State of Tennessee v. Kevin Lee Williams

Appellant, Kevin Lee Williams, pleaded guilty in the Montgomery County General Sessions Court to two counts of domestic assault. The general sessions court sentenced Appellant to two concurrent sentences of eleven months and twenty-nine days. Appellant subsequently appealed his plea to the Montgomery County Circuit Court arguing that his plea was entered involuntarily. The circuit court held a hearing, but the hearing was limited to the issue of sentencing. Appellant appeals from the circuit court’s refusal to consider whether his plea was entered voluntarily based upon provisions set out in Rule 37 of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure. Because we have determined that Rule 37 does not apply to proceedings in general sessions courts, we affirm the circuit court’s determination with regard to limiting the hearing to an appeal of the  imposed sentence. Therefore, we affirm the decision of the circuit court.