State of Tennessee v. Robert Banks

The defendant, Robert Banks, was convicted in the General Sessions Court of Shelby County of the misdemeanor offense of patronizing prostitution, fined $1000, and sentenced to twenty days in the county correctional center, to be served on weekends. He then appealed to the Shelby County Criminal Court, where, following a bench trial, he was convicted of patronizing prostitution within a mile and a half of a school, a Class A misdemeanor, ordered to pay a $100 fine, and sentenced to eleven months, twenty-nine days, with forty-five days to be served consecutively in the county workhouse and the remainder on supervised probation. On appeal to this court, the defendant raises two issues: (1) whether the evidence is sufficient to sustain his conviction; and (2) whether the trial court erred in denying his motion for a jury trial based on his claim of ineffective assistance of general sessions counsel. We conclude the evidence is sufficient to sustain the conviction and the trial court did not err in denying the defendant’s untimely request for a jury trial, made after his notice of appeal had already been entered. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the trial court, but modify the fine imposed from $100 to $1000, in accordance with the provisions of Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-13-514(b)(3) (2003), and remand for entry of a corrected judgment to reflect the defendant’s conviction offense which was omitted from the judgment form.