State v. Lauren E. Leslie & Janie Whitehead ( 1999 )

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE
AT KNOXVILLE FILED
DECEMBER 1998 SESSION
March 23, 1999
Cecil Crowson, Jr.
Appellate C ourt Clerk
STATE OF TENNESSEE, ) No. 03C01-9804-CR-00125
)
Appellee )
) Monroe County
vs. )
) Honorable R. Steven Bebb, Judge
LAUREN E. LESLIE AND )
JANIE WHITEHEAD, )
) (Misdemeanor Sentencing - Denial of
Appellants. ) Probation)
FOR LAUREN E. LESLIE: FOR THE APPELLEE:
SHARON G. LEE JOHN KNOX WALKUP
Attorney at Law Attorney General & Reporter
106 College St., P.O. Box 425
Madisonville, TN 37354-0425 CLINTON J. MORGAN
Counsel for the State
FOR JANIE WHITEHEAD: Criminal Justice Division
425 Fifth Ave. North
CHARLES M. CORN, 2d Floor, Cordell Hull Bldg.
District Public Defender Nashville, TN 37243-0493
53-A Central Ave.,
P. O. Box 1453 JERRY N. ESTES
Athens, TN 37364-1453 District Attorney General
RICHARD CARSON NEWMAN
Assistant District Attorney General
130 Washington Ave., P.O. Box 647
Athens, TN 37371-0647
OPINION FILED: ____________________
AFFIRMED
JAMES CURWOOD WITT, JR.
JUDGE
‘ OPINION
The defendants, Lauren E. Leslie and Janie Whitehead, pleaded guilty
in Monroe County Criminal Court to assault, a Class A misdemeanor. 1 In addition,
Leslie pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment, also a Class A misdemeanor.2 The
trial court sentenced Leslie to two concurrent sentences of eleven (11) months and
twenty-nine (29) days. The trial judge ordered him to serve thirty (30) percent of
that sentence as a “standard offender.” Whitehead received a sentence of eleven
(11) months and twenty-nine (29) days to be suspended after serving the first thirty
days in confinement. In addition, the defendants are jointly and severally liable for
restitution in the amount of $957. In this direct appeal, the defendants contend that
the trial court erred in ordering them to serve a portion of their sentences in
confinement.3 After reviewing the record on appeal and the briefs of the parties, we
affirm the judgment of the trial court.
When an accused challenges the length, range, or manner of service
of a sentence, it is the duty of this court to conduct a de novo review with a
presumption that the determinations made by the trial court are correct. Tenn.
Code Ann. § 40-35-401(d)(1997).
A misdemeanant, unlike the felon, is not entitled to the presumption
of a minimum sentence. State v. Randall C. Conner, No. 03C01-9401-CR-00024,
1
Tenn. Code Ann. 39-13-101 (1997). We cannot determine from
the record whether the convictions were entered pursuant to section 39-13-
101(a)(1), (2), or (3). However, because the defendants were indicted for
aggravated assault involving serious bodily injury, see Tenn. Code Ann. 39-13-
102(a)(1)(A), we presume that Leslie and Whitehead pleaded guilty to
intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causing bodily injury to another under
paragraph (a)(1) of the section 39-13-101.
2
Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-103(a) (1997).
3
In the statement of the issues, Leslie also contends that the trial
court erred by imposing maximum sentences. However, this issue is not
addressed in the argument portion of the brief. This court treats as waived
issues which are not supported by argument, citation to authorities, or
appropriate references to the record. Tenn. Ct. Crim. App. R. 10(b).
2
slip op. at 6 (Tenn. Crim. App., Knoxville, Aug. 12, 1994); State v. Bernell B.
Lawson, No. 63, slip op. at 7 (Tenn. Crim. App., Knoxville, May 23, 1991).
Misdemeanor sentencing is controlled by Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-
35-302. The statute requires the court to impose a “specific number of months,
days or hours . . . consistent with the purposes and principles of the [Criminal
Sentencing Reform Act of 1989].” Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-302(b) (1997). Then
the court is to determine a percentage of the sentence which the misdemeanant
must serve before becoming eligible for certain release programs. 4 Tenn. Code
Ann. § 40-35-302(d). In determining the percentage, the court must consider
enhancement and mitigating factors as well as the legislative purposes and
principles related to sentencing. Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-302(d); State v. Palmer,
902 S.W.2d 391, 393-94 (Tenn.1995); State v. Gilboy, 857 S.W.2d 884, 888-889
(Tenn. Crim. App. 1993).
