State of Tennessee v. Jody Kyle Banks

The defendant, Jody Kyle Banks, pled guilty to driving under the influence of an intoxicant (second offense), a Class A misdemeanor, in violation of Tennessee Code Annotated section 55-10-401(a)(1) (2010).  He was sentenced to eleven months and twenty-nine days imprisonment, with fifty days to be served in jail and the remainder of the sentence to be served on probation.  In entering his guilty plea, the defendant reserved, pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 37(b)(2),  a certified question of law challenging the initial stop of his vehicle based on a broken taillight. After a thorough review of the record, we conclude that this case is governed by the Tennessee Supreme Court’s decision in State v. Brotherton, 323 S.W.3d 866 (Tenn. 2010), and we accordingly affirm the judgment of the trial court.