House Judiciary Committee gives positive recommendation to Judge Stacy Street for Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals

The Tennessee House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday gave a positive recommendation to Judge Stacy Street for appointment to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, Eastern Section, voting 19-0 to send the nomination to the full General Assembly.

Judge Stacy Street, a trial judge with more than a decade on the bench and more than 20 years of experience in criminal defense, answered committee questions about evidence suppression, the limits of mandatory sentencing, and how trial experience would inform appellate review. Representative Hicks introduced Street, noting his work in regional recovery courts and his record trying serious felony cases.

"I've had a number of occasions in which the evidence may have been seized without a search warrant," Street said when asked about the Fourth Amendment and the exclusionary rule. "I applied those [facts] to the law as written and the case law and I was required by law to exclude that evidence." He added that when exclusion leaves the prosecution without admissible evidence, it can lead to dismissal.

Members pressed Street on sentencing discretion and the constraints judges face under mandatory statutes. Street described the difficulty of balancing individualized sentencing with statutory minimums: "If it is a minimum mandatory sentence based on what they've done, you have no other choice than to sentence them as the law prescribes." He told lawmakers those constraints informed his view of how legislators and judges intersect.

Representative Garrett asked Street to identify his toughest and proudest trials. Street said his most trying cases were homicide trials and fatalities tied to fentanyl overdoses, and said he tried 31 jury trials last year, 10 of them homicides. "Those are the bad days," Street said, describing the emotional toll on victims' families and defendants' families alike.

On the topic of appellate work, Street said trial experience gives him insight into what occurs "in the arena," and that the appellate role is primarily error review governed by precedent. "The job that I seek on the Court of Criminal Appeals is for error review," he said, emphasizing that appellate judges follow precedent rather than make law.

Aaron Merrick, chief counsel for the governor's office, thanked stakeholders and reminded the committee that nominees sometimes must decline to answer questions that could create future recusal issues.

After questioning, Representative Alexander moved for a positive recommendation to the full House; Chairman Elders seconded. The clerk announced the tally: 19 yes, 0 no, 0 present/not voting. The committee then recessed.

The nomination now proceeds to the full Tennessee General Assembly for consideration.