STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JOSHUA LEE SHAW - Articles

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STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JOSHUA LEE SHAW

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Nov 21, 2025

Court: TN Court of Criminal Appeals

Attorneys 1: G. Jeff Cherry and Amber N. Schlatter Lebanon, Tennessee (on appeal), Christopher Beauchamp Lebanon, Tennessee (at hearing), for the Appellant, Joshua Lee Shaw.

Attorneys 2: Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General and Reporter; Elizabeth H. Evan, Assistant Attorney General; Thomas B. Dean, District Attorney General; and Tara Wyllie, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge(s): WEDEMEYER

In 2006, the Defendant, Joshua Lee Shaw, pleaded guilty to attempted possession of a Schedule II substance with intent to deliver, a Class C felony, and simple possession of a Schedule VI substance, a Class A misdemeanor. The trial court sentenced him to four years of supervised probation. He violated his probation by testing positive for methamphetamine, amphetamine, and marijuana. The trial court ordered the Defendant’s punishment for the violation to be for “time served” and returned him to probation. The Defendant successfully completed the remainder of his probation. In 2024, the Defendant filed a petition to expunge his record of his two offenses pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-32-101(k). After a hearing, the trial court declined his request. The Defendant appeals, contending the trial court erred. We conclude that the Defendant does not meet the plain language requirements of an “eligible petitioner” in Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-32-101(k), and thus we affirm the trial court’s judgment.

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