Finally, the misdemeanor sentencing statute authorizes the court to
place a defendant on probation immediately or after service of a portion of the
sentence. Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-402(e). The trial court maintains jurisdiction
over a defendant placed in jail and may reduce or modify the sentence or place the
defendant on probationary supervision. Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-314(c). The
statute is designed to provide a trial court with continuing jurisdiction in
misdemeanor cases and a wide latitude of flexibility. State v. Dwight Johnson, No.
03C01-9209-CR-00328, slip op. at 7 (Tenn. Crim. App., Knoxville, May, 18, 1993),
perm. to appeal denied (Tenn. 1994).
As noted above, appellate review in this case is de novo review on the
record of the “length, range or the manner of service of the sentence . . . conducted
with a presumption that the [trial court’s] determinations . . . are correct.” Tenn.
4
Upon service of that percentage, the administrative agency
governing the rehabilitative programs has the authority in its discretion to admit
the defendant to a rehabilitative program. Tenn. Code Ann. §
40-35-302(d)(1997).
3
Code Ann. § 40-35-402(d) (1997). In a recent opinion, the Tennessee Supreme
Court held that in misdemeanor sentencing a trial court is not required to place
specific findings on the record. State v. Kenneth Eugene Troutman ---S.W.2d ---,
No. 03S01-9705-CC-00049 (Tenn., Knoxville, Nov. 9, 1998). Although the court
had previously held that the statutory presumption of correctness was “conditioned
upon the affirmative showing in the record that the trial court considered the
sentencing principles and all relevant facts and circumstances,” State v. Ashby, 823
S.W.2d 166, 169 (Tenn. 1991), a logical and reasonable inference from Troutman
is that Ashby does not apply to misdemeanor cases. Ashby relied in significant part
upon the factors the trial court and the appellate court are to consider as
enumerated in Code section 40-35-210(b) and upon the provision in section 40-35-
210(f) which requires the trial court to place its findings on the record as further
required by section 40-35-209. Under Troutman, the sentencing instructions
contained in sections -209(c) and -210(f) apply only in felonies. Troutman, ---
S.W.2d at ---, slip op. at 7. Accordingly, although the trial court in the present case
did not make any findings relative to specific enhancement and mitigating factors,
the presumption of correctness nevertheless applies via the straightforward dictates
of section 40-35-401(d).
In determining whether to grant probation, the judge must consider the
nature and circumstances of the offense, the defendants’ criminal record, their
background and social history, their present condition, including their physical and
mental condition, the deterrent effect on other criminal activity, and the likelihood
that probation is in the best interests of both the public and the defendant. Stiller
v. State, 516 S.W.2d 617, 620 (Tenn. 1974).
In this case, Janie Whitehead pleaded guilty to a single count of
assault, a Class A misdemeanor, and Leslie pleaded guilty to assault and reckless
endangerment, also a Class A misdemeanor. A Class A misdemeanor is
punishable by a maximum sentence of eleven (11) months and twenty-nine (29)
4
days. Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-111(e)(1) (1997). The trial court imposed the
maximum sentence for each conviction and denied immediate probation to both
defendants. At the close of the sentencing hearing, the prosecutor recommended
consecutive sentences for Leslie and remarked that the state “was not sure that jail
time was appropriate here.” He asked the trial court to impose 60 days of
community service for Leslie and 30 days of community service for Whitehead. The
trial judge rejected the prosecutor’s recommendations and found that the
defendants had severely assaulted Linda Spurgeon and that the attack was well-
planned and premeditated.
Janie Whitehead
Whitehead does not contend that the imposition of the maximum
sentence was improper, but she argues that because of her good social history and
lack of any serious criminal record she should have been granted immediate
probation rather than serving the first thirty days in confinement.
