State v. Tucker

728 S.W.2d 27, 1986 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 2855
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedNovember 19, 1986
DocketNo. 85-353-III
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 728 S.W.2d 27 (State v. Tucker) 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. Tucker, 728 S.W.2d 27, 1986 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 2855 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinion

OPINION

SCOTT, Judge.

The appellant was indicted for concealing a stolen Genera] Motors engine valued at over $200.00. The appellant filed several motions in limine to prevent certain testimony from being placed before the jury. One motion sought to prevent the admission of evidence of the appellant’s prior criminal record until a State v. Morgan, 541 S.W.2d 385 (Tenn.1976) hearing could be conducted to determine its admissibility. The motion was granted.

During the direct examination of Tommy Driver, a witness for the prosecution, Mr. Driver was asked the following questions by the Assistant District Attorney General and gave the following answers:

Q. Okay. Now so these folks will know something about your background— let’s just let them know exactly who you are and what you are — have you [29]*29had some problems with the law before?
A. Yes.
Q. And tell us about that.
A. In 1978, I believe it was, I was convicted in Federal Court on four counts of Receiving and Concealing and Conspiracy.
Q. Okay. And was that on some property?
A. Yeah, Yes sir.
Q. And so you are a convicted felon, is that right?
A. No question about it.
Q. Now involving that particular case, who did you buy the property from? A. Some of the property was purchased from Mr. Tucker.
Q. This defendant here.
MR. HIGH: Objection, Your Honor. THE COURT: Sustained. The jury will disregard that. Don’t get into that again, General.

At the conclusion of the direct examination the appellant’s counsel moved for a mistrial and it was granted. In so doing the trial judge found that:

(T)he prosecutor was guilty of prosecuto-rial misconduct, in asking a question that he knew or should have known was improper. The Court further finds that the prosecutor was guilty of reckless misconduct with an indifference to the consequences, but the Court finds that the prosecutor did not act with intent to produce a mistrial.

The trial judge went on to find that based upon the standards set forth in Oregon v. Kennedy, 456 U.S. 667, 102 S.Ct. 2083, 72 L.Ed.2d 416 (1983), a retrial is not barred by double jeopardy. The court then granted the appellant’s application for an interlocutory appeal pursuant to Rule 9, T.R.A.P., and this Court accepted the appeal.

The sole issue presented in this case is whether intentional and reckless prosecuto-rial misconduct with an indifference to the consequences bars retrial of the appellant under the double jeopardy provisions of Article I, § 10 of the Tennessee Constitution.

The appellant and the state agree that retrial is not barred under the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Oregon v. Kennedy, id., is disposi-tive of the issue under the Federal Constitution. However, the appellant urges this Court to adopt a standard under the double jeopardy provision of the Tennessee Constitution which is more protective of a defendant’s right not to be twice placed in jeopardy than is afforded under the Federal Constitution. In support of this contention the appellant and the amicus point us to cases from other jurisdictions which have done just that.

The United States Supreme Court has specifically recognized that state courts have full and final power to determine the constitutionality of state statutes, procedures or courses of conduct under the provisions of the state constitutions even when the state and federal constitutions contain similar or identical provisions. Miller v. State, 584 S.W.2d 758, 760 (Tenn.1979), citing Oregon v. Hass, 420 U.S. 714, 95 S.Ct. 1215, 1219, 43 L.Ed.2d 570 (1975), and Jankovich v. Indiana Toll Road Commission, 379 U.S. 487, 85 S.Ct. 493, 13 L.Ed.2d 439 (1965). Of course, the Tennessee Supreme Court — not this intermediate appellate court — is the court of last resort as to interpretations of our Tennessee Constitution. Miller v. State, supra. Our Supreme Court has specifically recognized that the constitutional guarantees contained in the Tennessee Constitution may expand protection of a defendant’s rights beyond the comparable federal constitutional guarantees. Miller v. State, supra.

This is a matter of first impression in Tennessee. This Court has previously utilized the Oregon v. Kennedy standard. State v. Nixon, 669 S.W.2d 679, 681 (Tenn.Cr.App.1983). However, state constitutional double jeopardy principles were not addressed in that opinion. In State v. Kenneth Daughtery, Tennessee Criminal Appeals, opinion filed at Knoxville, February 11, 1985, Judge Daughtrey suggested in a concurring opinion that the double jeopardy [30]*30issue needs to be considered under the state constitutional provision.

The pertinent portion of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides:

(N)or shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb.

Article I, § 10 of the Tennessee Constitution provides:

That no person shall, for the same of-fence, be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb.

As can be readily seen, these provisions provide identical protection from reprosecution in criminal cases.

In Oregon v. Kennedy, supra, the United States Supreme Court, considering prosecu-torial misconduct as the basis for a double jeopardy claim, held that “(o)nly where the goverhmental conduct is intended to 'goad' the defendant into moving for a mistrial may a defendant raise the bar of double jeopardy to a second trial after having succeeded in aborting the first trial on his own motion.” 102 S.Ct. at 2089. The judgment of the Oregon court was reversed and the cause was remanded for further proceedings.

On remand the Oregon Supreme Court held that retrial is barred under Article I, § 12 of the Oregon Constitution "when improper official conduct is so prejudicial to the defendant that it cannot be cured by means short of a mistrial, and if the official knows that the conduct is improper and prejudicial and either intends or is indifferent to the resulting mistrial or reversal.” State v. Kennedy, 295 Or. 260, 666 P.2d 1316, 1326 (1983). The Oregon Supreme Court concluded that the federal test of prosecutorial intent to cause a mistrial does not further the purpose of the double jeopardy clause, since its purpose is to protect a defendant from “the harassment, embarrassment and risk of successive prosecutions.” Id., at 666 P.2d at 1324. The Oregon court does require a finding that the prosecutor has consciously chosen to engage in prejudicial misconduct, whatever the motive. Id., at 666 P.2d at 1326.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
728 S.W.2d 27, 1986 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 2855, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-tucker-tenncrimapp-1986.