State of Tennessee v. Robert Allison Franklin
Case Details
- Judge(s)
- Judge Camille R. McMullen
- Status
- Published
- Procedural Posture
- appeal from trial court conviction; defendant-appellant challenging denials of motion to suppress, Batson challenge, and motion to dismiss
Related Laws
No specific laws identified for this ruling.
Outcome
Criminal defendant Robert Allison Franklin was convicted of DUI per se and vehicle registration violation but acquitted of DUI by impairment. On appeal, Franklin challenges the trial court's denial of his motion to suppress evidence from a sobriety checkpoint, denial of his Batson challenge regarding discriminatory jury selection, and denial of his motion to dismiss based on alleged unconstitutionality of a fee statute.
Excerpt
The Hamilton County Grand Jury indicted Robert A. Franklin, the Defendant-Appellant, for driving under the influence of an intoxicant (DUI by impairment), driving while the alcohol concentration in his blood or breath was 0.08% or more (DUI per se), violating the financial responsibility law, and violating the vehicle registration law. Prior to trial, Franklin filed a motion to suppress evidence from his search, seizure, and arrest on the basis that the sobriety checkpoint where this evidence was obtained was unconstitutional. After the trial court denied this motion to suppress, Franklin filed a motion to reconsider, which was also denied. Franklin next filed a motion to dismiss the indictment, or in the alternative, to exclude the evidence from his blood test, arguing that Code section 55-10- 413 is unconstitutional because it creates a fee system that violates the right to due process and a fair trial. Although Franklin's request to dismiss the indictment or exclude the evidence was denied, the trial court granted his request for a jury instruction regarding the fee in Code Section 55-10-413(f). Thereafter, during voir dire, Franklin asserted that the State engaged in purposeful discrimination in violation of Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986), when it used its peremptory challenges to exclude two African-American individuals from the jury pool. At the ensuing trial, the jury convicted Franklin of DUI per se and violating the vehicle registration law but acquitted him of DUI by impairment, and the State dismissed the charge for violating the financial responsibility law. On appeal, Franklin argues that the trial court erred in: (1) denying his motion to suppress because the checkpoint was unconstitutional (2) overruling his Batson challenge and (3) denying his motion to dismiss the indictment, or in the alternative, to exclude the evidence based on the unconstitutionality of Tennessee Code Annotated section 55-10-413(f) (2017). Because the trial court erred i
What This Ruling Means
This summary was generated to explain the ruling in plain English and is not legal advice.
Similar Rulings
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