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Appellate panel hears challenge to consecutive sentences tied to statute enacted after offense
Summary
At a Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals hearing in Jackson, lawyers argued whether a trial court improperly imposed consecutive sentences under a statutory subsection enacted after the defendant's offense, raising an ex post facto claim and disputes over waiver and plain-error review.
Jackson, Tenn. — The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals heard oral argument on an appeal from Henry County in which defense counsel Benjamin Perry asked the court to vacate consecutive sentences imposed on Robin Lee Teague, saying the trial court relied solely on a statutory subsection that did not exist when the defendant's conduct ended.
Perry told the three-judge panel that "Mister Teague's sentence was doubled from 12 years to 24 by application of a statute that did not exist when his conduct occurred." He said the trial court invoked Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-35-115(b)(10), a provision Perry said was enacted in May 2023 and became effective July 23, while Teague's conduct concluded in February 2020.
The issue is both constitutional and procedural. Perry argued the use of the later-enacted subsection to impose consecutive sentences violates the…
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