Appellate panel weighs whether defendant’s stipulation to ‘Range II’ blocks review of foreign‑conviction sentencing error

A three‑judge panel of the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals heard oral argument in State of Tennessee v. Roy Garends Jr. about whether a defendant’s concession at sentencing that he was a Range II offender precludes appellate review of whether the trial court performed the required foreign‑conviction analysis.

Appellate counsel for Garends, Kendall Jones, told the panel that the trial court erred by sentencing Garends as a Range II offender without performing the foreign‑conviction test for two out‑of‑state convictions used at sentencing. "The trial court, much like some other issues such as jury instructions or in this case, sentencing, the trial court has a duty, to make certain findings," Jones said, arguing the court must make those findings even when…