State of Tennessee v. Tyrone Neely

The Appellant, Tyrone Neely, appeals the Shelby County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition to reinstate driving privileges, which were revoked after he was declared a motor vehicle habitual offender (MVHO) on October 20, 1994. In December 2006, Neely filed a petition to reinstate his driving privileges, pursuant to an amendment to the reinstatement of license statute, Tennessee Code Annotated section 55-10-615(c), which permits immediate reinstatement of driving privileges when one of the underlying convictions which qualifies a person for MVHO status is not enumerated in Tennessee Code Annotated section 55-10-603(2)(A). In his petition, Neely asserted that his underlying convictions for driving on a cancelled, suspended, or revoked license, were not qualifying offenses of Tennessee Code Annotated section 55-10-603(2)(A); therefore, he was entitled to reinstatement. At the scheduled hearing, the trial court summarily denied the petition without allowing Neely to present proof regarding the prior convictions. Neely appeals this ruling. On appeal, the State concedes, and we agree, that it is necessary that the case be remanded to the trial court for a full hearing to determine the nature of the qualifying convictions and whether Neely is entitled to immediate restoration of his driving privileges as provided by Tennessee Code Annotated section 55-10-615(c). Accordingly, the judgment of the trial court is vacated and remanded.