October 4, 2001

Judge Don Layton
General Sessions Court, Division I
Anderson County Courthouse
Clinton, TN 37716

Dear Judge Layton,

Thank you for your letter of October 3, 2001. In response to your statements:

The majority of cases in Criminal Court are disposed under TRCrP 11 (e)(1)(C) and do not involve sentencing hearings. The District Attorney's office takes into account the available criminal records as well as other relevant factors in making its decisions with respect to plea offers. In short, we do not contemplate any sentencing hearings in Sessions court on pleas. Obviously a good sentencing hearing would require significant time expenditures with witnesses, cross examination, presentation of records, etc. Sentencing by a court (as opposed to Rule 11 (e)(1)(C) sentencing agreements by the parties) requires the Court to consider many factors, for ex. family situation, employment history, physical and mental condition, past rehabilitative history, etc.

When the parties present a plea that disposes of sentence, there is no sentencing hearing; these are the only kinds of pleas presented in Sessions. We do not present pleas, for example, reducing charges and leaving the sentence to the Court.

If the Sessions Judge were really deciding sentence and he looked only at criminal records and not other relevant factors he would not be doing his job.

To repeat, our plea offers dispose of sentence so sentence is not decided by the Court.

As for your suggestions regarding court days, I will not extend the working hours of attorneys past the weekly workday of 5 pm or require Saturday hours. Professionals function best when they have time to do a good job and have normal family lives. I include attorneys and judges in that term "professionals".

Sincerely,

James N. Ramsey
District Attorney General

JNR/csm