State of Tennessee v. Russell L. Tipton - Concurring

This case illustrates the growing disparity in the application of diversion, both pre-trial and judicial, in the State of Tennessee. The appellant in this case, who presents an unblemished combined history of thirty-five years of meritorious service to his country in the military and to the citizens of this state as a police officer, is denied diversion, in effect, for operating a boat without proper light.  Meanwhile, on the date this opinion is being written, the Shelby County Criminal Court grants diversion of a conviction for manslaughter stemming from the shooting death of the defendant’s  husband.