State v. Richard Daran Angel
Court: Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Docket: M2025-00093-CCA-R3-CD Filed: February 9, 2026 County: Van Buren County Outcome: Trial court’s pretrial dismissal on vagueness grounds reversed in State’s favor
The Holding
A Van Buren County trial court’s pretrial dismissal of a theft-by-home-improvement (contractor fraud) case on vagueness grounds was reversed. The Court of Criminal Appeals held that Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-154 survives an as-applied vagueness challenge at the pretrial stage.
Why It Matters
Defensively, this case tells Tennessee defense lawyers what not to bet a client’s defense on. Facial-vagueness dismissals of the contractor-fraud statute won’t be available as a pretrial off-ramp. The statute is going to survive into trial.
That doesn’t mean contractor-fraud cases are unwinnable. It means the defense has to be built on the merits — proof of intent, materiality, the contractual record, and the actual disputed work — not on a constitutional challenge to the statute itself.
If you are charged with theft by home improvement or contractor fraud in Tennessee, focus your defense on the facts, not on motions to dismiss the statute.
Statute / Rule References
Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-154 (theft by home improvement / contractor fraud)
Read the Opinion
You can find the full opinion on the Tennessee Courts website. Search the [Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals 2026 opinions index](https://www.tncourts.gov/courts/court-criminal-appeals/opinions) by docket number M2025-00093-CCA-R3-CD.
Charged with a Tennessee Criminal Case?
I’m Nathan Cate. I defend criminal cases in Davidson, Williamson, Rutherford, Sumner, Wilson, and Maury Counties. If your case touches the issues above — or any other Tennessee criminal matter — call (615) 664-8083 for a free consultation. I’ll review the charging document, run the procedural posture, and tell you what your case actually looks like.
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This is a summary of a published opinion, not legal advice. Holdings cited may evolve as later cases distinguish or overrule them. If you have a pending case that touches one of these issues, contact N. Cate Law for case-specific guidance.
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