TBA Law Blog

TBA Law Blog

Court: Jury Must Determine Whether Prior Offense was 'Crime of Violence'

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Jan 8, 2025

The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that a prior conviction for robbery can increase the penalty for a criminal defendant’s conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm but only if a jury finds that the prior robbery was committed with the use of violence. In the case of Christopher Oberton Curry Jr., who was convicted in 2022 of unlawful firearm possession after a felony conviction for robbery, the trial court had instructed the jury that robbery was a "crime of violence." The appellate court affirmed. The Supreme Court found that the trial judge erred in making a determination that the prior robbery had been violent and reduced the conviction. The court said that a jury should have made that determination. Read more about the opinion from the Administrative Office of the Courts.

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