Is There A Double Standard In Giles County????
Until WKSR finally posted the story nothing had been made available to the public about the DUI citation issued to the County Tax Assessor in May.
It wasn't until I started poking very hard into the situation and had gathered all the information and was about to break the story on this blog that WKSR would even mention the story. Was it a conscious effort to hide the issue in order to protect an elected official or was it simply a matter of laziness on the part of the local news media? I believe it was more a lack of active investigation than a conscious effort to hide the information. With the paper staff being cut back and the radio relying on the paper for most of its information the circumstances developed that created this lack of involvement.
Here is what I found out about the situation prior to the announcement by WKSR. Mr. Robert Steve McGill was issued a citation in May, by State Trooper Briggs, charging him with Driving Under The Influence, Violation of the Implied Consent Law, No Vehicle Registration, No Proof of Insurance, and failure to drive with Due Care. Due Care means he wrecked his Blue Ford Pick-up without involvement of others. Instead of being arrested and taken to jail Mr. McGill went to the hospital. A court date was set for 30 October 2009, this was a Friday and the reason given as to why this did not appear with the regular listings of court cases in the newspaper.
Mr. McGill who is represented by Attorney Bob Massey had his case turned over to the Grand Jury who made a decision on Friday to send the case forward.
Chapter 8 of the Tennessee Code Annotated (TCA) states that this kind of behavior is grounds for "OUSTER". The question now is what will be the extent of public exposure and will the County Ethics Committee address this issue and punish such behavior as it is authorized to do? Allen Barrett
It wasn't until I started poking very hard into the situation and had gathered all the information and was about to break the story on this blog that WKSR would even mention the story. Was it a conscious effort to hide the issue in order to protect an elected official or was it simply a matter of laziness on the part of the local news media? I believe it was more a lack of active investigation than a conscious effort to hide the information. With the paper staff being cut back and the radio relying on the paper for most of its information the circumstances developed that created this lack of involvement.
Here is what I found out about the situation prior to the announcement by WKSR. Mr. Robert Steve McGill was issued a citation in May, by State Trooper Briggs, charging him with Driving Under The Influence, Violation of the Implied Consent Law, No Vehicle Registration, No Proof of Insurance, and failure to drive with Due Care. Due Care means he wrecked his Blue Ford Pick-up without involvement of others. Instead of being arrested and taken to jail Mr. McGill went to the hospital. A court date was set for 30 October 2009, this was a Friday and the reason given as to why this did not appear with the regular listings of court cases in the newspaper.
Mr. McGill who is represented by Attorney Bob Massey had his case turned over to the Grand Jury who made a decision on Friday to send the case forward.
Chapter 8 of the Tennessee Code Annotated (TCA) states that this kind of behavior is grounds for "OUSTER". The question now is what will be the extent of public exposure and will the County Ethics Committee address this issue and punish such behavior as it is authorized to do? Allen Barrett
posted by Allen Barrett | 10:50 PM
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