STATE OF TENNESSEE v. SARAH ELAINE SMITH - Articles

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STATE OF TENNESSEE v. SARAH ELAINE SMITH

Posted by: David Lazar on Jul 16, 2026

Court: TN Court of Criminal Appeals

Attorneys 1: Joshua L. Phillips, Lexington, Tennessee, for the appellant, Sarah Elaine Smith.

Attorneys 2: Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General and Reporter; Caroline Weldon, Assistant Attorney General; Jody S. Pickens, District Attorney General; and Chadwick R. Wood (at the sentencing hearing) and Shaun Brown (at the guilty plea), Assistant District Attorney Generals, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge(s): SWORD

The Defendant, Sarah Elaine Smith, pled guilty to two counts of attempted aggravated assault and one count each of reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, leaving the scene of an accident involving personal injury or death, leaving the scene of an accident involving property damage in excess of $1,500, reckless driving, failure to exercise due care, and failure to maintain lane, for which the trial court imposed an effective sentence of one year of supervised probation. Following a restitution hearing, the trial court ordered the Defendant to pay $16,250 in restitution in installments of $200 per month. The Defendant appeals, arguing that the restitution award is unreasonable, that she will be unable to pay the full amount of the restitution award by the end of her probationary sentence under her current payment schedule, and that the trial court erred by failing to consider her financial resources and ability to pay the restitution award. Following our review, we reverse the trial court’s restitution order and remand for entry of a revised restitution order.

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