Tennessee Supreme Court Allows Defendant's Motion for a New Trial to Proceed

Today the Tennessee Supreme Court released the Opinion in State of Tennessee v. Charles E. Lowe-Kelley reinstating Mr. Kelley's right to appeal his convictions for two murder and nine counts of attempted murder.  Patrick McNally was appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court to represent Mr. Kelley after the Court granted his pro se Application to Appeal the adverse decision from the Court of Criminal Appeal.  The Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that the first skeleton motion for new trial was a "nullity" and the notice of appeal was untimely.  Mr. McNally argued that the original motion for new trial was valid and the successor motion for new trial filed by newly appointed counsel specified the grounds for relief.  The Supreme Court agreed, reversed the Court of Criminal Appeals, and remanded the case for consideration of the appellate issues.

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Read more more about the case at TNCourts.Gov
To read the State of Tennessee v. Charles E. Lowe-Kelley opinion authored by Justice Janice M. Holder, visit http://www.tncourts.gov/sites/default/files/lowekelleyceopn.pdf.