State v. Biggs

769 S.W.2d 506, 1988 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 801
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedDecember 29, 1988
StatusPublished
Cited by40 cases

This text of 769 S.W.2d 506 (State v. Biggs) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Biggs, 769 S.W.2d 506, 1988 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 801 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1988).

Opinion

OPINION

WADE, Judge.

The defendant, originally indicted for aggravated kidnapping and aggravated rape, entered a plea of guilt to one count of rape and subsequently applied for probation. The trial court denied the request and sentenced the defendant to ten years imprisonment. The defendant filed a notice of appeal. Afterward, the defendant sought a reconsideration of the denial of probation. The trial court’s determination that the filing of the appeal divested its jurisdiction to reconsider resulted in a second appeal.

In this consolidated appeal, the defendant presents two issues:

1. Whether the trial court erred in its denial of probation; and

2. Whether the trial court erred in its determination that it lacked jurisdiction to act upon the defendant’s motion for reconsideration of probation.

This court finds that while the trial court did not err in its denial of probation, it did have jurisdiction to consider the motion for reconsideration by the authority of Rule 35 of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure. The cause is remanded to the trial court for a hearing on the merits of the motion.

The facts of the case, as stipulated at the submission hearing, were that the defendant and two other men abducted a woman after she entered their vehicle with the understanding that she would be given a ride to a location within Knox County. The three then took the victim to their residence and raped her, both vaginally and orally.

I

The defendant contends that he was erroneously denied probation in the original application. When one convicted of a felony challenges the length, range or manner of the service of his sentence, it is the duty of this court to conduct a de novo review of the sentence without a presumption of correctness. Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-35-402(d); State v. Moss, 727 S.W.2d 229, 238-239 (Tenn.1986); State v. Smith, 735 S.W.2d 859, 863 (Tenn.Crim.App.1987).

The burden of proof is on the defendant to show that he is entitled to probation. Frazier v. State, 556 S.W.2d 239 (Tenn.Crim.App.1977). Among the factors to he considered are (1) the nature and circumstances of the offense, (2) the defendant’s criminal record, social history, and present condition, and (3) the deterrent effect upon and best interests of the defendant and the public. State v. Grear, 568 S.W.2d 285 (Tenn.1978).

In considering the circumstances of the offense, the court may go beyond the negotiated plea and consider the “true nature” of the crime. State v. Hollingsworth, 647 [508]*508S.W.2d 937, 939 (Tenn.1983). The pre-sen-tence report contains a statement by the victim which indicates that she was raped numerous times throughout the night by at least three men, often by more than one man at a time. Furthermore, the victim was held captive for a lengthy period of time during which the criminal acts occurred. These facts represent a particularly shocking and reprehensible crime. See State v. Travis, 622 S.W.2d 529, 534 (Tenn.1981).

The defendant, a twenty-four year old male, has three prior convictions for public drunkenness and a prior conviction for disorderly conduct. He served time in jail for each incident. A charge of assault and battery was dismissed upon his payment of costs.

The defendant’s social history indicates that he quit school in the tenth grade to join the Marine Corps. He was discharged under other than honorable conditions due to his being absent without leave for 34 days and his destruction of government property during a fight. He did, however, receive a graduate equivalent diploma in November of 1986.

The defendant has an extensive history of alcohol and drug usage. At age 22, he completed a residential alcohol abuse program and attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings on a monthly basis. The defendant denies any use of alcohol or drugs since his rehabilitation. He has been separated from his wife since 1982 and has neither seen nor supported his six year old son.

Although employed at the time of sentencing as a laborer and part-time plumber’s helper, the defendant, who received excellent marks from a vocational training program related to the Tennessee Air National Guard, has a sporadic work history since his discharge from the military.

Upon the application of the principles governing entitlement to probation, it is the considered opinion of this court that the circumstances in this matter, on balance, necessitate denial in order to avoid deprecating the seriousness of the offense. See Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-35-103(1)(B). Although it is not a prerequisite to admit guilt in order to obtain probation, State v. Gautney, 607 S.W.2d 907 (Tenn.Crim.App.1980), the defendant, according to the pre-sentence report, not only denies his guilt but fails to show remorse for his actions. These factors may appropriately be considered in the ultimate determination of whether a defendant should be returned to the community on probation. See State v. Neeley, 678 S.W.2d 48, 49 (Tenn.1984); State v. Grear, 568 S.W.2d 285, 287 (Tenn.1978); State v. Poe, 614 S.W.2d 403 (Tenn.Crim.App.1981).

Upon de novo review of the record presented by the initial proceeding, this court denies the application for probation.

II

The defendant next contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion for reconsideration of probation due to a lack of jurisdiction.

The guilty plea was entered March 3, 1987. The judgment denying probation was dated April 14, 1987. On April 27, 1987, the defendant filed a motion to reconsider probation based on his counsel’s discovery that defendant has been hospitalized twice within the last two years for attempted suicide and had a history of mental illness. While it appears from supportive affidavits that the defendant’s family initially chose not to divulge this information to trial counsel for fear of public exploitation and the possible adverse effect on their son’s health, it was alleged that the defendant had been an inpatient at Lake Shore Mental Health Center at age 16 for six months. None of this information surfaced in the pre-sentence investigation.

On April 28, 1987, the defense counsel, in apparent fear that the time to appeal would expire before the motion was finally determined in the trial court, filed a notice of appeal from the trial court’s earlier denial of probation.

On January 21, 1988, the trial court denied the motion for reconsideration for lack of jurisdiction due to the prior filing of a notice of appeal. The defendant then ap[509]

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State of Tennessee v. Christopher Caldwell
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2020
State of Tennessee v. Douglas Wayne Jackson
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2019
State of Tennessee v. Jonathan David Patterson
564 S.W.3d 423 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 2018)
State of Tennessee v. Deshan Sanders
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2017
State of Tennessee v. Paul Avery Reno
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2017
Bo W. Prendergast v. State of Tennessee
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2015
State of Tennessee v. Chase Nathaniel Martin
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2015
State of Tennessee v. Delavan Benjamin Mohammed
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2013
State of Tennessee v. Jackie Darrell Messer
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2011
State v. Richard Eugene Trivette
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2010
State v. Macarthur Coffey
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2010
State v. Percy Brown
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2010
James Clark v. State of Tennessee
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2004
State of Tennessee v. Jon Brewbaker
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2004
State v. Turco
108 S.W.3d 244 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 2003)
State of Tennessee v. Edward Clay and Timothy B. Clay
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2003
State of Tennessee v. Rufus Steven Johns
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2002
State of Tennessee v. John Briggs
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2002
State of Tennessee v. Thomas H. Whaley
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2002
State of Tennessee v. Marcus M. Oden
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2002

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
769 S.W.2d 506, 1988 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 801, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-biggs-tenncrimapp-1988.