Opinion ID: 1060393
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: constitutionality of the indictments

Text: Dellinger and Sutton challenge the constitutionality of their indictments based upon the recent United States Supreme Court decisions in Jones v. United States, 526 U.S. 227, 119 S.Ct. 1215, 143 L.Ed.2d 311 (1999), and Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000). In Jones, the Court construed a federal statute and noted that the constitutional guarantees of due process, notice, and trial by jury require that any fact, other than a previous conviction, used to enhance a sentence above the statutory maximum must be: 1) charged in the indictment, 2) submitted to the jury, and 3) proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Jones, 526 U.S. at 243, n. 6, 119 S.Ct. 1215. In Apprendi , the Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment extends these requirements to cases involving state statutes. Apprendi, 530 U.S. at 476, 120 S.Ct. 2348. Dellinger and Sutton maintain that the indictments in this case failed to comply with the Apprendi requirements because the indictments did not contain any facts concerning the Branam murder, which was used as an aggravating factor during sentencing. The defendants' argument fails for multiple reasons: 1. The specific aggravating factor used to impose the death penalty in this case was a prior conviction. The Apprendi holding applies to enhancement factors other than prior convictions. Id. at 476, 120 S.Ct. 2348. The aggravator relied upon by the State here is therefore specifically excluded under Apprendi . 2. The death penalty is within the statutory range of punishment prescribed by the legislature for first degree murder. Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-13-202(c)(1). The Apprendi holding applies only to enhancement factors used to impose a sentence above the statutory maximum. Apprendi, 530 U.S. at 481, 120 S.Ct. 2348. It is on this basis that the Court in Apprendi addressed and rejected the concern that the principles governing its decision would invalidate state capital sentencing procedures requiring judges to find aggravating factors before imposing the death penalty. Id. at 496-97, 120 S.Ct. 2348. The Court noted that such a sentencing procedure does not allow a judge to determine the existence of a factor making the crime a capital offense. Id. at 497, 120 S.Ct. 2348. Instead, the judge is called upon to decide whether the death penalty, the maximum penalty allowable under the capital statute, should be imposed. Id. 3. District attorneys in Tennessee are required to notify capital defendants no less than thirty days before trial of the intent to seek the death penalty and must specify the aggravating circumstances upon which the State intends to rely during sentencing. Tenn. R.Crim. P. 12.3(b). Rule 12.3(b) therefore satisfies the requirements of due process and notice. See State v. Golphin, 352 N.C. 364, 395-97, 533 S.E.2d 168 (2000) (statute setting forth the aggravating circumstances the jury may consider provides sufficient notice to satisfy the constitutional requirements of due process). 4. Tennessee's capital sentencing procedure requires that a jury make findings regarding the statutory aggravating circumstances. Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-13-204(f)(1), (i). The Apprendi holding applies only to sentencing procedures under which judges sentence the defendants. Apprendi, 530 U.S. at 476, 120 S.Ct. 2348. 5. Tennessee's capital sentencing procedure requires that the jury find any statutory aggravating circumstance beyond a reasonable doubt. Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-13-204(f)(1), (i). The Tennessee statutes therefore comply with the beyond a reasonable doubt standard required by Apprendi . Apprendi, 530 U.S. at 476, 120 S.Ct. 2348. Based upon these distinctions, we hold that the principles of Apprendi do not apply to Tennessee's capital sentencing procedure. Neither the United States Constitution nor the Tennessee Constitution requires that the State charge in the indictment the aggravating factors to be relied upon by the State during sentencing in a first degree murder prosecution.