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Appellant urges Tennessee court to narrow ‘imminence’ for aggravated-assault convictions after order-of-protection violation
Summary
At an appellate hearing, defense counsel argued the evidence was insufficient to support aggravated domestic-assault and related convictions because the state failed to prove the required mens rea and that the victim feared imminent bodily harm after the defendant tampered with security and fled.
At an appellate oral argument in Tennessee, defense counsel Joseph Mac Murray, representing appellant Nicholas Collins, asked the court to reverse convictions for assault, domestic assault and aggravated domestic assault on the ground that the state did not prove the defendant intended or knowingly caused a reasonable fear of imminent bodily injury.
The question on appeal, McMurray told the panel, centers on three elements: mens rea, imminence and the effect of an existing order of protection. "There was no threats, no punches, no contact, no communication, no weapon that was brandished, nothing. He ran away," McMurray said, arguing those facts undercut any finding that Collins intentionally or knowingly caused a fear of imminent bodily harm.
A state prosecutor countered that the evidence was sufficient and asked the court to affirm…
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