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State v. Thomas2/27/2004
e District Attorney's Office irate because her name had been in the newspaper due to her being a witness during this trial. The prosecution ultimately elicited testimony that Ms. Jackson was afraid of Defendant Thomas. The questioning was in response to Defendant Thomas' challenge to Ms. Jackson's motivation for testifying against Defendant Thomas. Defendant Bond complains that testimony of Ms. Jackson's frustration with her name being in the newspaper is irrelevant to establish her fear of Defendant Thomas. As the State points out, Defendant Bond failed to object to this testimony at trial. Moreover, although Defendant Thomas did express concern as to the content of the newspaper article, he also failed to object as to the relevancy of the testimony. Thus, any alleged error is waived. See Tenn. R. App. P. 36(a).
Notwithstanding waiver, there was no mention of Defendant Bond during Ms. Jackson's rebuttal testimony. The testimony was limited in scope and duration. Any assertion that the jury would attribute Ms. Jackson's fear of Thomas to Defendant Bond is unfounded in the record. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in permitting this line of questioning. Moreover, Defendant Bond has failed to establish that he was prejudiced by the admission of such testimony. Defendant Bond is not entitled to relief on this issue.
Issues Jointly Raised by Both Defendant Thomas and Defendant Bond
I. Unconstitutional Selective Prosecution
The major violators unit, MVU, was created by federal grant in the 1970s in response to a need in Shelby County to target repeat offenders. The judges of the Shelby County Criminal Court agreed that MVU cases should be handled by a specific judge in a specific courtroom. Once an offender is designated MVU by the District Attorney General, the case is automatically assigned to Division V of the Shelby County Criminal Court. This program gives the District Attorney discretion to designate any defendant with multiple felony convictions an MVU case, after which one prosecutor is designated to remain with the case through final disposition. Rather than dividing the management and responsibility for a case among numerous prosecutors as it moves through pre-trial and trial, this vertical method of prosecution avoids excessive delay and promotes the more efficient prosecution of repeat offenders. Under LEAA(Law Enforcement Assistance Agency) grants in the 1970s, one courtroom was established to handle MVU cases. One court was to handle the MVU cases for expediency and purposes of judicial economy.
Defendants Thomas and Bond raise several complaints arising from their designation as an MVU case. Specifically, Defendant Thomas asserts that, because his case was classified by the office of the District Attorney General as a major violator, multiple violator, or MVU case prior to indictment, the prosecution, in effect, directed the Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk's Office to assign this case to Division V of the Criminal Court. Accordingly, he alleges that the District Attorney engages in unconstitutional selective prosecution and is in violation of Rule 4 of the Rules of Practice and Procedure in the Criminal Courts of Shelby County. Defendant Bond claims that the trial court's failure to require assignment under Rule 4.01, Local Rules of Shelby County Criminal Court, violated his constitutional rights. At the trial level, Defendant(s) sought relief in the form of (1) dismissal of the indictment due to unconstitutional selective prosecution, (2) recusal of the trial court due to acquiescence in the prosecution's disregard of Rule 4.01, and (3) removal of the District Attorney General for the 30th Judicial Distric
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