Saturday, March 30

Here Come The Judge

This is the letter that was delivered to the Judge's office.

From the desk of
Ted G. Cook
480 Hard Rock Road
P.O. Box 625
Savannah, TN 38372
(731)-925-4754

March 25, 2013



The Honorable Judge
Creed McGinley
Circuit Court Judge
Hardin County, Tennessee
Savannah, TN 38372


In re: Possible Jury Tampering With My Grand Jury Panel

Your Honor,

The most charitable way of explaining my issue is, something is very wrong with the results of my attempt to present the results of a Comptroller’s audit to the three member screening panel, en route to your full Grand Jury for their review and up or down vote.

I had at least two occasions to talk with District Attorney General McCadams before my presentation, which Mr. McCadams also attended, and he never mentioned a statute of limitation issue or any other issues that would effect getting the true bill from your grand jury.

The triable or indictable public offenses charges were: Theft of property - Class C/D - Felony (4 year SOL); Criminal Conspiracy - Class D Felony (4 year SOL); Official Misconduct - Class E Felony (2 year SOL) ; Official Oppression - Class E Felony (2 year SOL) ; and Misrepresenting information to state auditors - Class C Misdemeanor (1 year SOL). [Applications enclosed]

After I completed my summary presentation to the panel and left the room, relegated to wait in the hallway while they “deliberated” for about 20 to 25 minutes, someone call my attention to the fact that Mr. Terry Dicus, a supposed lawyer and TBI Investigator for the DAG’s office had gone into the deliberation room and we wondered why.

When I was called back to the deliberation room the only people present were the three members of the screening panel. Your Foreperson announced that the TBI agent, that had just left the room, had informed them that the statutes of limitation had expired on my charges and therefore they had voted NOT to pass my application on to the full grand jury.

Although I tried to explain why that was just plain wrong, they would have no part of it and again informed me that they had voted and I could not move on to the full grand jury. Thank me very much, told me to have a good day. By the time I got back to the hallway DAG McCadams and Mr. Dicus were nowhere to be found and the DA is not responding to my phone calls.

I am aware that Mr. Dicus personally dropped a letter off at The Courier Friday, treating a libel suit if an immediately retraction, by the Courier, of my opinion in the Letters to the Editor section. How dumb is that? I don’t think he liked my reference to the DA’s “pet TBI agent” along with the tampering with the jury remark. I think I may have touched a nerve with the young man. But then again ole Navy Chiefs’ have a talent for that sort of thing and besides, I didn’t invite him.

Now that the TBI Investigator and part time lawyer has influence the grand jury panel with his bogus pronouncements as to the statutes of limitation having, as a matter of law, expired on the charges, the court and myself are entitled to see his proof as to when he or the DAG think the statute of limitations expired on the charges in the application. To do that, he needs to tell the Court and myself, when the SOL began and ended on each one of the charges, and his proof. Of course, that is impossible on at least one of the charges, i.e. Criminal Conspiracy, being a continuing act, and all. [First Blush Summary of Statute of Limitations Enclosed]

Question: Why did the panel member not ask, if in fact they asked anyone as to the SOL, the DAG or the Court itself, as per your instructions, if it was a legal question or in this case a question of fact for a jury to decide, at some point in time, if the defense alleges and proves it. If that is not out of bounds, I’m not sure what would be.

I will bet you my retired Constable badge against his active TBI badge, and you can hold the stakes, that he is so wrong that there has to be another motive for injecting himself into my CITIZENS application to the grand jury. The DA has had the information on the auditor’s investigation since at least December 2010 and as late as last month advised me that they were still waiting for the auditors to send him their files on their investigation, which we all know is not going to happen. In short, as far as we know, there has not been an investigation by the DAG or TBI. If there has, no one has contacted Mr Spence or myself and as far as I know has not talked to any of those “certain employees” referred to in the audit.

As we all know, not to necessarily say that District Attorney General McCadams is unethical, but, an unethical prosecutor will introduce inflammatory or prejudicial material that has nothing whatsoever to do with the case. They usually do this for the singular purpose of prejudicing the judge, but it would work well in a grand jury panel, too. We also know that on occasions a judge will believe a prosecutor before he believes a stranger, especially if that stranger is a non-lawyer. This tactic can be spectacularly effective.

