Opinion ID: 1057624
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Range Classification

Text: Under the Criminal Sentencing Reform Act of 1989, Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 40-35-101 to -505 (2006 & Supp. 2009), a trial court’s first obligation in imposing sentence is to “determine the appropriate range of sentence.” Id. § 40-35-210(a). Two alternatives exist for determining a defendant’s appropriate range of sentence. One alternative requires the trial court to make findings of fact about how many prior felony convictions the defendant has and to determine the felony classes to which those prior convictions belong. See id. §§ 3 40-35-105 to -109. On that basis, the trial court determines that the defendant is either a standard Range I offender, id. § 40-35-105; a multiple Range II offender, id. § 40-35-106; a persistent Range III offender, id. § 40-35-107; a career Range III maximum offender, id. § 40-35-108; or an especially mitigated Range I reduced offender, id. § 40-35-109. The other alternative allows the defendant and the State to negotiate a plea bargain that includes a range classification.4 Thus, as in the present case, a defendant who would otherwise be classified as a multiple Range II offender may negotiate a plea bargain which includes a standard Range I offender classification instead. The classification of a defendant for sentencing range purposes is significant because the higher ranges carry longer sentence terms. For instance, the Range I sentence for a Class A felony is fifteen to twenty-five years. Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-112(a)(1). The Range II sentence for a Class A felony is twenty-five to forty years. Id. at (b)(1). The Range III sentence for a Class A felony is forty to sixty years. Id. at (c)(1). It therefore benefits defendants to seek the lowest possible range classification, either through contesting the State’s proof about prior convictions or through plea negotiations. Once the appropriate range is determined, and after considering any mitigating and enhancement factors that apply, the trial court imposes a specific term of years within that range. Id. § 40-35-210(c). Alternatively, a plea bargain may include both a range classification and an agreed-upon term of years. The trial court (or plea bargaining parties) must also determine (1) the manner in which the defendant will serve his or her sentence, for example, incarcerated in the TDOC or on probation, id. at (b), and (2) if the defendant is being sentenced for more than one conviction (or is currently serving another sentence), whether the terms imposed for each conviction are to be served concurrently or consecutively, id. § 40-35-115.