The Volokh Conspiracy
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Judge Williams, dissenting as to how to refer to witnesses
A footnote I've found in three recent Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals cases, where Judge John Everett Williams was on the panel (e.g., State v. Wilson):
We acknowledge that we do not use titles when referring to every witness. We intend no disrespect in doing so. Judge John Everett Williams believes that referring to witnesses without proper titles is disrespectful even though none is intended. He would prefer that every adult witness be referred to as Mr. or Mrs. or by his or her proper title.
Yes, it's not really a dissent as such, since Judge Williams concurs in both the result and the reasoning of the majority opinion - but it's unusual for a disagreement like this to be expressly noted in opinions.
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