The record indicates that Whitehead was thirty-eight years old at
sentencing. The mother of two grown children, she had been steadily employed
since 1990. Her prior criminal record consists of a 1988 or 1989 conviction for
possession of marijuana in Blount County. At the hearing, she testified that she had
moved into a house owned by the defendant, Lauren Leslie. Leslie lived nearby in
a trailer. She met Linda Spurgeon at a cook-out at Leslie’s place. The two women
became embroiled in a dispute concerning Leslie that culminated in a meeting of
the three at Bat Creek. The purpose of the meeting was apparently to effect
Leslie’s return of a cellular telephone to Spurgeon. Whitehead alleged that
Spurgeon became abusive and belligerent even though Leslie returned the cell
phone to her. Whitehead became angry and jumped out of the truck. When
Spurgeon swung her purse at Whitehead she hit the window in her car instead. The
5
window cracked. A fight ensued in which Whitehead soon gained the upper hand.
She admitted
hitting the victim and, at one point, pulling her to her feet and throwing her across
the hood. According to Whitehead, Leslie stayed in the truck during the entire fight.
When another vehicle pulled into the parking area, Leslie went and spoke to the
driver. Then the victim got into her car and followed the other vehicle down the
road.
Spurgeon testified that when she arrived at Bat Creek, Leslie was
sitting in the truck by himself. She climbed in the passenger seat and they began
to argue. He hit her in the face, and when she turned to get out of the truck,
Whitehead was standing by the door. Whitehead pulled her out and threw her to
the ground. Spurgeon testified that Leslie kicked her in the head, hit her with a beer
bottle and poured beer in her face while Whitehead choked her to the verge of
unconsciousness. She accused Leslie of breaking her car window when he swung
her purse at her. She escaped only because the two defendants were distracted
by the arrival of the third vehicle. She was treated at the emergency room, and
Angela Quillen, who also testified at the hearing, took photographs which depict the
victim’s condition after the attack.
Although Whitehead has only a minimal criminal record and has
been self-supporting, we find that the record justifies the sentence imposed by the
trial court. The trial court rejected Whitehead’s testimony as self-serving and
incredible. He found that the defendants had plotted to ambush the victim and that
when the victim arrived at Bat Creek, Whitehead was hiding nearby. The trial
court’s factual findings are binding on this court unless the evidence in the record
preponderates against them. State v. Jones, 802 S.W.2d 221, 223 (Tenn. Crim.
App. 1990). A defendant’s truthfulness is a factor that may be considered by the
trial court on the question of probation. State v. Chrisman, 885 S.W.2d 834, 840
(Tenn. Crim. App. 1994). Lack of truthfulness is probative on the issue of
6
amenability to rehabilitation. State v. Byrd, 861 S.W.2d 377, 380 (Tenn. Crim. App.
1993). Moreover, denial of probation may be based solely upon the circumstances
of the offense when they are of such a nature as to outweigh all other factors
favoring probation. State v. Bingham, 910 S.W.2d 448, 456 (Tenn. Crim. App.
1995). Based upon these factors, the record supports a short period of
incarceration.
Lauren E. Leslie
Leslie pleaded guilty to the assault of Linda Spurgeon and to the
reckless endangerment of Angela Quillen. At the sentencing hearing, Leslie
corroborated Whitehead’s version of the events of the assault. He denied hitting
Spurgeon and insisted that he had not left the truck until the other car arrived. With
respect to the reckless endangerment charge, Leslie testified that on June 1, 1997,
approximately two weeks after the assault and on the day he was released from jail,
he was driving on a road not far from Bat Creek. He encountered Quillen, a relative
and close friend of Spurgeon, who was driving in the opposite direction. According
to Leslie, he became irritated because she was smiling at him and “flipped her a
bird.” Quillen, who was familiar with Leslie and his truck, testified that he swerved
out of his lane and drove straight at her, nearly driving her off the road. When the
two wheels on the passenger side left the pavement, her vehicle came close to a
shallow pond located just off the roadside.
