STATE OF TENNESSEE V. SHANESSA L. SOKOLOSKY - Articles

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STATE OF TENNESSEE V. SHANESSA L. SOKOLOSKY

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Jul 18, 2025

Court: TN Supreme Court

Attorneys 1: Comer L. Donnell, District Public Defender; Brennan M. Wingerter, Assistant Public Defender – Appellate Director; Brittany Davis Deatherage, Assistant District Public Defender, for the appellant, Shanessa L. Sokolosky.

Attorneys 2: Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General and Reporter; J. Matthew Rice, Solicitor General; Virginia N. Adamson, Assistant Solicitor General; Benjamin A. Ball, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Jason Lawson, District Attorney General; and Jack A. Bare, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge(s): WAGNER

This case is about mootness. Ms. Sokolosky appealed a probation revocation order and the denial of her motion to dismiss a violation arrest warrant. During the pendency of that appeal, Ms. Sokolosky’s probation was fully revoked, she served her sentence, and she was released. The Court of Criminal Appeals then dismissed her appeal as moot because no active controversy existed for resolution. We respectfully disagree. Because Ms. Sokolosky’s probation violation “may have adverse consequences after the completion of [her] term of commitment, the doctrine of mootness does not apply.” State v. Rodgers, 235 S.W.3d 92, 93 (Tenn. 2007). We reverse the decision of the Court of Criminal Appeals and remand the case for consideration of Ms. Sokolosky’s appeal.

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