RUTHERFORD COUNTY, TN - In a recent legal development, the Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee addressed an appeal filed by 36-year-old Stephen Novatne, who had previously pleaded guilty to possessing methamphetamine in a drug-free zone. The initial sentencing, overseen by Judge James A. Turner in Rutherford County Circuit Court, mandated an eight-year prison term. Novatne later sought re-sentencing under the 2020 amendments to the Drug-Free Zone Act, but the trial court rejected this motio .