Other evidence demonstrates that the defendant, who was thirty-three
years old at time of sentencing, had received his commercial driver’s license after
completing a course which trained him to become an over-the-road truck driver. His
criminal record consists of a first DUI conviction in 1991 and a second in 1992. The
state also presented evidence of orders of protection that two women had obtained
against him. At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court denied the state’s
request for consecutive sentences but imposed the maximum sentence possible for
7
each conviction and ordered the defendant to serve thirty (30) percent of his
sentence as a Range I offender.
First, we address the portion of the judgment which states the
defendant is to serve thirty (30) percent of his sentence as a Range I offender.
See Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-501(c) (release eligibility date for Range I offenders
set at 30%). The sentencing ranges established in Tennessee Code Annotated
sections 40-35-105 through 109 do not apply to misdemeanor sentences.
See Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-105, Sentencing Comm’n. Comments (1997) (the
various classes of felonies are divided into three ranges for determining the
maximum and minimum penalties); see also State v. Kenneth Eugene Troutman, ---
S.W.2d ---, No. 03S01-9705-CC-00049, slip op. at 5 (Tenn., Knoxville, Nov. 9,
1998) (sentencing ranges to not apply to DUI convictions). Consequently, the
release eligibility date percentages have no relationship to sentencing in
misdemeanors.
A lower court judgment requiring a misdemeanant to serve thirty
percent of his sentence as a Range I offender is equivocal. One interpretation of
such a judgment is that the percentage stated relates to the percentage that is set
under Code section 40-35-302(d). After the court sets the entire misdemeanor
sentence by fixing a “specific number of months, days or hours” pursuant to section
40-35-302(b), it sets the percentage of time to be served before the defendant
becomes “eligible for consideration” for rehabilitative programs such as work
release, furlough or trusty status. The actual decision to admit the defendant to
such a program is entrusted to the discretion of “the administrative authority
governing the rehabilitative program.” Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-302(d) (1997).
The percentage contemplated by subsection (d) does not establish a per se date
for release from confinement altogether because release depends upon the future
discretionary act of an administrative agency and, in any event, any release is part
of a structured “rehabilitative program” and may be only partial or episodic in nature.
8
On the other hand, use of a percentage in conjunction with a
sentencing range is analogous to the use of a percentage for calculating a release
eligibility date for parole in felony cases. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-501 (1997).
When applying the percentage term applicable to a range classification in felonies,
it is common to think of the offender being released from custody when the
percentage is served, if he otherwise qualifies. By making this analogy, we believe
the trial court contemplated that Leslie would be released on probation after serving
thirty percent of his aggregate sentence. As such, the trial court was exercising its
authority under Code section 40-35-302(e) to grant probation after a portion of the
sentence, in this case thirty percent, is served in confinement. Under subsection
(e), the release on probation is not a qualified release into a rehabilitative program.
In fact, construing the percentage factor as a condition to probation means that no
subsection (d) percentage was set. According to subsection (d), when “no
percentage [for release into a rehabilitative program] is expressed in the judgment,
the percentage shall be considered zero percent (0%).” Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-
302(d) (1997). Accordingly, we view the sentence as being probated after thirty
percent is served.
Like his co-defendant, Leslie contends that he should have been
granted immediate probation. He argues that the nature of the criminal conduct
does not justify incarceration and that his good social history and minimal criminal
record establish his suitability for full probation. Our review of the record, however,
indicates that the defendant has not established his suitability for probation.
According to the presentence report, the defendant is a high school
graduate with some college or technical training. He provided the probation officer
with the name of only one prior employer where he had worked from June 1, 1996
to September 15, 1997. To the defendant’s credit, he had recently completed a
truck-driver’s course and had avoided any contact with either victim since June of
1997. Although he denied that he used alcohol or illegal drugs in the past, the
9
defendant has two convictions for driving under the influence. He also admitted to
being very drunk on the night of the assault. Most important, however, given the
facts of this case, are the two orders of protection obtained by women other than
the victims in this case.5
Based on these uncontroverted facts, we conclude that the trial court
did not err in imposing incarceration at thirty (30) percent rather than placing the
defendant on immediate probation. The defendant denied all responsibility for the
offenses despite having entered guilty pleas. He denied having a problem with
alcohol despite his two DUI convictions and his own admission that he was drunk
the night of the assault on Spurgeon. A lack of candor indicates that his amenability
to rehabilitation is poor. State v. Byrd, 861 S.W.2d at 380. The nature and
circumstances of the offenses are aggravated, and Leslie’s past record of violence
against women indicates that he is likely to repeat his actions. Full probation would
not be in the best interests of either the public or the defendant. Stiller v. State, 516
S.W.2d 617, 620 (Tenn. 1974). Moreover, extending the largess of full probation
in this case would depreciate the seriousness of the offenses.
