Tennessee Supreme Court Hears Appeal Over Accomplice‑Corroboration Instruction in Slater, Sparkman Case

NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Supreme Court on Monday heard argument in State of Tennessee v. Mustafa Malik Slater and Tramel Rasha Sparkman over whether a trial court erred by giving an accomplice‑corroboration jury instruction that the state says was abrogated by State v. Thomas.

Alan Groves, arguing for the state, told the court that “because the trial court failed to follow binding Supreme Court precedent, this court should reverse,” and urged the justices to construe State v. Thomas as applying to all trials commencing after the March 2024 mandate in that case.

The argument matters, Groves said, because Thomas removed the common‑law accomplice‑corroboration rule for trials that begin after the Thomas mandate. He said the trial here had not yet occurred and therefore the trial court’s instruction was inconsistent with that Supreme Court holding. “So as this court…