support of the citizenry for law enforcement.
Other Recommendations:
This CGJ (and most other grand juries) have recommended an increase in jury “pay” and expenses. We believe that daily rates for grand juries in Tennessee are controlled largely by state law, and that our county, at $13 per day, may pay more than many. Our grand jurors also receive free parking while in session. However, we must bear the expense of our travel, meals, and other expenses (for instance, childcare). The CGJ strongly recommends an increased daily stipend. No grand juror of whom we are aware is looking to “make money” from this service, but also none should lose money in performing it.
The previous CGJ recommended that the grand jury room be updated – and we did receive a new TV screen and input system for officers to present demonstrative materials. We thank DA Wamp’s office for this contribution to the facility. It is a great beginning, but bringing the grand jury facilities into full electronic capability should be a goal of the county. We need current and better technology that would allow, for instance, the DA to list things such as the charges; officer, defendant and witness names; and setting of crimes in a way that all jurors could clearly see them. And systems that would allow officers, where needed, to present clear and readable demonstrative evidence and aids when explaining their cases.
Conclusion, Additional Speakers, Visit and Tours, and Further Thanks
The CGC was pleased to have the opportunity to visit the Hamilton County Jail and Detention Center correctional facilities (formerly known as Silverdale) and the Hamilton County Juvenile Court this term.
At the Juvenile Court, Judge Rob Philyaw and his staff gave us a tour of the facilities and explained many of the programs the court has available for young offenders. The programs include Youth and Recovery courts, mediation referral assistance, child support assistance programs, and volunteer organizations such as CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates program), as well as a Foster Care Review Board. The goal of all these juvenile programs is to prevent recidivism and assist minors and their families in steering their lives in a non-crime direction. We applaud these efforts and recommend continued and additional resources for Juvenile Court to continue its work with youthful offenders.
At Hamilton County Jail and Detention Center, we were able to see some of the new facilities and improvements to the older ones – for instance, when the Sheriff’s Department took over the jail from its previous private contract, there were few working cameras and some of the doors didn’t even lock. These and other similar problems have been and are being addressed and fixed. It appears that the housing and care of the inmates is being considered with the new facilities and improvements to the old, but of necessity the construction also hampered the areas we were able to visit. The CGJ recommends that for future grand jury tours, the CGJ request and be provided with up–front information about the facilities, old and new, and the organizational structure within the facility – this will allow us to better understand what we are seeing and what other areas we wish to see. Nobody has refused us any information, and the officers who took us through the facilities were knowledgeable and very helpful – we simply need a better idea up front what sort of tour we should coordinate with the department that will help us better understand the facilities and how the grand jury can make valuable recommendations for needed resources.
Sheriff Austin Garrett also came to us directly and provided valuable information about the facilities - past, current, and future. He also explained how school resource officers and our children’s safety are of paramount interest in his administration, and how the goal is an officer in each school, and two in some schools. He and his chief of staff Ron Bernard answered numerous questions about the facilities and the administration’s plans for Hamilton County Jail and Detention Center as well as Hamilton County law enforcement endeavors. His communications team leader Matt Lea and in-house counsel Brian Bush also answered CGJ questions during their presentations.
It appears to the CGJ that the Sheriff’s Department is working hard at stopping crime through viable and creative methods. We recommend it also continue whenever and wherever possible to educate the general public about the challenges of and improvements to the jail facilities. We also encourage continuance of and publicity about the programs available for high school graduates and others to obtain jobs that can lead to a meaningful law enforcement career.
We also had a most informative and delightful visit from Judge Tom Greenholtz of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Judge Greenholtz had served on the Hamilton County criminal bench for many years before the Governor placed him on the appeals court, so his perspectives were varied and pragmatic. His strong belief in the grand jury system made us even more proud of our responsibilities and enhanced our determination to serve well.
We thank Sgt. April Bolton for arranging for the various law enforcement members to talk with us and answer our questions about the specific topics described above. And we thank Sgt. Russ for his continued assistance in this and other liaison areas that make the CGJ more knowledgeable and better equipped to do our work.
All the DAs who worked with us were professional and helpful to our understanding of the law. None of them ever encouraged us to render any certain decision, but rather answered our questions patiently and fairly. We believe the leadership and ongoing work of the office is in solid hands. We would be remiss if we didn’t specifically thank ADA Tom Landis (who spent the most time with us) for his wisdom, patience, and knowledge. His knowledge of the law and criminal procedures is matched only by his fine sense of humor – something that often helped through the harder cases.
Hamilton County Circuit Court Clerk Larry Henry and his staff – particularly Margo McConnell – are responsible for the grand jurors’ well-being and care. They are there from the first day the jury is picked to the last day of service. They provide whatever we need and are always quick responders when we make requests and suggestions. This system would fail without them.
In addition to everyone mentioned above, we further thank our criminal court judges Barry Steelman, Boyd Patterson, and Amanda Dunn for overseeing the grand juries. They are always there to answer questions and guide us. Judge Steelman spoke to us at the beginning and the end of our term and always demonstrates his continued support for a grand jury that is responsible, capable, and independent. And judges Patterson and Dunn handle the speciality drug and mental health courts on the criminal court level with intelligence, caring and grace.
If we’ve forgotten to thank others who assisted or spoke with us through these four months, it is our lack and not theirs and we apologize.