General Session Court?

Actually, it is likely that he will receive an offer before it goes upstairs. It may not be a misdemeanor offer which can be resolved in general sessions, but they do make felony offers in general sessions court. By agreeing to the offer, his case would skip grand jury by using something called an information. His case would reach criminal court in about 3 weeks for him to plead on the felony and execution of the agreed upon sentence. Getting this Class C felony to a misdemeanor would be difficult because it would have to be shown that no entry to the house occurred, thereby making this a theft instead of a burglary. If the value of the theft is less than $500, it could be plead in general sessions.

#It is a possibility but more than likely it wont happen.Aggravated burglary is a felony and for this to be worked out in general sessions court, it would have to be reduced to a misdemeanor.

The District Attorney's Office for Shelby County does have the option of making offers at the General Sessions Court level. However, they are under no obligation to make an offer in any case. If the prosecutor, working on behalf of the DA's Office, makes a misdemeanor offer and the person charged is willing to waive his rights and enter a plea of guilty to the misdemeanor, the case will not proceed to criminal court. If the prosecutor makes an offer that requires your fiancé to plead guilty to a felony, the case will have to go to criminal court for entry of that plea because General Sessions Courts in Tennessee do not have the authority to accept pleas of guilty to felony offenses.

Yes your fiancé will likely get an offer in his case in General Sessions Court and should he accept it, then his Attorney will prepare a Waiver by Information form, which is essentially a negotiated plea agreement. Additionally, if he refuses the offer he is entitled to a Preliminary Hearing where the State has to prove probable cause in the case. The witnesses and the accuser/complainant will be subpoenaed to court. On the other hand, if he doesn't want a hearing or the offer, he can simply waive the case upstairs by way of a Waiver Bindover Form and await Indictment by the Grand Jury. His Attorney will explain all of his options and advise him on how best to proceed. Good Luck!

Highly unlikely. a felony cannot be settled in General Sessions Court UNLESS the case is dismissed, retired, or the prosecutor and defense agree to reduce the felony charge to a misdemeanor and have the defendant enter a plea to a misdemeanor. it is highly unlikely that the prosecutor will agree to reduce an aggravated burglary to a misdemeanor, but it is worth a try. By all means, your fiancé should have a good defense attorney both in General Sessions and in the Circuit Criminal Court.