State of Tennessee v. Tommy Gene Couch, Sr.
The Defendant, Tommy Gene Couch, Sr., appeals from his guilty-pled conviction for aggravated assault. Pursuant to the terms of the plea agreement, the trial court was to determine the length and manner of service of the Defendant’s sentence. Subsequently, the trial court denied the Defendant’s request for alternative sentencing and imposed a three-year sentence in incarceration. On appeal, the Defendant challenges the denial of alternative sentencing as an abuse of the trial court’s discretion. After review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jaslene Washington v. State of Tennessee
In 2022, the Petitioner, Jaslene Washington, pleaded guilty in the Marion County General Sessions Court to assault and resisting arrest and received an effective sentence of eleven months and twenty-nine days of unsupervised probation conditioned upon the payment of fines and costs. The Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief, alleging multiple claims including ineffective assistance of counsel. Following a hearing, the post-conviction court denied relief. On appeal, the Petitioner maintains that counsel was ineffective in providing erroneous information regarding the expungement of her convictions and that the Petitioner relied upon this erroneous information in deciding to enter the guilty pleas. After review, we affirm the post-conviction court’s judgment. |
Marion | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Christopher Matthew Taylor v. State of Tennessee
In 2021, the Petitioner, Christopher Matthew Taylor, pled guilty to the offense of unlawful possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. The trial court sentenced the Petitioner to a term of six years and placed him on probation. After his suspended sentence was revoked, the Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief in April 2023, alleging that his original plea was not knowingly and voluntarily entered and that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel. After a hearing, the post-conviction court dismissed the petition as untimely, and the Petitioner appealed. Upon our review, we respectfully affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Ladarius Quashon Kees
The Defendant, Ladarius Quashon Kees, appeals the revocation of his community corrections sentence and reinstatement of the remainder of his original five-year sentence in confinement, arguing that the trial court erred by failing to adequately consider the appropriate consequences for his violations and by failing to weigh his request for a rehabilitation program. Based on our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Robertson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Fabian Claxton v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Fabian Claxton, appeals the Shelby County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. After a full review of the record, briefs and oral arguments of the parties, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Melvin Chism, III
A Jefferson County jury convicted the Defendant, Melvin Chism, III, of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of drug paraphernalia. The Defendant appeals, arguing that (1) the evidence at trial was insufficient to establish that he constructively possessed the firearm; and (2) evidence in this case was obtained in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights when an officer took and retained his identification card without reasonable suspicion that he had committed a crime. Upon our review, we respectfully affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Jefferson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Byron Hartshaw v. State of Tennessee
A Knox County jury convicted the Petitioner, Byron Hartshaw, of two counts of robbery, two counts of aggravated robbery, and two counts of aggravated burglary, and the trial court sentenced him to serve an effective term of fifteen years. After that, he filed a petition for post-conviction relief alleging that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel when trial counsel failed to prepare a defense, failed to clarify a pretrial ruling, and failed to object during cross-examination, opening statements, and closing arguments. He also argued that the cumulative effect of trial counsel’s deficiencies was sufficient to establish that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel. After a hearing, the post-conviction court denied the petition, and the Petitioner appealed. Upon our review, we respectfully affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Court of Criminal Appeals | ||
State of Tennessee v. Colby Mason Kilburn
The Defendant, Colby Mason Kilburn, was convicted in the Lawrence County Circuit Court of first degree premeditated murder and received a sentence of life in confinement. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction because the State failed to prove premeditation and intent. Based upon the oral arguments, the record, and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Lawrence | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Brian C. Lautenschlager v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Brian C. Lautenschlager, filed a pro se Petition for Writ of Error Coram Nobis (“the Petition”), seeking relief based on a “newly discovered” affidavit that was signed in 2007 and “sent” to him in 2023. The coram nobis court found that the Petition was not filed within the one-year statute of limitations and that Petitioner failed to establish that he was entitled to equitable tolling of the statute of limitations and summarily dismissed the Petition. We affirm the judgment of the coram nobis court. |
Decatur | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Derek Cunningham, Jr.
Petitioner, Derek Cunningham, Jr., claims that the trial court erred by summarily denying his pro se Petition for Writ of Error Coram Nobis and his pro se Motion to Correct an Illegal Sentence, both for failing to state a colorable claim. Discerning no error, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Andre Davis, Jr.
