Tammy Terrell Smithv.The State
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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