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Three-judge Tennessee panel weighs whether proximity suffices for gun-possession conviction
Summary
At oral argument at the University of Memphis School of Law, defense counsel for the appellant argued that evidence showing only that a firearm was next to the defendant in a small camper did not prove possession, while the state urged deference to the jury’s verdict based on photographs and testimony.
A three-judge Tennessee appellate panel heard oral arguments on whether evidence that a handgun was next to a man in a camper was sufficient to sustain a conviction for possession of a firearm.
Todd Ridley, representing the appellant identified repeatedly in argument as "Mr. Ballard," told the panel that the state presented only proximity: Ballard sat in a small chair in his brother’s camper; after officers entered and removed occupants, a handgun was visible in the chair cushion. "They have to show that he knew the gun was there, and they didn't," Ridley said, arguing that the state offered a single officer’s testimony and limited investigation and therefore failed the sufficiency-of-the-evidence standard the…
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