State of Tennessee v. Tevias Bledsoe

Summary

The Tennessee Supreme Court held that the defendant was not entitled to a new trial based on the trial court's failure to instruct the jury on duress because the issue was not preserved and the defendant failed to establish all prerequisites for plain-error review. Although the evidence may have supported giving a duress instruction, the incomplete appellate record and the defendant's express rejection of a self-defense instruction left the tactical nature of the omission unresolved. The court reversed the intermediate appellate judgment and reinstated the conviction for unlawful possession of a handgun by a convicted felon.