Smithville Attorney Sarah Cripps, like any other local lawyer, is reimbursed by the state for representing indigent clients assigned to her by the courts.
However unlike other local attorneys, Cripps is blind so she must employ, at her own expense, someone to provide assistance to her in the representation of those indigents.
Cripps believes she should be reimbursed by the state for this “accompaniment assistance” but the Supreme Court of Tennessee’s Administrative Office of the Courts has denied her requests.
Cripps believes it’s unfair to her and is a violation of federal law, specifically, the “Americans with Disabilities Act”. “My battle with the Administrative Office of the Courts really started in 1997. In September of that year, I was hired by Judge Jerry Smith on the Court of Criminal Appeals, as a law clerk. I contacted the Administrative Office of the Courts shortly after I was hired in that full time position and asked them if they would grant me a reasonable accommodation under the “Americans with Disabilities Act” and pay for a full time reader, which I required to be able to perform my job. They denied that request. Then I started in private practice and as one of the duties as a member of the local bar, I began to be appointed to represent indigent people in two circumstances. In the criminal arena, I represent indigent people when the Public Defender’s Office has a conflict of interest. The second time this comes up is when there are Department of Children Services cases and the people are indigent. Therefore, we do a lot of representation in Juvenile Court. I have asked the AOC a couple of times over the years to pay for my assistant to help me and nine times out of ten that is Rebecca Reedy, who reads to me the warrants and the petitions filed by the state either criminally and in the DCS cases. She accompanies me to court on all of these appointed cases and assists me in the courtroom setting. The AOC has denied that expense and has refused to pay for the time that she spends assisting me on appointed matters. I don’t feel it’s fair for me as a private attorney to have to pay additional expenses to render myself capable of doing what a sighted attorney can do without an assistant.”
Jeana D. Hendrix, Indigent Defense Manager of the AOC, in a letter to Cripps dated August 19th, 2008, states that ” After a thorough and careful review of your inquiry concerning the reimbursement of costs associated with the assistance provided to you in conjunction with your representation of indigent defendants/respondents, the Administrative Office of the Courts has determined that this expense is not reimbursable to you under the current provisions of Supreme Court Rule 13, Indigent Defense Fund. This determination is based on the language of Supreme Court Rule 13, section 4(a)(2), which states that ‘the services or time of a paralegal, law clerk, secretary, legal assistant, or other administrative assistants shall not be reimbursed. Normal overhead expenses also shall not be reimbursed.”
Cripps insists that the person she employs to help her in these court cases, Rebecca Reedy, cannot be classified by any of the terms of the section cited by Hendrix. “My answer to that is, I agree with Rule 13 as far as it goes and if I were seeking compensation or reimbursement for a legal secretary or for someone that performs the job of a paralegal with me in court, I think that their answer is correct. However, what they either refuse to see or I have not been able to get them to understand is that she (my assistant) doesn’t perform the services of a legal secretary or a paralegal. She is essentially my set of eyes to read to me when we are handed exhibits in court, to describe photographs for me, to locate my clients in the packed gallery, to take me to different rooms to meet with my clients, to find DCS personnel so that I can meet with them because there would be no way for me to find them, to take me to other rooms to find District Attorney Generals to meet with, those are the sundry services that she performs and for which I feel she should be compensated.”
“My other response to their argument on Rule 13 and what I am contending is that I’m due reimbursement under the federal law “The Americans with Disabilities Act”. I’m contending it’s a reasonable accommodation that the state of Tennessee must make on account of my disability, total blindness. They can cite Rule 13 all they like, but one of the first things you learn in law school is where there’s a federal law and a state statute, the federal law is going to control every time if there is a conflict. That’s called federal pre-emption. So they can cite that rule all they want, but if that rule doesn’t make allowance for or is in conflict in any way with the Americans with Disabilities Act, it’s my position that the federal act is going to control.’