Conclusion
The defendants have neither demonstrated their suitability for full
probation nor shown that their sentences are improper. We affirm Whitehead’s
sentence of eleven (11) months and twenty-nine (29) days for assault with the first
thirty days to be served in confinement and the remainder on probation. We also
affirm Leslie’s concurrent sentences of eleven (11) months and twenty-nine (29)
days for assault and reckless endangerment. Leslie must serve thirty (30) percent
of his sentence prior to being released on probation.
Leslie’s judgment forms as contained in the record should be
corrected in conformity with this opinion. The forms indicate that Leslie is a Range
5
The first was entered in 1994 and the other in 1995.
10
I offender; however, sentencing ranges do not apply to those convicted of
misdemeanors. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-105, Sentencing Commission
Comments (1997). The percentage of minimum service requirement is blank on
both forms. Where no percentage is indicated, the “percentage shall be considered
zero (0) percent,” Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-302(d) (1997). Based on the transcript
indicating that the trial judge intended that the defendant serve thirty percent of his
sentence, his judgments shall be amended to show that his sentence is probated
after serving thirty (30) percent.
__________________________
JAMES CURWOOD WITT JR., Judge
CONCUR:
______________________________
DAVID G. HAYES, Judge
______________________________
JERRY L. SMITH, Judge
IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE
AT KNOXVILLE
DECEMBER SESSION, 1998
STATE OF TENNESSEE, )
) No. 03C01-9804-CR-00125
Appellee )
) MONROE COUNTY
vs. )
) Hon. R. STEVEN BEBB, Judge
LAUREN E. LESLIE AND )
11
JANIE WHITEHEAD, ) (Misdemeanor Sentencing - Denial of
) Probation)
Appellants )
SEPARATE CONCURRING
Although I concur in the results reached by the majority as to both
defendants, I write separately to express concern with the majority’s interpretation
of the sentence imposed upon Lauren E. Leslie. The trial court ordered defendant
Leslie to serve, as a “range I standard offender,” two concurrent sentences of
eleven months, twenty-nine days at thirty percent. The majority, relying upon Tenn.
Code Ann. § 40-35-302(e), interprets the “thirty percent” criteria as the time period
defendant Leslie must serve before being released on probation. I conclude,
however, after review of the record, that the trial court’s statement of “thirty percent”
was intended to apply only to defendant Leslie’s release eligibility date for work
release or other related rehabilitative programs, not probation.
Noting the trial court’s reference to a “range I offender,” the majority
correctly states that “release eligibility date percentages have no relationship to
sentencing in misdemeanors.” Thus, the majority properly concludes that the trial
court’s sentencing of defendant Leslie as a range I offender is misplaced and of no
significance. However, the majority improperly uses this error as the basis for
concluding that the trial court intended the ”thirty percent” to be that part of the
sentence to be served in confinement. More importantly, the majority disregards the
court’s sentencing of defendant Whitehead in construing defendant Leslie’s
sentence. In sentencing defendant Whitehead, the trial court also sentenced her
as a range I standard offender, but expressly ordered that Whitehead be placed on
probation after thirty days service. If, indeed, the trial court intended for defendant
Leslie to receive probation after service of part of his sentence, the court could
easily have done so, just as it did with defendant Whitehead. Thus, I interpret the
trial court’s order that defendant Leslie’s sentence of eleven months, twenty-nine
days be served in its entirety without any portion being suspended, Tenn. Code
12
Ann. § 40-35-302(e); and with eligibility for release into rehabilitative programs
pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-302(d) at thirty percent.
Accordingly, I find the trial court’s denial of probation justified under
the facts presented.
____________________________________
DAVID G. HAYES, Judge
13