State of Tennessee v. Larenzo Jerome Morgan, Jr.
W2016-00114-CCA-R3-CD
| Tenn. Crim. App. | Sep 29, 2016Background
- Morgan pleaded guilty in Dyer County to aggravated burglary and theft (concurrent 3-year sentences), placed on probation, with probation later transferred to Missouri.
- Missouri convictions (July 15, 2014) for theft and resisting arrest resulted in concurrent 3-year Missouri sentences; Morgan served time in Missouri DOC and was later paroled.
- Dyer County issued a probation violation (Dec. 9, 2014) based on the Missouri convictions and failure to pay restitution; probation was revoked and the Dyer County sentences were ordered executed.
- At the revocation hearing, defense argued Missouri judgments were silent as to concurrency and thus the Missouri sentence should be treated as concurrent with the Dyer County sentence, justifying credit for time served in Missouri; the trial court awarded 494 days credit.
- The State appealed; this court treated the improperly filed State appeal as a petition for writ of certiorari and reviewed whether the trial court had authority to grant Tennessee credit for time served on unrelated Missouri convictions.
Issues
| Issue | State's Argument | Morgan's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the trial court had authority to award Dyer County jail credit for time Morgan served in Missouri on unrelated convictions | Trial court lacked authority; Tennessee law does not permit restructuring sentences after revocation or recognizing a sister-state order to amend Tennessee judgments | Missouri judgments are silent on concurrency; under Missouri law silence presumes concurrency, so Dyer County sentence should be treated as concurrent and receive credit | Reversed: trial court acted without authority; Missouri time did not arise from the Tennessee offenses, so no credit allowed |
| Whether the State’s improperly filed Rule 3 appeal could be considered on certiorari | The State asked this court to treat the Rule 3 filing as certiorari because the trial court acted illegally | N/A | Court accepted certiorari review because the trial court acted without legal authority and no adequate remedy existed |
Key Cases Cited
- State v. Green, 106 S.W.3d 646 (Tenn. 2003) (finality of guilty-plea judgment date)
- State v. Adler, 92 S.W.3d 397 (Tenn. 2002) (limits on State appeals under Tenn. R. App. P. 3)
- State v. Hunter, 1 S.W.3d 643 (Tenn. 1999) (available remedies after probation violation)
- State v. Taylor, 992 S.W.2d 941 (Tenn. 1999) (trial court must execute original judgment as entered upon probation revocation)
- State v. Jones, 598 S.W.2d 209 (Tenn. 1980) (sister-state judgments do not bind Tennessee courts)
- Abernathy v. State, 649 S.W.2d 285 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1983) (statutory jail-credit limited to time served arising from the offense for which sentence imposed)