Davis v. Tenn. Dep't of Corr.
| Decision Date | 30 October 2018 |
| Docket Number | No. M2017-02301-COA-R3-CV,M2017-02301-COA-R3-CV |
| Parties | JACOB DAVIS v. TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION ET AL. |
| Court | Tennessee Court of Appeals |
Appeal from the Chancery Court for Davidson County
Claudia Bonnyman, Chancellor
Having pursued relief under the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, Jacob Davis filed a petition for a declaratory order with the Tennessee Department of Correction ("TDOC" or "the Department") to challenge the Department's interpretation of the statutes regarding release after a sentence of life, and the constitutionality of Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-501(i). Upon receiving an unsatisfactory response, Davis then filed a declaratory judgment action in the Davidson County Chancery Court against the TDOC and the Tennessee Attorney General (collectively, "the State") about the calculation of his sentence, including his eligibility for release and the constitutionality of Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-501. The chancery court ruled against him and he appealed. The Court of Appeals finds, based on rules of statutory interpretation, Vaughn v. State, 202 S.W.3d 106 (Tenn. 2006), and a number of cases from the Court of Criminal Appeals, that Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-501(i) establishes the legal release date for someone sentenced to life. The court also finds that the statute is constitutional. The chancery court is affirmed.
Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Chancery Court Affirmed
Jennifer L. Weaver, Nashville, Tennessee, and David Herrington, Martine B. Forneret, and Margot Gianis Mooney, New York, New York, for the appellant, Jacob Davis.
Herbert H. Slatery, III, Attorney General and Reporter, Andrée Blumstein, Solicitor General, Stephanie Renee Reevers, Deputy Attorney General, and Charlotte Montiel Davis, Assistant Attorney General, for the appellees, Tennessee Department of Correction and State Attorney General.
OPINIONJacob Davis was a straight "A" student. He had no history of criminal conduct. Yet, shortly after turning 18 years old, Davis fatally shot another student at school who had had sexual relations with his girlfriend.1 A jury convicted him of first degree murder, reckless endangerment, and carrying a weapon on school property. State v. Davis, No. M1999-02496-CCA-R3-CD, 2001 WL 487688, *1 . Id. The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed his conviction. Id. Davis also filed an unsuccessful post-conviction petition. Davis v. State, No. M2003-00744-CCA-R3-PC, 2004 WL 253396, *1 (Tenn. Crim. App. Feb. 11, 2004).
Davis appears to have been a model prisoner. In prison, he has worked in the field of computer programming, enrolled at Lipscomb University's LIFE program, helped train service dogs to assist the disabled, and volunteered to speak to at-risk youth about his life and choices. Davis has received no write-ups during his incarceration for violent offenses or drugs and has not been affiliated with any gangs.
In January 2015, Davis asked the TDOC to recalculate his sentence and parole eligibility date. TDOC responded:
Davis then filed a declaratory judgment action in the Davidson County Chancery Court against the State about the calculation of his sentence, including his eligibility for release and the constitutionality of Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-501. The TDOC filed a motion for summary judgment, which was granted. Davis appealed.
The Tennessee Supreme Court has set out the standard of review for cases decided on summary judgment:
[I]n Tennessee, as in the federal system, when the moving party does not bear the burden of proof at trial, the moving party may satisfy its burden of production either (1) by affirmatively negating an essential element of the nonmoving party's claim or (2) by demonstrating that the nonmoving party's evidence at the summary judgment stage is insufficient to establish the nonmoving party's claim or defense. We reiterate that a moving party seeking summary judgment by attacking the nonmoving party's evidence must do more than make a conclusory assertion that summary judgment is appropriate on this basis. Rather, Tennessee Rule 56.03 requires the moving party to support its motion with "a separate concise statement of material facts as to which the moving party contends there is no genuine issue for trial." TENN. R. CIV. P. 56.03. "Each fact is to be set forth in a separate, numbered paragraph and supported by a specific citation to the record." Id. When such a motion is made, any party opposing summary judgment must file a response to each fact set forth by the movant in the manner provided in Tennessee Rule 56.03. "[W]hen a motion for summary judgment is made [and] . . . supported as provided in [Tennessee Rule 56]," to survive summary judgment, the nonmoving party "may not rest upon the mere allegations or denials of [its] pleading," but must respond, and by affidavits or one of the other means provided in Tennessee Rule 56, "set forth specific facts" at the summary judgment stage "showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." TENN. R. CIV. P. 56.06. The nonmoving party "must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts." Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., 475 U.S. at 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348. The nonmoving party must demonstrate the existence of specific facts in the record which could lead a rational trier of fact to find in favor of the nonmoving party. If a summary judgment motion is filed before adequate time for discovery has been provided, the nonmoving party may seek a continuance to engage in additional discovery as provided in Tennessee Rule 56.07. However, after adequate time for discovery has been provided, summary judgment should be granted if the nonmoving party's evidence at the summary judgment stage is insufficient to establish the existence of a genuine issue of material fact for trial. TENN. R. CIV. P. 56.04, 56.06. The focus is on the evidence the nonmoving party comes forward with at the summary judgment stage, not on hypothetical evidence that theoretically could be adduced, despite the passage of discovery deadlines, at a future trial.
Rye v. Women's Care Ctr. of Memphis, MPLLC., 477 S.W.3d 235, 264-65 (Tenn. 2015) (emphasis omitted). As the trial court observed, "Summary judgments are proper in virtually any civil case that can be resolved on the basis of legal issues alone." Jeffries v. Tenn. Dep't of Corr., 108 S.W.3d 862, 868 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2002). "We review a trial court's ruling on a motion for summary judgment de novo, without a presumption of correctness." Rye, 477 S.W.3d at 250.
Davis's first issue addresses whether the Department was correct in relying on Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-501(i) in calculating his sentence. Davis maintains that the Department should have applied Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-501(h)(1) and § 39-13-204(e)(2) instead. Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-13-204(e)(2) states:
The trial judge shall provide the jury three (3) separate verdict forms, as specified by subdivisions (f)(1), (f)(2), and (g)(2)(B). The jury shall be instructed that a defendant who receives a sentence of imprisonment for life shall not be eligible for parole consideration until the defendant has served at least twenty-five (25) full calendar years of the sentence. The jury shall also be instructed that a defendant who receives a sentence of imprisonment for life without possibility of parole shall never be eligible for release on parole.
Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-35-501(h)(1) provides:
Release eligibility for each defendant receiving a sentence of imprisonment for life for first degree murder shall occur after service of sixty percent (60%) of sixty (60) years less sentence credits earned and retained by the defendant, but in no event shall a defendant sentenced to imprisonment for life be eligible for parole until the defendant has served a minimum of twenty-five (25) full calendar years of the sentence, notwithstanding the governor's power to reduce prison overcrowding pursuant to title 41, chapter 1, part 5, any sentence reduction credits authorized by § 41-21-236 or any other provision of law relating to sentence credits. A defendant receiving a sentence of imprisonment for life for first degree murder shall be...
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