The Madison County Grand Jury indicted Defendant, Andre Davis, Jr., for one count each of harassment and aggravated stalking. A jury found Defendant guilty as charged, and the trial court imposed an effective two-year sentence. Defendant appeals and argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions. After a careful review of the record and the briefs of the parties, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Torrian Seantel Bishop
The Tennessee Supreme Court remanded this case for reconsideration in light of State v. Andre JuJuan Lee Green, --- S.W.3d ---, No. M2022-00899-SC-R11-CD, 2024 WL 3942511 (Tenn. 2024). See State v. Torrian Seantel Bishop, No. W2023-00713-CCA-R3- CD, 2024 WL 1564346, (Tenn. Crim. App. Apr. 11, 2024) (Bishop I), case remanded (Tenn. Aug. 27, 2024). This court concluded in the previous appeal that the certified question was dispositive of the case and that the officers had probable cause to search the Defendant’s car because an officer smelled the odor of marijuana. Upon further review, we conclude that the certified question is not dispositive of the case because our supreme court in Andre JuJuan Lee Green made clear that a trial court must apply a totality of the circumstances analysis when determining whether an officer has probable cause to conduct a warrantless search of a car. --- S.W.3d ---, 2024 WL 3942511, at *6. Upon consideration of the certified question and our supreme court’s holding in Andre JuJuan Lee Green, we conclude that we are without jurisdiction to consider the certified question presented. The appeal is dismissed. |
Obion | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Alexis Faxon
Defendant, Alexis Faxon, was convicted by a Sullivan County jury of reckless driving and |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jerrell Anderson
Defendant, Jerrell Anderson, appeals his Shelby County convictions for four counts of attempted first degree murder, two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of reckless endangerment, and two counts of employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. Defendant argues that the trial court erred in denying two motions for mistrial and in admitting redacted recordings of jail phone calls into evidence instead of admitting the calls in their entirety. After review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Russell Lynn Onks
Defendant, Russell Lynn Onks, was convicted by a Sullivan County jury of four counts of violation of the Tennessee Sexual Offender and Violent Sexual Offender Registration, Verification and Tracking Act of 2004. After a hearing, the trial court imposed an effective sentence of two years, suspended to probation after service of ninety days of incarceration. Defendant appeals, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to support a finding that he established a primary residence, secondary residence, or a physical presence within Sullivan County to support counts one and two. Upon review of the entire record, the briefs of the parties, and the applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. John Allen Hessmer
The Defendant, John Allen Hessmer, appeals the Wilson County Circuit Court’s denial of his motion to correct illegal sentences pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 36.1. Based on our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Wilson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jordan Ballard
The Defendant, Jordan Ballard, was convicted by a Lake County Circuit Court jury of |
Lake | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Christopher Paul Drake
The Defendant, Christopher Paul Drake, pled guilty to the offenses of attempted aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and attempted sexual exploitation of a minor. The trial court imposed an effective sentence of eight years and placed the Defendant on probation after service of six months in custody. Thereafter, the Defendant was alleged to have committed a “zero tolerance” violation of his probation by being discharged from an outpatient sex offender treatment program. Following a hearing, the trial court revoked his suspended sentences in full. On appeal, the Defendant argues that the trial court abused its discretion when it ordered the sentences into execution. He also asserts that the trial court erred in admitting the treatment provider’s Notice of Termination despite the provider’s absence from the hearing. Upon our review, we respectfully affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Court of Criminal Appeals | ||
State of Tennessee v. Jeffrey August Tate and Steven Ogle
Defendants, Jeffrey August Tate and Steven Ogle, were indicted in separate cases for multiple counts of theft of property and home construction fraud involving separate victims. Before trial, both Defendants filed motions to dismiss the home construction fraud counts in their respective indictments, alleging that a portion of the home construction fraud statute, Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-14-154(b)(1), was unconstitutionally vague on its face, and Defendant Tate also argued that the statute was vague as applied to him. Following a joint hearing on both Defendants’ motions, the trial court concluded that the home construction fraud statute is unconstitutionally vague on its face. The State appealed both Defendants’ cases pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Appellate Procedure 3(c), and this court consolidated the appeals. We conclude that the State does not have an appeal as of right pursuant to Rule 3(c) because the record does not reflect that the substantive effect of the trial court’s order resulted in the dismissal of the indictments. Accordingly, we dismiss the appeals. |
Sevier | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Paul L. Foutner
Paul L. Foutner, Defendant, was indicted for first degree murder, three counts of attempted |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jacob Wyatt Allen
Jacob Wyatt Allen, Defendant, appeals from the revocation of judicial diversion after subsequent arrests for driving under the influence, aggravated criminal trespass, driving on a revoked license, driving under the influence, violation of the motorcycle helmet law, and violation of an ignition interlock system. Because the trial court did not abuse its discretion, we affirm the revocation of judicial diversion. |
Rutherford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Brian Tremaine Mitchell
The Defendant, Brian Tremaine Mitchell, was convicted in the Davidson County Criminal Court of two counts of first degree premeditated murder, one count of first degree felony murder, one count of attempted second degree murder, and employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony and received a total effective sentence of two consecutive life terms plus seventeen years in confinement. On appeal, the Defendant contends that (1) the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions, (2) the trial court erred by admitting hearsay statements into evidence as dying declarations, (3) the trial court erred by failing to instruct the jury on the statements as dying declarations, (4) the trial court erred by refusing to suppress his Facebook records from evidence, (5) the trial court erred by allowing his jailhouse statements and internet searches into evidence, (6) the trial court erred by excluding evidence that one of the victims was selling drugs and might have been intoxicated at the time of the crimes, and (7) he is entitled to relief under the cumulative error doctrine. Based upon the oral arguments, the record, and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Gary E. Brown
Defendant, Gary E. Brown, was indicted by a Knox County Grand Jury in case number |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Roy T. Lewis v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Roy T. Lewis, appeals from the Robertson County Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief following a hearing, in which Petitioner alleged that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel and that his guilty plea was not knowingly and voluntarily entered because trial counsel did not inform him of his offender classification. Following a careful review of the record and the briefs of the parties, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Robertson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Shoshanna Cabanting
A Hancock County Jury convicted the Defendant, Shoshanna Cabanting, of vandalism of |
Hancock | Court of Criminal Appeals |
