Kenneth Lamar Hopkins v. State of Tennessee

The petitioner, Kenneth Lamar Hopkins, pled guilty to one charge of misdemeanor assault. He received a suspended sentence of eleven months, twenty-nine days. Subsequently, the petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief, alleging that: (1) his guilty plea was not knowingly and voluntarily entered; (2) his waiver of right to counsel was not knowing or voluntary; (3) his guilty plea violated due process; and (4) the district attorney general promised him that his parole would not be violated as a result of his guilty plea. After a post-conviction hearing, the post-conviction court denied the petition. The petitioner appeals, arguing that: (1) the post-conviction court erred when it allowed the inclusion of the expected testimony of the assistant district attorney as a stipulation at the post-conviction hearing; (2) the post-conviction court erred "when it sustained the contentions of the state in violation of the missing witness rule;" and (3) the post-conviction court's actions violated the petitioner's due process rights. For the following reasons, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.