Judge’s addiction citied in attempt to overturn conviction
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – A woman is trying to convince a judge to overturn her conviction in the murder of her husband, arguing that the drug addition of the judge who presided over her case affected her trial.
The Knoxville News Sentinel reports that attorney Rebecca Legrand, who represents Raynella Dossett Leath, argued on Monday that Knox County Criminal Court Judge Richard Baumgartner’s addition to drugs caused him to cut short cross-examination of witnesses, shut down questioning of potential jurors and refuse her client a new trial.
An investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation found that Baumgartner had an addiction to opiates. Baumgartner’s last act in office was refusing to grant Leath’s motion for a new trial.
Leath was convicted in 2010 in the death of her second husband, David Leath.