Where in the heck did Mr. Dicus come from and why did he try to thwart, double cross or frustrate my rights to interface with the full grand jury. Why wasn’t it General McCadams who rendered the bogus opinion, and that is just what it is, an opinion, instead of the representative of the TBI, with his little badge? Maybe because Mr. McCadams knows better and doesn’t want his fingerprints on the issue. Too, too late.

As you may know, the audit was published in February 2012, for fiscal year 2011, and the results as outlined will provided your grand jury with the basis to find the elements present to return a true bill on the charges represented by the Comptrollers report of their investigation. i.e. sufficient evidence for a trial; that the act was a crime under law; and that the court had jurisdiction. A very low threshold called probable cause, as you know.

If the SOL has not expired, as Mr. Dicus pronounced and I win his badge, I could see how he might be charged with tampering with the grand jury panel and perjury for his false statement, in that they are, in fact, NOT TRUE and both Dicus and McCadams knows, or should know, they are false.

You Honor, as best I can tell, I have been denied my constitutional right to redress my grievances and allegations with the Grand Jury, and I want it back, sooner rather than later. I would like to see you either convene an investigative panel or reconvene the current grand jury panel, with the costs charged to the District Attorney and TBI, of course.


Respectfully submitted for your consideration,


/s/ Ted G. Cook
Ted G. Cook
731-607-4103



cc: DAG McCadams, TBI Jackson Office, DAG Conference and State Attorney General (FAX)



Attachments - (3)

Wednesday, March 27

TBI's Terry Dicus vs The Courier and Free Press

You Just Can’t Make this Stuff Up.


What do you call a TBI Investigator and licensed attorney that delivers a “Notice of Action Against Periodical” to The Courier to demand that “A full and complete retraction is demanded” of my comments in the Letter to the Editor on March 21, 2013? Who does this dude think he is?

It seems that this “pending plaintiff” thinks that my reference to a”pet TBI agent of tampering with a grand jury” and “guilty of official corruption, the most malignant peril to the criminal justice system” are both defamatory and untrue. Well I’ll be .. .

I did not name or identify who the “pet TBI agent” was by name, in my article, however, Mr. Terry Dicus, Jr. has come forwarded with his notice and has identified himself. Thanks Terry, I kinda figured you were the weak link, with your ego and all.



Mr. Dicus also informed The Courier that “[w]hile the complainant refuses to comment on the existence of a grand jury inquiry that is secretive according to state law, he intends to vigorously prosecute these libelous charges.” I wonder how he intends to do that without proving that his bogus information to the grand jury panel kinda already confirms “the existence of a grand jury inquiry.”

What is about to become clear is that although they think everything they do behind the door of the grand jury is forever secret, they may have forgot that in this vary rare case there is a CITIZEN, myself, that is not bound by their forever secret limitations.

This “lawyer” should know that case law reflect that an essential part of the constitutionally protected freedoms of speech and press is the right to debate public issues and to examine and criticize the conduct of governmental officials. In fact, this right had been characterized as a "political duty" that "should be a fundamental principle of the American government." The Tennessee Supreme Court has likewise observed that "the news media have not only a right but a duty to make searching inquiry into all phases of official conduct and to realistically evaluate and assess the performance of duty by public officers."

I will posted a copy of Mr. Dicus’s letter to The Courier in the file section of TheNewSavannahJournal. It is almost like Mr Dicus doesn’t understand the concept of free speech or even the basics about freedom of the press.

I wonder how he will try to explain all of this to his bosses.   Respectfully submitted for your consideration.   Uncle Ted

Tuesday, March 19

DA's Office Becomes Defenders of Corruption in Hardin County

Readers Write - Grand Jury - the Courier - 3- 21-13


Question: Do illegal acts of our elected or appointed officials and county employees deprive the citizens of their right to have them perform their officials duties in the citizen’s best interest?

