State v. Willie Covington

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE
AT JACKSON
SEPTEMBER 1997 SESSION FILED
September 17, 1997
Cecil Crowson, Jr.
STATE OF TENNESSEE, ) Appellate C ourt Clerk
) No. 02-C-01-9610-CR-00378
APPELLEE, )
) Shelby County
v. )
) Joseph B. Dailey, Judge
WILLIE L. COVINGTON, )
) (Petition to Declare Defendant
APPELLANT. ) a Habitual Motor Vehicle Offender)
FOR THE APPELLANT: FOR THE APPELLEE:
Brett B. Stein John Knox Walkup
Attorney at Law Attorney General & Reporter
100 North Main Street, Suite 3102 500 Charlotte Avenue
Memphis, TN 38103 Nashville, TN 37243-0497
Deborah A. Tullis
Assistant Attorney General
450 James Robertson Parkway
Nashville, TN 37243-0493
William L. Gibbons
District Attorney General
201 Poplar Avenue, Suite 3-01
Memphis, TN 38103
David Henry
Assistant District Attorney General
201 Poplar Avenue, Suite 3-01
Memphis, TN 38103
OPINION FILED: _________________________
AFFIRMED PURSUANT TO RULE 20
Joe B. Jones, Presiding Judge
OPINION
The appellant, Willie L. Covington (defendant), appeals as of right from a judgment
of the trial court declaring him to be a habitual motor vehicle offender and barring him from
operating a motor vehicle in the State of Tennessee. In this Court, the defendant does not
challenge the validity or sufficiency of the prior convictions alleged in the petition and used
by the trial court to support the entry of its judgment. However, the defendant contends
the use of the prior convictions to bar him from operating a motor vehicle constitutes an
additional civil penalty violative of the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment.
After a thorough review of the record, the briefs submitted by the parties, and the
law governing the issue presented for review, it is the opinion of this Court that the
judgment of the trial court should be affirmed pursuant to Rule 20, Tenn. Ct. Crim. App.
See State v. Conley, 639 S.W.2d 435 (Tenn. 1982) (holding revocation of driving privileges
does not subject habitual offenders to double jeopardy).
________________________________________
JOE B. JONES, PRESIDING JUDGE
CONCUR:
___________________________________
DAVID H. WELLES, JUDGE
___________________________________
JOE G. RILEY, JUDGE