Goodine claims he’s not being allowed to exchange legal materials with attorney in jail

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- An ex-Chattanooga police officer is getting close to his trial on first degree murder charges in the 2023 death of his girlfriend.

However, Thursday he questioned if he is being allowed to put together a fair defense.

Lawrence Goodine is facing a first degree murder charge for the death of Kara Akins at a house on Carr Street in November 2023.

Footage shown at the preliminary hearing in this case shows a man identified as Goodine dragging Akins into a home as she was begging him to stop. 

However, the case itself was not at the center of Thursday’s motions hearing, as Goodine and his defense attorney, former Hamilton County District Attorney Neil Pinkston claimed that deputies at the Hamilton County Jail are not letting them exchange legal documents ahead of his murder trial.

Goodine himself took to the witness stand to express his frustration with the situation.

Goodine testified, “I have my notes from studying discovery in this case and I’m allowed not to bring them with me when I meet (with Pinkston) because the jail said their policy said I’m not allowed to bring those to my attorney… I’m being handicapped.”

Brian Bush, the general counsel for the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, testified that deputies have strict procedures at the jail on what comes in and out of the jail. 

Bush says that the Sheriff’s Office has started using a new program called Via Path that allows for attorneys and inmates to exchange documents digitally in the past four months.

Bush explained, “The purpose behind that is the Sheriff’s Office switched to that to reduce the incidents of contraband entering the jail. With that there has been a great reduction but we want it to be zero.”

He said that the program was necessary due to previous incidents of attorneys sneaking contraband into the jail to their clients.

Bush testified, “More recently in the past month or two, there have been tips on the introduction of contraband into the jail. The jail staff and security is aware of that. As Mr. Goodine and other inmates have come and gone from visits; searches have to be done to prevent contraband.”

Pinkston, who said he was unfamiliar with the software, said he would give it a try, but said that he still reserves the right to show Goodine physical copies of evidence before the trial.

He said, “I just want to make sure we have the very fundamental ability for Mr. Goodine and I to be able to communicate about a first degree murder trial.”

The case is scheduled to begin in August, but it has been pushed back twice due to various issues.

Goodine previously was acquitted of charges of police misconduct while on the Chattanooga Police Department in 2008, as multiple people claimed he had abused his role as a police officer.

Goodine afterwards was denied reinstatement as a Chattanooga Police Officer by then Chief Freeman Cooper.

He then unsuccessfully sued the department to be allowed back onto the force.