TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Aug 17, 2022

A three-judge panel of the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals ruled yesterday that Confederate memorabilia in a Giles County courthouse is not “inherently prejudicial” for jurors who deliberate cases there. The jury room, which was decorated by the United Daughters of Confederacy, features a Confederate flag, portraits of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Gen. John C. Brown, and other memorabilia. The case was brought by Barry Jamal Martin, who challenged his conviction on drug charges based on the memorabilia. According to Tennessee Lookout, the ruling directly contradicts a prior decision by another panel of the court that did vacate a conviction based on the jury’s exposure to the memorabilia. This panel said in a footnote that it was not bound by the previous decision. Giles County leaders previously voted to move the memorabilia to a museum but had not completed that task before Martin was tried.