Gary W. Sutton v. State of Tennessee

The State of Tennessee has filed an application for extraordinary appeal, see Tenn.
R. App. P. 10, seeking review of the trial court’s January 16, 2026 order. That order denied
the State’s motion to dismiss the Petitioner’s petition to determine his ineligibility for
execution due to intellectual disability, on the ground that the petition is procedurally
barred. The State argues that extraordinary appeal is required for two reasons. First, it
argues that the trial court’s order constitutes a “plain and palpable abuse of discretion.”
Second, it argues that a hearing on the procedurally barred petition reflects a “fundamental
illegality.” Gilbert v. Wessels, 458 S.W.3d 895, 898 (Tenn. 2014).