State v. Lock

839 S.W.2d 436, 1992 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 428
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedMay 20, 1992
StatusPublished
Cited by42 cases

This text of 839 S.W.2d 436 (State v. Lock) 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. Lock, 839 S.W.2d 436, 1992 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 428 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinion

OPINION

TIPTON, Judge.

This consolidated appeal by the state relates to charges against the defendant 1 in Sumner and Williamson Counties which were dismissed under the Interstate Compact on Detainers (ICD). T.C.A. § 40-31-101. The defendant was incarcerated in Kentucky when he initially, invoked the ICD by requesting trial of the various charges pending against him in Tennessee. We affirm the dismissals. Since the dis-positive issues and the proof thereon are distinctly different, the cases will be considered separately.

SUMNER COUNTY

An arrest warrant was issued in Sumner County in December, 1986, charging the defendant with obtaining goods by false pretense. On March 9, 1988, while the warrant was still pending, a presentment was returned charging the defendant with this offense as an habitual criminal.

The hearing on the defendant’s motion to dismiss was held on October 2, 1990, and the following facts were presented — primarily by documents which were stipulated. The defendant was convicted and sentenced in Trigg County, Kentucky, on August 18, 1987. On August 21, 1987, while in jail in Kentucky, the defendant executed ICD forms which requested final disposition of the Sumner County charge within 180 days, requested appointment of counsel, waived extradition, and provided his voluntary consent to be transferred for trial. These forms, along with Kentucky’s offer of temporary custody, were sent to Tennessee. The Sumner County District Attorney General received the documents on September 8, 1987. The record reflects that the defendant sent similar forms to *439 prosecutors in three other Tennessee counties (Putnam, Coffee and Williamson), an Alabama county, and the middle federal district of Tennessee for other pending charges.

On December 21,1987, the Sumner County District Attorney General executed a Request for Temporary Custody seeking the defendant’s return from Kentucky for trial. Kentucky authorities received the request on December 28, 1987.

On February 1, 1988, the defendant pled guilty to an offense in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee in Nashville with sentencing to occur on March 16, 1988. On August 17, 1988, the defendant, being held in a Kentucky prison, filed a pro se motion to dismiss the Sumner County charge asserting that since he had not been tried within 180 days of his request, as provided by Article 111(c) of the ICD, the case should be dismissed with prejudice. No action was taken by the trial court on this motion. 2

The record contains letters between the defendant and his various counsel in the federal and other county cases. The defendant wrote a letter to the Sumner County District Attorney General on February 15, 1989, trying to resolve his case by plea bargain. In the letter, the defendant states that Sumner County placed a detain-er warrant against him in 1987 and another warrant in 1988. On February 21, 1989, the defendant wrote the State Attorney General in Nashville, seeking help on resolving his remaining cases in the various Tennessee counties and claiming that none of the prosecutors had complied with the provisions of the ICD.

Also, a document reflects that the defendant was in Putnam County in May, 1989, and was transferred to Houston County after his Putnam County charges were dismissed. On June 8, 1989, the defendant escaped from the Houston County jail.

At the hearing, neither the state nor the defense called any witnesses, apparently relying upon the documents which were introduced and other stipulations. The state’s basic argument to the trial court was that the defendant’s escape negated his request for final disposition. It relied on Article 111(f) which provides that a prisoner’s escape from custody after making the request for final disposition “shall void the request.” The trial court reasoned that the escape contemplated by the statute was one which would prevent the state from meeting its obligations under the ICD. Thus, since the escape in no way interfered with the state returning the defendant to Sumner County for final disposition within 180 days of his request, the trial court held that the escape did not void the request. It held that the defendant was entitled under Article III to the dismissal of the presentment with prejudice because the state failed to comply with the time obligations provided in the ICD.

The order of dismissal was entered on October 19,1990. However, on October 12, 1990, the state filed a “Motion to Reconsider, to Vacate and for an Additional Eviden-tiary Hearing” with attached exhibits. The state alleged many specific facts not presented at the October 2 hearing and asserted that the new facts showed that the defendant was not available to Sumner County authorities. The state was attempting to show that the 180 days had not run because, under Article VI(a), the running of the time period is tolled “for as long as the prisoner is unable to stand trial.” The state’s motion was heard by the trial court on November 30, 1990, more than 30 days after the entry of the order of dismissal. The defendant asserted that the trial court did not have jurisdiction to reconsider or rehear the matter because the time within which the trial court could act on the matter had run. The trial court essentially ruled that it inadvertently entered the order of dismissal and held that it would effectively be “re-entered” as of November 30. As to the merits of the state’s motion, the trial court essentially held that the state had the opportunity to present the *440 evidence at the October 2 hearing and it would not be allowed to reopen the case for further evidentiary hearing.

However, the state was allowed to make a record. In this regard, the state submitted various documents and the testimony of Rose Hill, the Tennessee extradition officer. The evidence presented, from the state’s perspective, related to the defendant being delivered to other jurisdictions and to his ultimately fighting his return to Tennessee.

On appeal, the state asserts that the trial court erroneously dismissed the presentment because the proof at both hearings showed that the defendant was unavailable for trial through no fault of the state. Underlying this contention is the state’s assertion that the trial court abused its discretion in not considering the evidence submitted at the second hearing. Also, it persists in its claim that the June, 1989, escape voided the August, 1987, request for final disposition.

In response, the defendant asserts that the appeal should be dismissed because the notice of appeal was not filed within 30 days of the entry of the judgment on October 19, 1990. Also, he contends that the trial court did not have jurisdiction to rehear the matter on November 30, 1990. Finally, he claims that the trial court acted properly in refusing to allow further evidence in the case.

An appeal as of right is initiated by the filing of a notice of appeal, T.R.A.P. 3(e), within 30 days of the entry of the judgment being appealed. T.R.A.P. 4(a).

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

Related

Eric Bledsoe v. Grady Perry, Warden
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2026
State of Tennessee v. Dallas Wayne Tomes, Jr.
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2025
State of Tennessee v. Servadio M. Boyd
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2024
Antwain Tapaige Sales v. State of Tennessee
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2021
Allen C. Bond v. Tennessee Department of Correction
Court of Appeals of Tennessee, 2021
State of Tennessee v. Michael Wright
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2020
Donald Scott Kimbrough v. State of Tennessee
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2018
Bradley Cox v. State of Tennessee
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2018
Calvin Douglas v. State of Tennessee
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2018
State of Tennessee v. Billy Ramer
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2016
State of Tennessee v. Kendall Joy
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2016
Ralph T. O'Neal v. State of Tennessee
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2016
Bo W. Prendergast v. State of Tennessee
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2015
John Ivory v. State of Tennessee
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2015
State of Tennessee v. Kenneth D. Sanders
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2015
Larry Stephen Brumit v. State of Tennessee
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2015
State of Tennessee v. Levar O. Williams
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2015
State v. Black
30 N.E.3d 918 (Ohio Supreme Court, 2015)
State of Tennessee v. Chase Nathaniel Martin
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2015

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
839 S.W.2d 436, 1992 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 428, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-lock-tenncrimapp-1992.