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Tammy Terrell Smithv.The State

CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
Docket No.A19A0430
DecidedApril 29, 2019
Reporter317 Ga. App. 480
JudgesCourt of Appeals of Georgia
Tags
CriminalCriminal ProcedureFourth AmendmentSearch and SeizureEvidenceDue ProcessRemand
Case Summary

Tammy Terrell Smith was charged with possessing drug-related objects after officers found a glass pipe with methamphetamine residue in a cigarette box in her cargo pants. She moved to suppress the result of the search. The trial court denied the motion, and Smith proceeded through what was described as a stipulated bench trial. The judgment of conviction, however, stated that the conviction rested on a negotiated guilty plea. The Court of Appeals vacated and remanded because the record did not establish which procedure actually produced the conviction. A guilty plea would ordinarily waive review of the suppression ruling, while a stipulated bench trial could preserve the issue. The trial court therefore had to correct the judgment to reflect a valid bench trial or conduct a plea hearing complying with the required advisements and issue a new judgment if Smith pleaded guilty. The decision highlights the constitutional and procedural consequences of accurately identifying a criminal disposition and the limits of an agreed attempt to preserve appellate review after a guilty plea.

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Tammy Terrell Smith V. The State — The Atlanta Gleaner