STATE OF TENNESSEE v. TAMMY LYNN WALKER - Articles

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STATE OF TENNESSEE v. TAMMY LYNN WALKER

Posted by: Karen Belcher on Jan 20, 2021

Court: TN Court of Criminal Appeals

Attorneys 1: Richard L. Gaines and Jeffrey Z. Daniel, Knoxville, Tennessee (on appeal); and Tammy Lynn Walker, LaFollette, Tennessee, Pro Se (at trial), for the appellant, Tammy Lynn Walker.

Attorneys 2: Herbert H. Slatery III, Attorney General and Reporter; T. Austin Watkins, Assistant Attorney General; Jared R. Effler, District Attorney General; and David M. Pollard, Jr., Thomas E. Barclay, and Lindsey C. Cadle, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge(s): THOMAS

Following a bench trial, the Defendant, Tammy Lynn Walker, was convicted of passing a worthless check, a Class D felony. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the trial court erred in determining that she made a knowing and voluntary waiver of her right to counsel and by requiring her to proceed pro se at trial when she had not executed a written waiver to the effect. The State, after initially contending that the trial court did not err, alternatively argues that the Defendant implicitly waived her right to counsel by failing to retain counsel in a timely manner. In addition, the Defendant, as a separate issue, contends that the trial court violated her constitutional rights when it compelled her to testify against herself. We conclude that the non-indigent Defendant knowingly and voluntarily explicitly waived her right to counsel by her statements and conduct and that she was not compelled to testify against herself. Accordingly, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

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