Court Opinion

ID: 9683226
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 13:25:05.907002+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:17:46.507695
License: Public Domain

SCOTT, Judge,
concurring and dissenting.
I concur in the lead opinion that the conviction of driving while intoxicated should be affirmed. However, I believe the judgment should be modified to set the fine at $50.00 rather than $1,000.00, since this was a bench trial.
Article VI, Section 14 of the Constitution of Tennessee provides that: “(n)o fine shall be laid on any citizen of this State that shall exceed fifty dollars, unless it shall be assessed by a jury of his peers, who shall assess the fine at the time they find the fact, if they think the fine should be more than fifty dollars.”
In Metzner v. State, 128 Tenn. 45, 157 S.W. 69, 70 (1913), the Tennessee Supreme Court held that the power or jurisdiction to inflict a fine exceeding $50.00 having been conferred by law upon a jury alone, and withheld from the judges cannot be invoked by waiver or consent to endow a judge with this power. Jurisdiction is conferred by law only.
Rule 5(c)(2), T.R.Cr.P., purports to enlarge the jurisdiction of judges when the defendant waives trial by jury. That section provides that in such a case the magistrate may hear the case and, “enter such verdict and judgment as the evidence warrants and the law directs, including any fine or jail sentence prescribed by law for such misdemeanor.”
In the Committee Comments to Rule 5(c)(2), the commission which authored the rules assumes that a judge can constitutionally impose a fine in excess of $50.00, despite the constitutional provision. The committee’s rationale, which was presented to the Supreme Court prior to the court’s approval of the rules, is based upon the idea that the waiver by the accused confers jurisdiction upon the court. The committee analogizes to the waiver of a jury trial in other cases where the judge can exercise full jurisdiction.
In light of Metzner, the committee’s rationale is faulted. The court there specifically stated that an accused cannot do what *495the committee says that he can do. I do not believe that the approval of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure by the Supreme Court, the General Assembly, and the Governor has the effect of overruling the clear provision of Article VI, Section 14 of the Constitution of Tennessee. Although this matter was not raised by the appellant, it is my opinion that lack of jurisdiction is plain error under Rule 52(b), T.R.Cr.P., since it obviously affects the substantial rights of the accused.
Hence, I would modify and affirm the judgment, with the fine reduced to $50.00.