STATE OF TENNESSEE v. CHRISTOPHER MICHAEL FIEDLER - Articles

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STATE OF TENNESSEE v. CHRISTOPHER MICHAEL FIEDLER

Posted by: Azya Thornton on May 4, 2026

Court: TN Court of Criminal Appeals

Attorneys 1: Brennan M. Wingerter, Assistant Public Defender – Appellate Division (on appeal); Erica Paschall, Paris, Tennessee (as elbow counsel at trial); and Christopher Michael Fiedler, Paris, Tennessee, Pro Se (at trial).

Attorneys 2: Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General and Reporter; Elizabeth Helen Evan, Assistant Attorney General; Neil Thompson, District Attorney General; and Morgan Crocker and Andy Clark, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge(s): SWORD

The Defendant, Christopher Michael Fiedler, appeals his Henry County Circuit Court conviction of driving on a suspended license, for which he received a sentence of 180 days’ incarceration. On appeal, the Defendant argues that he is entitled to a new trial because the trial court erred by finding that he knowingly and voluntarily waived his right to the assistance of counsel. He also argues that he is entitled to a new sentencing hearing because the trial court failed to consider the purposes and principles of sentencing or to make the requisite findings pursuant to State v. Hooper, 29 S.W.3d 1, 13 (Tenn. 2000), in support of its determination that confinement was particularly suited to provide an effective deterrence to others likely to commit similar offenses. The State responds that the Defendant knowingly and voluntarily waived his right to counsel and that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in imposing a within range sentence. Following our review, we reverse the Defendant’s conviction and remand for a new trial.

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