Tennessee Federal Drug Defense Trial Attorney
Kimberly S. Hodde, Attorney at Law in Nashville, Tennessee, represents those charged with drug charges in both state and federal courts.
She has defended clients from all over the United States who have been charged with manufacturing, possession, sale or trafficking of drugs such as cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana, ecstasy, GHB, GBL, heroin, steroids and illegally obtained prescription narcotics.
Constitutional Drug Issues
Drug charges involving substances such as cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, marijuana and ecstasy often contain many constitutional issues. For this reason, Kim Hodde is the defense attorney of choice, given her knowledge of constitutional issues. She is a scholar on the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendments to the United States Constitution. She has published articles on these issues as they relate to cases involving federal gun or drug charges and has been a frequent lecturer and speaker on these issues.
An important weapon in the arsenal of any defense attorney is the ability to identify a breach of the defendant’s constitutional rights and suppress evidence damaging to the accused. Many cases begin with an arrest that follows a traffic stop or a search of property. If the evidence in your case was obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment, it may be possible to prevent that evidence from being used against you at trial and may even result in a dismissal of the case. The police may have been reckless or sloppy with their procedures. They may have made mistakes in securing a warrant or in conducting the search. Likewise, if you made a statement to police or gave an interview, your Fifth or Sixth Amendment rights to counsel may have been violated. A careful, diligent and thorough criminal defense attorney can find those defects and make them work to your advantage. Ms. Hodde is particularly skilled at identifying, briefing and litigating constitutional violations in the defense of criminal cases.
Wiretapping Evidence
Some drug cases are built on evidence collected by secret recordings. There is nothing more damaging to the defense at trial than hearing the defendant’s own words played for the jury. However, to be admissible in court, the recordings must be made within the bounds of the law. The legal authority that controls the use of wiretaps in a criminal case derives from Title III of the 1968 Omnibus Safe Streets and Crime Control Act. This Act places severe limitations on the use of wiretaps as an investigative tool and the admissibility of evidence gleaned from those wiretaps. Wiretapping can only be done when allowed by a court order, which requires probable cause; it can be used only as a last resort when other techniques have failed; the amount of irrelevant personal data captured has to be minimized; law enforcement has to notify the target after the wiretap has been completed; and, the recordings and filings themselves must be properly sealed.
Kim Hodde has written extensively on both federal and state wiretapping. She has given Continuing Legal Education (CLE) lectures on wiretapping and the suppression of evidence gathered from wiretaps. Frequently, she is sought out and hired by defendants or other defense attorneys specifically for purposes of litigating wiretaps because of her unique experience in this area. Because of her vast knowledge in this area, Kimberly Hodde will ensure that any Title III wiretapping violations are explored. If the police failed to adhere to the rigid statutory requirements, she will expose those defects and advocate for the suppression of the recordings. In cases based on this type of proof, suppression of the recording often results in a dismissal of the charges.
If you are looking for a skilled attorney to defend against federal drug charges, contact Kimberly S. Hodde to discuss the facts and legal issues surrounding your case.