Criminal Charge:
Case: State v. Jay Teague
Court: [Cause 27577][Lamar]
Result: Probation Extension Voided, Case Dismissed
Two weeks before the expiration of his four-year suspended sentence, Jay was instructed by Lamar County Probation to appear in court the following morning. He had no notice of why, no chance to get a lawyer. Fortunately, there was a court reporter when the judge extended his probation for five years, gave him 200 new hours of community service, ordered an interlock back on his car and put a SCRAM device on his ankle. Two weeks from finishing his probation.
Haslam reviewed the transcript of the hearing and the court file and realized the judge didn’t have jurisdiction to extend his probation: the Presiding Administrative Judge of this judicial district had ordered this judge off Jay’s case three years earlier.
Haslam drafted a motion and – rather than creating the uncomfortable scene of filing it – sent it to the judge and prosecutor, urged reconsideration of the extension order and discharge of the entire case. The judge complied. The extension was voided, the case dismissed. Jay was celebrating in Cabo within days.