While most are speculating that the arrest in Los Angeles of rapper/actor Clifford Harris aka “TI” along with his wife Tameka “Tiny” Cottle is an open and shut case, prominent Atlanta Criminal Defense Attorney Larry Ellerbe put the troubled rapper’s situation in perspective. Check out what our own legal analyst had to say about Tip’s latest arrest.
Attorney Larry Ellerbe stated:
This is the question that is asked over and over again and that is what will happen to T.I.?
Well no one can answer that question right now, but if you understand the law and how it should be applied you can get an idea as to what can happen.
Now T.I. is currently on probation for federal weapon charges. U.S. Attorney Sally Yates should consider all of the facts surrounding the arrest before making a decision. As the reader there are a couple of things you must consider about probation violation charges. First, it is important to remember that the burden of proof is much lower in violation of probation cases. In a normal criminal case the prosecutor must prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt; in a probation violation case the prosecutor must prove their case only beyond a preponderance of the evidence. Which means the prosecutor must only tip the scale toward the guilty than not guilty. This is a very very low threshold. This may not be good for T.I., but the bright side for him is that the prosecutor has the burden of proof and not T.I. Therefore, T.I. does not have to prove ANYTHING.
If I were representing T.I. the questions I would ask the court is this ‘Did T.I. willfully violate his probation? Were the drugs found on his person and if not did he actually know the drugs were present? Could the drugs actually be smelled by the police or was it just a red herring just to search the car? Could the drugs have belonged to someone else thereby confirming the fact that T.I. had no knowledge of the drugs and thus did not knowingly and willfully violate his probation?’ There are other things to consider, but this case is by no means open and shut as everyone seems to think.
While most are speculating that the arrest in Los Angeles of rapper/actor Clifford Harris aka “TI” along with his wife Tameka “Tiny” Cottle is an open and shut case, prominent Atlanta Criminal Defense Attorney Larry Ellerbe put the troubled rapper’s situation in perspective. Check out what our own legal analyst had to say about Tip’s situation.
The terms of T.I.’s probation say he cannot possess or use any narcotic or controlled substance or frequent places where drugs are “illegally sold, used, distributed or administered.” He also cannot associate with anyone engaged in criminal activity, the terms of his sentence dictate.
