State of Tennessee v. James Cauley

In 2005 Defendant, James Cauley, pled guilty to felony possession of less than 0.5 gram of cocaine, felony evading arrest, possession of contraband in a penal institution, and felony failure to appear.  Pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement, Defendant received an effective sentence of nine years to be served on probation, and other pending charges were dismissed.  In November 2012, a violation of probation warrant was issued.  Additional amendments to the warrant were issued in January 2013, April 2013, and September 2013.  At a hearing in October 2013, Defendant admitted that he had violated probation as alleged in the warrants.  Defendant asserted he was entitled to jail credit for time he served in a federal prison while he was on state probation.  The matter was continued to allow Defendant the opportunity to file a brief in support of his argument.  Another hearing was held in February 2014, and the trial court ordered the effective sentence to be served by incarceration.  Defendant appeals, arguing that the trial court erred by ordering him to serve the entire nine-year sentence at a time when he had less than one year remaining on probation and without giving him credit for the time he spent in federal custody.  We affirm the judgment of the trial court.