State Ex Rel. Newsom v. Biggers

BIRCH, Justice.

Michael D. Newsom, the appellant, was charged with shoplifting 1 upon a warrant issued by the Clerk of the Jackson City Court. Newsom pleaded guilty on December 11, 1992; and the Honorable Walter Drake, the city judge, accepted the plea. He imposed a workhouse sentence of eleven months twenty-nine days and assessed a $100 fine.

Newsom challenges the validity of his sentence on the ground that it was imposed by a judge who was not authorized by law to do so.

Article VI, Section 4, of the Constitution of the State of Tennessee requires that all judges be elected for an eight-year…