I think the answer to that question in Hardin County depends on if you are the citizen, or if you are one of those elected or appointed officials or employees doing the illegal acts.

I’m not sure where the absolute low point of political corruption is in Hardin County, but, after my recent experience with our grand jury, it has reached a new low in my book.

As you know from recent headlines concerning our schools superintendent, if the district attorney won’t, a layman can bring a bill of indictment to the grand jury and if the grand jury finds there was; a.) sufficient evidence for a trial; b.) that the act was a crime under law; and c.) that the court had jurisdiction, it would return the indictment to the complainant. A very low threshold called probable cause.

That is what I want to do, no more or no less, because T.C.A. §40-12-104(a) provides that "[a]ny person having knowledge or proof of the commission of a public offense triable or indictable in the county may testify before the grand jury."

Research has shown that it is the intent of the General Assembly that the integrity of the processes of local government be secured and protected from abuse. The General Assembly recognizes that holding public office and public employment is a public trust and that citizens of Tennessee are entitled to an ethical, accountable and incorruptible government. That includes the citizens of Hardin County.

About a year ago, if you will remember, it was revealed by the State Auditors that: "As a result of our investigation, certain employees of the Solid Waste Department admitted to us that they had removed scrap metal from the county’s Solid Waste Department and sold it for personal gain...

Management of the Solid Waste Department had knowledge of this illegal activity; however, they did not take corrective action...

...This practice by county employees resulted in a loss of revenue from the sale of scrap metal by the Solid Waste Department..." and that "County officials should seek to recover any funds determined to have been generated from the unauthorized removal of scrap metal."

The triable or indictable public offenses charges: Theft of property - Class C - Felony (4 year SOL); Criminal Conspiracy - Class D Felony (4 year SOL); Official Misconduct - Class E Felony (2 year SOL) ; Official Oppression - Class E Felony (2 year SOL) ; and Misrepresenting information to state auditors - Class C Misdemeanor (1 year SOL).

In a nutshell, I think the case is now made for our district attorney, Hansel McCadams, with his pet TBI agent, have tampered with our grand jury and strayed outside their established boundaries and limitations as prosecutors.

In an effort to thwart my efforts to present my case to the full grand jury and hold the "Management of our Solid Waste Department", i.e., Director Randy Etheridge and Mayor Kevin Davis, accountable for their illegal activity exposed by the county audit last year, the TBI agent, I’m sure with the blessing of District Attorney General McCadems, injected himself in to my application to testify before the grand jury that was being reviewed by a panel of three members of the grand jury before I was allowed to make a presentation to the full 12-member grand jury for their action.

I was told by the foreperson that the TBI agent had informed them, the three member panel, that the "Statute of Limitations" (SOL) had expired on my charges and therefore I would not be allowed to make my presentation to the full grand jury, for their up or down vote.

That is so wrong, unless the DA and the TBI agent have become the defenders of government corruption instead of the prosecutors because the government need not allege the time of the offense in the indictment and it is up to the defendant to raise the limitations defense. A statute of limitations defense is a non-jurisdictional, affirmative defense.

Case studies have established that it’s up to the defendant to figure out whether the statute has "run," and to raise the issue with the judge. Judges do not take it upon themselves to review cases for possible limitations problems. So why did the district attorney?

"[T]he common-law rule was that affirmative defenses ... were matters for the defendant to prove."

And then you have a "continuing offense" which is, in general, one that involves a prolonged course of conduct; its commission is not complete until the conduct has run its course.

In the light most favorable to the district attorney and TBI agent, they fabricated a departure from authorized procedure in order to deceive the grand jury reviewing panel AND deny me my right to testify before the grand jury.

Like Director Etheridge and Mayor Davis, they employed the insidious and charlatan rationale, the end justifies the means. Based on the facts as we now know them, they too are guilty of official corruption, the most malignant peril to the criminal justice system.

I really wanted to hand this off to the criminal justice system and get the subject off of my list of thing that needed to be dealt with, before I retire, again. It looks as if we are going to have to add another chapter to the book on exposing corruption in Hardin County, Tennessee.

Ted G. Cook
Savannah, TN