State of Tennessee v. Bobby E. Lee, M2016-02084-CCA-R3-CD

Bobby E. Lee was convicted by a jury of two counts of delivery of Oxycodone (two separate sales on Sept. 7 and Oct. 2, 2013); six pills tested positive for oxycodone.
Clay County indicted in June 2014; trial conviction followed and a sentencing hearing was held with a presentence report admitted.
Presentence report showed prior convictions (open container, implied consent, storing explosives), two prior probation violations (one leading to revocation and four months confinement), and pending DUI and possession charges.
Probation officer testified Lee had limited verified employment, a tenth-grade education, and tested positive for oxycodone in 2016 but had a valid prescription; probation officer recommended probation.
The trial court applied misdemeanor sentencing principles, found enhancement factors (previous convictions/behavior, leadership role, failure to comply with probation), gave them great weight, and found confinement necessary due to deterrence and prior unsuccessful less-restrictive measures.
The court sentenced Lee to 11 months, 29 days at 75% for each count, to be served concurrently; Lee appealed arguing excessive length and improper reliance on deterrence for incarceration.

Issue	State's Argument	Lee's Argument	Held
Whether the sentence length is excessive	Sentence within misdemeanor maximum; trial court acted within discretion given enhancements and probation violations	Sentence should be shorter (Lee suggested ~3 months); trial court erred in imposing maximum	Affirmed — Lee failed to show the sentence was improper; trial court’s within-range sentence was reasonable
Whether incarceration was improper because based on deterrence and community evidence	Confinement justified by defendant’s prior probation violations and failure of less-restrictive measures; deterrence is a proper consideration	Trial court relied in part on community drug problem and deterrence not supported by record	Affirmed — trial court permissibly relied on evidence of repeated probation failures and deterrence; confinement not an abuse of discretion

State v. Palmer, 902 S.W.2d 391 (Tenn. 1995) (misdemeanor sentencing principles and percentage guidance)
State v. Troutman, 979 S.W.2d 271 (Tenn. 1998) (no record finding required when setting service percentage)
State v. Bise, 380 S.W.3d 682 (Tenn. 2012) (abuse-of-discretion standard for sentencing review)
State v. Herron, 461 S.W.3d 890 (Tenn. 2015) (clarifies abuse-of-discretion contours)
State v. King, 432 S.W.3d 316 (Tenn. 2014) (abuse-of-discretion presumption applies to all sentencing decisions)
State v. Ashby, 823 S.W.2d 166 (Tenn. 1991) (burden on appealing party to show sentence improper)
State v. Bingham, 910 S.W.2d 448 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1995) (defendant seeking full probation bears burden to show probation is appropriate)
State v. Boyd, 925 S.W.2d 237 (Tenn. 1995) (trial court flexibility in misdemeanor sentence length)