Tennessee v. Williams
Annotate this CaseDefendant Delawrence Williams was indicted for possession of over one-half gram of cocaine with the intent to sell or deliver. He filed a motion to suppress the evidence, arguing that probable cause had not been shown for the issuance of a search warrant. The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the trial court’s decision to deny the motion to suppress. The Supreme Court granted this interlocutory appeal to review: (1) whether the information used to obtain a search warrant to search the defendant’s residence was provided by a “citizen informant” and presumptively reliable; and (2) whether the information, if not provided by a “citizen informant,” nonetheless established probable cause under "Tennessee v. Jacumin," (778 S.W.2d 430 (Tenn. 1989)). After reviewing the record and applicable authority, the Supreme Court held: (1) that the trial court and the Court of Criminal Appeals properly granted the interlocutory appeal pursuant to Rule 9 of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure; and (2) that although the information used to obtain the search warrant for the defendant’s residence was not provided by a “citizen informant,” it established probable cause under the two-prong analysis in Jacumin. The judgment was therefore affirmed.
Court Description:
Authoring Judge: Justice E. Riley Anderson
Trial Court Judge: Judge Lee Moore
We granted this interlocutory appeal to review (1) whether the information used to obtain a search warrant to search the defendant s residence was provided by a citizen informant and thus presumptively reliable; and (2) whether the information, if not provided by a citizen informant, nonetheless established probable cause under State v. Jacumin, 778 S.W.2d 430 (Tenn. 1989). The trial court denied the defendant s motion to suppress after finding that the information had not been provided by a citizen informant but that it nonetheless established probable cause under Jacumin. The Court of Criminal Appeals concluded that the information was presumptively reliable because it had been given by a citizen informant and upheld the denial of the motion to suppress without applying Jacumin. After reviewing the record and applicable authority, we hold (1) that the trial court and the Court of Criminal Appeals properly granted the interlocutory appeal pursuant to Rule 9 of the Tennessee Rules ofAppellate Procedure and (2) that although the information used to obtain the search warrant for the defendant s residence was not provided by a citizen informant, it established probable cause under Jacumin. The judgment is, therefore, affirmed for the reasons herein.
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