Jury Acquits Litson Client of Aggravated Perjury in Under 30 Minutes

A Madison County jury acquitted Litson client Brian Cole, Sr. of aggravated perjury after deliberating for less than 30 minutes. Mr. Cole, a longtime bail bondsman and co-owner of Tennessee Bonding Company, was charged with making a false statement under oath during a November 2023 hearing on his company’s petition for approval to write bonds in the 26th Judicial District. The charge carried a potential felony conviction and the loss of his livelihood.

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The indictment grew out of a single answer Mr. Cole gave at that 2023 hearing. When his attorney asked whether he had ever “declared bankruptcy,” Mr. Cole answered no. The State later contended that answer was false because Mr. Cole had filed for personal bankruptcy years earlier. The defense maintained throughout the proceedings that Mr. Cole understood the question to refer to the statutory disclosure required of bondsmen under Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-11-317(c), which applies to a bankruptcy that leaves unsatisfied bond forfeitures. Mr. Cole had never had one.

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A perjury conviction in Tennessee requires proof that the defendant intended to deceive. Where a question is genuinely ambiguous and the defendant honestly answered the question he understood, the State cannot meet that burden. The defense’s task was to make that distinction land with the jury before the first witness took the stand.

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During jury selection, Litson attorney Brent Hannafan asked roughly 40 prospective jurors whether they had eaten breakfast before they came to court. About half said no, thinking he was asking whether they had eaten that morning. He then pointed out the obvious: of course they had eaten breakfast at some point before the trial. They had honestly answered the question they thought he was asking, but their answer was wrong. He had asked a slightly different one. The whole jury pool understood the defense before opening statements.

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Once both sides rested, the jury deliberated for less than 30 minutes before returning a verdict of not guilty.

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“We are glad that Brian can go back to living his life and running the business he has built over 30 years,” said Litson partner Alex Little. “A jury that comes back in under 30 minutes is sending a message about this prosecution. When the State indicts an innocent person, this is the right result. John Ross Glover and Brent Hannafan tried this case, and their preparation and command of the record are the reason Brian is going home to his family.”