Court Opinion

ID: 9775959
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 19:14:01.240419+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:32:32.224934
License: Public Domain

C. CREED McGINLEY, Special Judge,
concurring and dissenting.
Judge Tipton authored a very scholarly opinion affirming the convictions of the defendant for four (4) separate counts of bribery of a public servant. I concur in the analysis and results reached by the majority opinion with the exception of that portion of the opinion modifying the sentence imposed by the trial court. I strongly believe that the opinion of the majority fails to give deference to the presumption of correctness that is to be afforded the determinations of the trial court mandated by the “Tennessee Criminal Sentencing Reform Act of 1989”. Tenn.Code Ann. § 40-35-401(d). I would, without hesitation, affirm the sentences as ordered by the trial court.
The majority opinion affirmed the trial court’s classification of the defendant as a “professional criminal who has knowingly devoted himself to criminal acts as a major source of livelihood”. This determination need only to have been made by a preponderance of the evidence and having been so determined the Court may order sentences to run consecutive. See Tenn.Code Ann. § 40 — 35—115(b)(1). This vests the discretion in the trial court to sentence consecutively but obviously subject to the sentencing principles embodied in the Sentencing Reform Act. The trial court meticulously followed these principles and made detailed findings in both a written sentencing order as well as oral findings on the record. The record supports that the trial judge painstakingly explored all possibilities, including alternative sentencing, prior to fashioning an appropriate sentence given the circumstances of the offenses and the status of the offender. This sentence was carefully crafted by the judge, taking into consideration untold hours of testimony, and after obvious deep reflection.
The majority opinion in this case ruled that the aggregate sentences imposed in this case were not reasonably related to the severity of the offenses. The trial judge made specific findings in her sentencing order relative to the need for a severe sentence. The Court stated “when a defendant repeatedly bribes a police officer to prevent arrest, prosecution, curtailment of profit and to control the content of the officer’s sworn testimony to federal authorities, it is imperative that the manner of service of the sentences be severe. Anything but a sentence with a significant punitive element would undermine the criminal justice system.” The majority opinion essentially found that the eighteen (18) year sentence ordered by the trial court was not supported by the evidence but that the evidence would support the imposition of a nine (9) year effective sentence. This is merely a substitution of the judgment of the appellate court for the judgment of the trial court. The trial court had the benefit of hearing live testimony and evidence during a five (5) day trial in addition to untold hours *35of hearing evidence associated with pre-trial motions. The trial court’s informed judgment based upon its intimate involvement in all stages of this case should not be lightly disregarded. It should at least be afforded the presumption of correctness mandated by law.
In State v. Fletcher, 805 S.W.2d 785 (Tenn.Crim.App.1991), this Court examined the standard of review and found that if the trial court properly considered the relevant factors, and if the findings of fact by the trial court were “adequately supported by the record, then the appellate court must affirm, even if it would have preferred a different result.” Id., at 789. On appeal, the burden is on the defendant to show that the sentence imposed was improper. Fletcher, at 786. The record in the present case supports the trial court’s sentence.
As recognized by the majority opinion the convicted offenses of bribery strike at the heart of our system of justice. Confinement is necessary under the circumstances of this case in order that the seriousness of the defendant’s conduct not be depreciated. Although the trial judge did not recite a specific litany that the eighteen (18) year aggregate sentence was needed to protect society and reasonably related to the severity of the offenses, it is clear that the Court gave strong consideration to the same in the extensive sentencing hearing. The hearing was certainly not done in rote fashion. Contrary to the majority, it is my opinion that the record does contain the evidence to support a finding that confinement under an eighteen (18) year sentence is necessary to protect the public. The trial court's designation of the defendant as a professional criminal, if anything, is an understatement. The defendant in this case is the embodiment of a professional criminal engaged in organized crime, from which society should be afforded protection.
In conclusion, I find that the majority opinion is an impermissible encroachment on the function and discretion of the trial judge. The modification of sentence is merely a substitution of judgment by the appellate court and constitutes an inappropriate departure from the proper standard of appellate review. I would affirm the sentence as ordered by the trial judge.