State v. John Childress

• Court: Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee
• Decided: May 16, 1997
• Docket: 02C01-9605-CC-00154
• Status: Published

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE

AT JACKSON

MARCH 1997 SESSION FILED May 16, 1997 STATE OF TENNESSEE, ) Cecil Crowson, Jr. ) Appellate C ourt Clerk APPELLEE, ) ) No. 02-C-01-9605-CC-00154 ) ) Lauderdale County v. ) ) Joseph W. Walker, Judge ) ) (Expungement of Record) JOHN M. CHILDRESS, ) ) APPELLANT. )

FOR THE APPELLANT: FOR THE APPELLEE:

John M. Childress, Pro Se John Knox Walkup South Central Correctional Center Attorney General & Reporter P.O. Box 279 500 Charlotte Avenue Clifton, TN 38425 Nashville, TN 37243-0497 (Appeal Only) Deborah A. Tullis Gary Antrican Assistant Attorney General District Public Defender 450 James Robertson Parkway P.O. Box 700 Nashville, TN 37243-0493 Somerville, TN 38068 Elizabeth T. Rice District Attorney General 302 Market Street Somerville, TN 38068

OPINION FILED:_____________________________________________

REVERSED AND REMANDED

Joe B. Jones, Presiding Judge OPINION

The issue presented for review by this appeal is the right of the appellant, John M.

Childress, to have five counts of an indictment dismissed as part of a plea bargain

agreement expunged. The trial court refused to expunge these counts of the indictment.

In this Court, the State of Tennessee confesses error, and agrees this case must be

remanded to the trial court for the expungement of these counts of the indictment. After

a thorough review of the record, the briefs submitted by the parties, and the law governing

the issue presented for review, it is the opinion of this Court the judgment of the trial court

should be reversed and this cause remanded for the entry of an order expunging the five

counts of the indictment.

The Lauderdale County Grand Jury returned an indictment charging the appellant

with seven counts of statutory rape. The appellant entered into a plea bargain agreement

with the State of Tennessee. The appellant entered pleas of guilty to Count I, especially

aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, and Count II, statutory rape. The State agreed

to dismiss the five remaining counts of statutory rape.

The appellant is entitled to have Counts III through Count VII expunged. State v.

Terrence Liddle, Wilson County No. 01-C-01-9508-CR-00280 (Tenn. Crim. App., Nashville,

May 24, 1996). In Liddle, the defendant was charged with six counts of aggravated sexual

battery. Pursuant to a plea bargain agreement, the defendant entered a plea of guilty to

Count I of the indictment. The state nollied the remaining five counts of the indictment.

This Court held the defendant was entitled to have the five nollied counts expunged in

accordance with Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-32-101(a)(3).

This case is remanded to the trial court for the entry of an order expunging the five

counts of the indictment that were dismissed pursuant to the plea bargain agreement.

_____________________________________________ JOE B. JONES, PRESIDING JUDGE

2 CONCUR:

______________________________________ GARY R. WADE, JUDGE

______________________________________ J. CURWOOD WITT, JR., JUDGE