“They also have given me another argument. I’ve spoken with Elizabeth Sykes, who is the head of the AOC. Her response was that she felt this was a county problem. In other words, the county should provide a courthouse staff member to assist me on any given day and that I should not take an employee of mine to court with me. My response to that is these cases are brought under Tennessee law. The District Attorney General’s Office prosecutes these cases. The cases are prosecuted with state funds and with the aid of state resources. The people who defend these cases are paid for out of a state fund. The Indigent Defense Fund is a state fund. The Public Defender’s Office is paid for out of state monies allocated by the legislature. Therefore, it seems very incongruous to say that if state monies are being poured into these cases, that the county then should pay for an assistant on a state case.”
General Sessions/Juvenile Court Judge Bratten Cook II, in support of Cripps’ claim, issued a standing order regarding appointed representation on August 1st, 2008. The order states that ” From and after this date, all accompaniment expense incurred by Sarah Cripps, Esq., shall be reimbursed at the rate of $12.00 per hour subject to approval by the Director. Such charges shall be included in the Claim for Fees as necessary expenses. The undersigned (Judge) is aware of Rule 13, Section 4 (a) (2) of the Supreme Court Rules, however the Director is advised that Sarah Cripps is totally blind, and must have accompaniment assistance in her representation of indigents, and under any concept of fairness, such expense should be reimbursed to counsel for the indigent parties.”
Cripps says she hopes the Judge’s order will have an impact in her situation. “What impact I hope that it may have is that it will be another voice of reason and, unlike mine, a voice of authority who is in control of the appointments that I get. I could not ask for someone to be more supportive of me than Judge Cook. He has backed me 150% on this issue because he see’s what Becky (my assistant) does everyday, all day long , sometimes until 6:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on the juvenile dockets and he knows what Becky does. So what I hope this order will do is to bring reason to chaos and help them realize that I’m not seeking paralegal reimbursement.”

DeKalb County’s preliminary unemployment rate for July was 6.2%, the same as the revised rate for June, but up from 4.5% in July, 2007.
DeKalb County’s Labor Force for July was 10,420. A total of 9,770 were employed and 650 were unemployed.
Tennessee’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for July, 2008 was 6.9 percent, 0.4 percentage point higher than the June revised rate of 6.5 percent. The United States unemployment rate for the month of July was 5.7 percent.
County non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rates for July 2008, released today, show that 60 counties increased. The rate decreased in 29 counties and remained the same in 6 counties.
Williamson County registered the state’s lowest county unemployment rate at 4.6 percent, down 0.2 from the June rate of 4.8 percent. Perry County had the state’s highest at 20.3 percent, up 5.5 percent from the June rate of 14.8 percent, followed by Lauderdale County at 14.5 percent, up from 11.4 percent in June.
Knox County and Davidson County tied for the state’s lowest major metropolitan rate at 5.5 percent. Knox County’s rate increased 0.1 percentage point from the June rate of 5.4 percent. Davidson County’s rate decreased 0.1 from the June rate of 5.6 percent. Hamilton County was at 6.1 percent, up 0.2 from the June rate of 5.9 percent, and Shelby County was 7.4 percent, down 0.1 from the June rate of 7.5.

More marijuana was found Tuesday during a helicopter fly over of portions of the county.
The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department, in cooperation with the Warren County Sheriff’s Department Marijuana Eradication Team, conducted the aerial search.
Sheriff Patrick Ray says “Officers in the chopper spotted some marijuana plants in the Dry Creek and Pea Ridge areas.” Some of the marijuana was in patches and the rest was scattered among thickets on hillsides. According to Sheriff Ray, about 200 marijuana plants were found, from about one to four feet tall and it was all cut and destroyed.
Sheriff Ray encourages anyone having knowledge of drug manufacture or drug use to call him at 597-4935 or call the Drug and Crime Tip Line at 464-6400. You may also email him at sheriffray@dtccom.net. All calls are kept confidential.

An 18 year old Sparta woman, wanted by the White County Sheriff’s Department, remains at large today.
Audria LeeAnn Estes was last seen Tuesday afternoon in DeKalb County in the Hillcrest Hills area, after escaping on foot into the woods following a high speed car chase.
