Statement from the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts, Dec. 20, 2011:
“As of this morning, the Administrative Office of the Courts has received more than 16,000 email petitions requesting the Supreme Court to stop the retrials of the four defendants charged with the murders of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom of Knoxville, Tenn.,” said Laura Click, public information officer for the Administrative Office of the Courts.
“We certainly appreciate and understand the public’s interest in these cases, however, the Code of Judicial Conduct prevents the Supreme Court, or any judge, from considering ex parte communications as part of its decision making process. In other words, a judge cannot consider any communications made to the judge without the parties in the case being present.
“The Code of Judicial Conduct also prohibits judges from commenting on any cases that may come before them. Should the state file an appeal from the trial judge’s decision granting the motions for retrials, the appellate courts will consider the appeal based on the facts and information filed with the court as part of the regular appeals process, described in the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure,” Click said.
