Testing Under Section 405 of Fingerprint Act
Except as indicated, all indented material is copied directly from the court’s opinion.
Decisions of the Tennessee Supreme Court
Decisions of the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals
Howell v. State, No. E2022-01480-CCA-R3-PC, p. 7 (Tenn. Ct. Crim. App. Aug. 15, 2023).
The Petitioner challenges the denial of her petition for fingerprint analysis under Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-30-405. “[B]ecause a trial court maintains the discretion to order testing under Section 405, this Court reviews the matter under an abuse of discretion standard and thus will not reverse the trial court’s decision unless it is unsupported by substantial evidence.” Smith v. State, No. M2021-01339-CCA- R3-PD, 2022 WL 854438, at *14 (Tenn. Crim. App. Mar. 23, 2022), perm. app. denied (Tenn. Apr. 6, 2022); Barnes v. State, No. M2022-00367-CCA-R3-PC, 2022 WL 4592092, at *6 (Tenn. Crim. App. Sept. 30, 2022) (“The post-conviction court’s determination of whether to grant a petition for post-conviction fingerprint analysis is reviewed for abuse of discretion.”), no perm. app. filed.
Bailey v. State, No. M2022-01752-CCA-R3-PC, p. 6 (Tenn. Ct. Crim. App. Aug. 24, 2023).
Accordingly, a trial court is not required to hold a hearing to determine whether a petition for fingerprint analysis should be granted or denied. Id. (citing Elsea v. State, No. E2017-01676-CCA-R3-PC, 2018 WL 2363589 at *3 (Tenn. Crim. App. May 24, 2018)). The post-conviction court’s determination of whether to grant a petition for post-conviction fingerprint analysis is reviewed for an abuse of discretion. Id. at *14.
Smith v. State of Tennessee, No. M2021-01339-CCA-R3-PD (Tenn. Ct. Crim. App. Mar. 23, 2022).
[B]ecause a trial court maintains the discretion to order testing under Section 405 [of the Fingerprint Act], this Court reviews the matter under an abuse of discretion standard and thus will not reverse the trial court’s decision unless it is unsupported by substantial evidence. See Eddie Medlock v. State, No. W2018-01693- CCA-R3-PC, 2019 WL 3071756 at *2 (Tenn. Crim. App. Jul. 12, 2019), perm. app. denied (Tenn. Sept. 18, 2019).