Sheriff Patrick Ray says White County deputies got in pursuit of Estes’ car Tuesday morning in White County. The woman is apparently wanted there for violation of probation and four other active warrants. The chase continued into DeKalb County, until she wrecked her car, a purple cavalier, behind Hillcrest Restaurant on Highway 70 east. Estes then got out of the car and ran into the woods where the undergrowth is thick and the terrain is very steep.
Sheriff Ray says his department received the call around 11:00 a.m. and joined in the search for the woman.
In addition to officers of the DeKalb County and White County Sheriff’s Department, members of the Cookeville Police Department and the Tennessee Highway Patrol came to the scene with tracking dogs, and TWRA officers and Corps of Engineers officials monitored the shoreline by boat from the lake, but the woman could not be found.
According to Sheriff Ray, Estes did emerge from hiding briefly late Tuesday afternoon. Some men working on a house at Hillcrest Hills reported seeing and talking with her. Sheriff Ray says the men tried to get her to surrender, but she refused and took off running again. That was apparently the last time she was seen.
Estes was unarmed, wearing a white shirt and blue capris pants. She is white, medium complexion, with black hair and brown eyes. She weighs 130 pounds and stands 5 feet, 4 inches tall. She also has a tattoo of a rose on her right upper arm.
Sheriff Ray says officers suspended the search Tuesday night around 10:30 p.m. The search resumed Wednesday morning, with local officers monitoring roads and lake homes in the area.
Estes now faces additional charges as a result of Tuesday’s events.
If you have information that could lead to her arrest, call the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department at 597-4935 or the White County Sheriff’s Department at 931-836-3621

Two people charged in a counterfeiting operation earlier in the year and indicted by the Grand Jury this month were sentenced in DeKalb County Criminal Court Monday, August 18th.
24 year old Megan Ann Lann and her boyfriend, 27 year old Somer Walid Abdalla both of Pine Grove Road, Smithville were indicted on charges of criminal simulation and passing counterfeit bills as currency.
Abdalla pleaded guilty to criminal simulation over $1,000 and received a two year sentence, all suspended to supervised TDOC probation. The case is to run consecutive with a violation of probation sentence against him in the General Sessions Court in another case. Under terms of the plea agreement, Abdalla cannot associate with his girlfriend Lann except for court authorized contact with their child. All jail credit of 143 days from March 28th, 2008 to August 18th, 2008 shall be applied to the violation of probation sentence in the General Sessions court case.
Lann pleaded guilty to forgery (passing) and received a two year sentence, all suspended to TDOC supervised probation. She must make restitution toWal-mart in the amount of $240 and perform 100 hours of community service work. She must not associate with her boyfriend Abdalla under terms of the plea agreement.
These two and another man, 22 year old Jason Ryan Chapman of 212 North Mill Street, Dowelltown were arrested as the result of a joint investigation by the Smithville Police Department and the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department. The indictments stem from the Sheriff’s Department cases against the three defendants. The Smithville Police Department has not yet presented it’s cases to the Grand Jury.
Lann and Abdalla were accused of producing at least $800 to $1,000 in counterfeit $10 and $20 bills on a desktop and laptop computer and printer in their home and then passing some of those bills at local and area businesses.
Detective Sergeant Jerry Hutchins’ Jr. says the Smithville Police Department also charged Lann and Chapman with passing counterfeit bank bills as currency.
Chapman, an employee of Walmart in Smithville, could be seen on a videotape from the store’s surveillance camera , along with Lann, making purchases at Walmart with some of the counterfeit money.
Sheriff Ray and Detective Sergeant Hutchins say counterfeit bills showed up at several businesses during the winter and spring. The bills had no water marks or bar codes and some were not cut squarely. The bills also had some of the same serial numbers.
According to Sheriff Ray, both Abdalla and Lann were involved in manufacturing the counterfeit bills.
Meanwhile, in other cases Monday, 31 year old Crystal Deck pleaded guilty to theft over $10,000. She received a three year sentence, all suspended to time served from May 25th, 2008 to August 18th, 2008. She must perform 100 hours of community service work and make restitution.
