STATE OF TENNESSEE v. DANIEL JOE OTTEN II - Articles

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STATE OF TENNESSEE v. DANIEL JOE OTTEN II

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Apr 8, 2025

Court: TN Court of Criminal Appeals

Attorneys 1: William W. Gill (on appeal), Assistant Public Defender—Appellate Division of the Tennessee District Public Defender’s Conference; Shelby Silvey (at revocation hearing), Clarksville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Daniel Joe Otten, II.

Attorneys 2: Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General and Reporter; Lacy E. Wilber, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Robert J. Nash, District Attorney General; and Hailey Thompson, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge(s): EASTER

Defendant, Daniel Joe Otten II, appeals from the trial court’s revocation of his community corrections sentence and order to serve the remainder of his five-year sentence in confinement. Defendant argues that he was denied the right to confront witnesses at the violation hearing and that the trial court improperly based its finding on hearsay evidence without a showing of reliability; that the evidence was insufficient to support the trial court’s finding that Defendant violated the conditions of his release and the trial court applied an incorrect standard by failing to distinguish between failure to report and absconsion; and that the trial court erred by ordering full revocation. After review, we conclude that the trial court erred by admitting hearsay testimony without a finding of good cause or reliability. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the trial court.

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