Opinion
C.C.A. No. 02C01-9511-CC-00355.
February 14, 1997.
CROCKETT COUNTY, HONORABLE DICK JERMAN, JR., JUDGE.
For the Appellant:
James T. "Jim" Sanderson, Stephen L. Hale, Attorney at Law Clayburn Peeples.
For the Appellee:
Charles W. Burson, Attorney General Reporter, Jeffrey L. Hill, Assistant Attorney General, District Attorney General.
AFFIRMED.
OPINION
The appellant, Howard Johnson, Sr., pled guilty to attempted rape. He was sentenced to seven years confinement in the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC). He filed a Petition to Suspend Sentence. The petition was denied. He then filed a Motion to Reconsider his Petition to Suspend Sentence. The trial found that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the motion to reconsider and denied the motion. The appellant appeals that order. Upon review, we affirm.
The appellant's sentence was imposed in October of 1994. The appellant's motion to reconsider was filed in June of 1995. Pursuant to Tenn. R. Crim. P., Rule 35:
The trial court may reduce a sentence upon application filed within 120 days after the date the sentence is imposed or probation is revoked. No extensions shall be allowed on the time limitation. No other actions shall toll the running of this time limitation. A motion for reduction of sentence under this rule may be denied by the trial judge without a hearing.
The appellant's motion to reconsider was not filed within 120 days of the appellant's sentencing. The motion, therefore, could not serve as a basis for modifying the appellant's sentence. Moreover, the appellant had thirty days within which to appeal the trial court's denial of his first petition. A timely appeal was not sought. Public policy mandates closure. We agree with the trial court and affirm the order denying relief.
__________________________ PAUL G. SUMMERS, Judge
CONCUR:
____________________________ DAVID G. HAYES, Judge
____________________________ THOMAS T. WOODALL, Judge