Tennessee court hears appeal challenging convictions over post office filming

Summary

At oral argument in State v. George Patterson, defense counsel argued the evidence was insufficient to support convictions for assault on an officer and disorderly conduct and urged First Amendment protection for filming in a post office; the state countered that video evidence and forum limits supported the verdicts.

NASHVILLE — The Tennessee appellate court heard oral argument in State of Tennessee v. George Patterson on the sufficiency of evidence and First Amendment limits after Patterson's video recording inside a post office led to convictions for assault on an officer and disorderly conduct.

Lisonbee Berryhill, an attorney with the appellate division of the National Public Defender's Office, told the court the case raises broad constitutional questions but that the court need not reach them if the convictions cannot be sustained on the evidence presented at trial. "The evidence is insufficient to support these charges," Berryhill said, arguing that a one-handed push of an officer's hand does not rise to the statutory "offensive contact" required for an assault-on-an-officer conviction.

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Tennessee court hears appeal challenging convictions over post office filming

Summary

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