34 year old John Charles Deck, Jr. pleaded guilty to theft over $10,000 and also received a three year sentence suspended to time served from May 25th, 2008 to August 18th, 2008. He must perform 100 hours of community service work and make restitution.
43 year old Larry Frasier, Jr. pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary and was sentenced to four years to serve. The sentence is to run concurrently with a Sumner County case he is now serving. Frasier was given jail credit from July 18th, 2007 to August 18th, 2008.
30 year old Joel Thomas Hayes pleaded guilty to simple possession of a schedule III controlled substance. He received a sentence of 11 months and 29 days, all suspended to probation. He must pay a fine of $750 and undergo an alcohol and drug assessment.
51 year old Marc Jenkins pleaded guilty to attempted aggravated assault and received a three year sentence, all suspended to TDOC supervised probation. The sentence is to run concurrently with a sentence in the General Sessions Court. Jenkins shall have no contact with a victim in the case. He will be permitted to have a pass for work related out of state travel as long as he complies with all probation prerequisites and conditions.
22 year old Corey Robert Winchester charged with sale of a schedule IV controlled substance and facilitation of sale of a schedule II controlled substance was granted judicial diversion probation for a period of three years. He must perform 100 hours of community service work, undergo an alcohol and drug assessment, and pay $18 restitution to the sheriff’s department. He was given jail credit of eleven days.
38 year old Randy A. Caldwell pleaded guilty to sale of a schedule II controlled substance and received a four year sentence committed to time served with the balance of the sentence suspended. The case will run consecutive to a violation of probation case against him. Caldwell must make restitution of $75 to the sheriff’s department, pay a $2,000 fine, perform 100 hours of community service work, and undergo an alcohol and drug assessment. He was given jail credit from April 18th, 2008 to August 18th, 2008.
28 year old Joey Phelps pleaded guilty to burglary and received a three year sentence, all suspended to time served. The case is to run consecutive to a violation of probation case against him. He must perform 100 hours of community service work and pay restitution. He was given jail credit from June 20th, 2008 to August 18th, 2008.
32 year old Donna Thompson pleaded guilty to two counts of sale of a schedule III controlled substance. She received a three year sentence in each case to run concurrently. She will be on probation supervised by community corrections. Thompson must pay a $2,000 fine, perform 100 hours of community service work, and undergo an alcohol and drug assessment and follow the prescribed treatments.
32 year old Bryan Douglas Brannon pleaded guilty to a first offense of driving under the influence. He received a sentence of 11 months and 29 days, all suspended except for 48 hours to serve. He must pay a $350 fine and attend an alcohol safety school. He will be on supervised probation and will lose his license for one year.

A local man, who stood trial in April and was found guilty of some drug charges against him in DeKalb County Criminal Court, was sentenced Monday by Judge Leon Burns, Jr.
Eddie Lattimore was sentenced to fourteen years on the drug charges as a range 3 persistent offender. The sentence will run consecutive to a violation of probation case against him in which he must serve the balance of a four year sentence in a previous case.
Lattimore was charged with unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia (syringes), possession of a schedule II controlled substance (dilaudid) with the intent to sell and deliver, possession of a schedule II drug (morphine) with intent to sell and deliver, and unlawful possession of a weapon.
A jury found him guilty of unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia and one count of possession of a schedule II controlled substance (dilaudid) with intent to sell and deliver. However in the other drug case, the jury convicted him of the lesser offense of simple possession of morphine and found him not guilty of the weapon charge.
Lattimore was arrested on December 31st, 2006 following an undercover investigation by the Sheriff’s Department.
Sheriff Patrick Ray, at the time, said county officers went to the home of Lattimore at 3785 Pea Ridge Road to execute a search warrant following an extensive investigation of Lattimore and surveillance of his home on suspicion of drug dealing which led to two undercover drug buys of dilaudid.
Lattimore was arrested at the scene. Officers found some dilaudid, morphine, syringes, and seized more than $7,400 in cash. Authorities also found a 9 millimeter pistol in an outbuilding on Lattimore’s property.
Lattimore was fined a total of $7,500 by the jury. Lattimore has other drug charges pending against him.