Tennessee Casework,
Arrest, Force and Wrongful Death

The false arrest, force and wrongful death claims in the Tennessee file ask different questions about police conduct. The focus moves from the grounds the officers recorded for a detention or an arrest, to the force, measured against what the officer knew and perceived at that moment, to the conduct surrounding a death.

Questions of these kinds draw on largely the same records: officer and civilian statements, deposition transcripts, internal affairs and investigation reports, agency policy, training records, and body-worn, dash and surveillance camera video. The analysis reads them in the order events happened and checks each written account against any video and against the other accounts. That single reading then serves whichever claim is pleaded: the false arrest question takes the part leading to the arrest, the force question takes the moments force was used, and a wrongful death claim takes the whole sequence.

What the reading measures is practice: conduct set against the agency's written policy, the officers' training and generally accepted police practices, judged on what was known at the time rather than in hindsight. Legal conclusions remain counsel's; the opinion speaks to police practices. Where a claim raises medical or scientific questions, the analysis defers, on the record, to qualified experts in those disciplines.

The rules the written work follows depend on the court that hears the claim. In a federal civil case the written report is prepared to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(2)(B). The Tennessee state courts apply the state's own procedure to expert disclosure, and a written opinion in a state matter follows that procedure instead of the federal rule.

A Section 1983 claim and a Tennessee criminal prosecution differ again. In a criminal case the defense decides whether the work stays consulting-only or goes on the record through suppression-hearing testimony or trial testimony, and the timing of any written work follows that decision.

Professor Gilbertson's testimony has not been excluded at trial in any state or federal court. Admissibility in any particular matter remains retaining counsel's responsibility. The courts where testimony has been admitted are listed on the Library page on how many matters and where.

Retaining from Tennessee runs on the same terms as every engagement. It opens with a conflict check, and counsel hears about a conflict immediately. A first inquiry holds the case type and posture, the jurisdiction and case number, the governing deadlines, what the record contains so far, and the parties for the conflict check. Nothing privileged travels with a first inquiry, and privileged material is never exchanged by email.

After retention the record travels on physical media, a computer flash drive or an external hard drive by mail or courier; online sharing services are not used. Depositions are taken by Zoom or a similar platform, so a Tennessee deposition does not wait on a travel calendar. Expert reports require sixty days of advance notice, and a bullet-point outline of the report is approved with retaining counsel before writing begins.

The practice is based in Naples, Florida, and trial testimony is offered in Tennessee on the published travel terms. The fee schedule and the travel terms are set out in full on the For Counsel page, and the Library note on what to send with a first inquiry covers the first step item by item.