TN: Without findings of fact, the appellate court can review the dashcam video and draw its own conclusions

The trial court didn’t make findings of fact, so the appellate court can review the dashcam video and draw its own conclusions. “The trial court reviewed the testimony of the only witness and made an implicit finding that his testimony was not credible in this case as to whether Defendant crossed the center line before the stop was initiated by the patrol car’s blue lights being turned on. The trial court found that the videotape showed that while Defendant weaved, he stayed within his lane of travel. Even if we could make our ruling based solely upon our view of the videotape, we would be unable to conclude that the trial court erred by granting the motion to suppress.” State v. Black, 2020 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 368 (May 27, 2020).

Defendant posted a video of a Taurus 9mm, an extended magazine, and a black pouch in his vehicle on Instagram. He was a felon, and that instigated a FIPF investigation. There was probable cause to search the vehicle under the automobile exception without a search warrant. United States v. Dixson, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 92959 (E.D. Mich. May 28, 2020).*