Supreme Court Clarifies Standard for Review of Judicial Diversion

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The Tennessee Supreme Court in a unanimous opinion clarified the standard of appellate review for a trial court’s decision regarding judicial diversion, the Administrative Office of the Court reports. When a case is appealed, the court must determine what standard of review applies. In the case State v. King, the defendant argued that the Court of Criminal Appeals used the wrong standard when reviewing the trial court’s decision to deny judicial diversion. The Tennessee Supreme Court upheld the ruling of the Court of Criminal Appeals, adopting as the appropriate standard of review for judicial diversion rulings “abuse of discretion with a presumption of reasonableness.”