Lymus Levar Brown III v. State of Tennessee
A Haywood County jury convicted the Petitioner, Lymus Brown, of aggravated robbery, and the trial court sentenced him to thirty years in prison. State v. Lymus Brown, No. W2012-02298-CCA-R3-CD, 2013 WL 12181029, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Jackson, Nov. 26, 2013), perm. app. denied (Tenn. Apr. 8, 2014). This court affirmed his conviction on appeal. The Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief in which he alleged that his trial counsel was ineffective in failing to interview a witness, failing to adequately cross-examine another witness, failing to allow him to testify, and failing to have the jury instructed on facilitation. The post-conviction court denied relief. After review, we affirm the post-conviction court’s judgment. |
Haywood | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Kelvin Reed v. State of Tennessee
The pro se Appellant, Kelvin Reed, appeals the Shelby County Criminal Court’s summary dismissal of his “Petition for Writ of Error Coram Nobis and Motion to Vacate Illegal Sentence.” Although Reed acknowledges that his petition for coram nobis relief was untimely, he argues that due process concerns require tolling of the one-year statute of limitations. He also contends, with regard to his motion to vacate his illegal sentence, that the trial court’s order was not a final order because it failed to dismiss his motion under Rule 36.1 and failed to make the appropriate legal determinations, thereby divesting this court of jurisdiction to hear this appeal. We affirm the trial court’s summary dismissal of Reed’s petition and motion. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Eric Battle
A Shelby County jury convicted the Defendant, Eric Battle, of one count of attempted first degree premeditated murder, five counts of aggravated assault, one count of employment of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, and one count of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. On appeal, the Defendant claims that: (1) the trial court erred when it ruled that a witness’s proposed testimony was inadmissible; (2) the evidence was insufficient to sustain his convictions; and (3) the trial court erred when it declined to instruct the jury on self-defense. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the trial court’s judgments, but we remand for entry of corrected judgments. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Bruce M. Vann v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Bruce Marvin Vann, appeals from the Madison County Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. The Petitioner contends that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to call “alibi” witnesses during trial. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Darrin Keith Ward, Jr.
The Defendant, Darrin Keith Ward, Jr., appeals the trial court’s revocation of his community corrections sentence, arguing that the trial court abused its discretion by relying on stale information and insufficient evidence in deciding to revoke his sentence. After review, we affirm the revocation of the alternative sentence. |
Dyer | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jereco Tynes v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Jereco Tynes, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, which petition challenged his 2010 jury convictions of felony murder, aggravated robbery, and attempted aggravated robbery, alleging that he was deprived of the effective assistance of counsel at trial. Discerning no error, we affirm the denial of post-conviction relief. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Gaines Richardson
Defendant, Gaines Richardson, was indicted for two counts of aggravated robbery. After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted as charged. He received a total effective sentence of nine years. On appeal, Defendant argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions and that several plain errors were committed by the trial court. After a thorough review, we conclude that the evidence is sufficient and that Defendant is not entitled to plain error relief. Accordingly, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Houston Thomas Wilkes
The Defendant, Houston Thomas Wilkes, appeals the trial court’s denial of his motion to withdraw his guilty plea, arguing that trial counsel coerced him into entering the guilty plea and that the State withheld potentially exculpatory evidence, such that his plea was not knowing and voluntary. He further argues that these circumstances led to manifest injustice, and the trial court therefore abused its discretion in refusing to allow the withdrawal of his guilty plea. After review, we affirm the denial of the motion to withdraw his guilty plea. |
Carroll | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Devin Rogers v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Devin Rogers, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, which petition challenged his 2013 conviction of aggravated robbery, alleging that he was deprived of the effective assistance of counsel at trial. Discerning no error, we affirm the denial of post-conviction relief. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Marc K. Eliazar
The Appellant, Marc K. Eliazar, pled guilty in the Rutherford County Circuit Court to possession of one-half ounce or more of marijuana with intent to sell or deliver, a Class E felony, and reserved certified questions of law concerning whether the police officer’s dog sniff of his vehicle prolonged the traffic stop and, if so, whether the officer had reasonable suspicion of criminal activity for the dog sniff. Based upon the oral arguments, the record, and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the trial court’s denial of the motion to suppress. |
Rutherford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Amail John Land
The defendant, Amail John Land, appeals his Dekalb County Criminal Court jury convictions of burglary, theft of property valued at less than $500, and vandalism of property valued at less than $500. He challenges the admission of his pretrial statement to the police, the admission of testimony concerning the contents of a video recording that had been destroyed prior to trial, and the sufficiency of the convicting evidence. Discerning no error, we affirm. |
DeKalb | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Gregory Lynn Kelley
Defendant, Gregory Lynn Kelley, was indicted by the Maury County Grand Jury for one count of sale of more than 0.5 grams of methamphetamine, a Class B felony. Defendant pleaded guilty to the lesser-included offense of facilitation of the sale of methamphetamine over 0.5 grams, a Class C felony. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced Defendant as a Range II offender to serve eight years and six months in the Tennessee Department of Correction. Defendant contends on appeal that the trial court abused its discretion when it denied Defendant’s request to serve his sentence on probation. Having reviewed the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Maury | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
John Paul Little v. State of Tennessee
The Defendant-Appellant, John Paul Little, was convicted by a Roane County jury of four counts of rape of a child, see Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-522, for which he received a sentence of 120 years in confinement. The sole issue presented in this appeal is whether the evidence is sufficient to support his convictions. After review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Roane | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Corey Forest
The Defendant-Appellant, Corey Forest, entered a guilty plea to possession of more than .5 grams of a Schedule II substance and to unlawful possession of a firearm and attempted to reserve two certified questions pursuant to Tennessee Criminal Procedure Rule 37(b)(2) regarding whether the stop of his vehicle was lawful. After this court dismissed the appeal because the certified questions were not properly reserved, Forest filed a timely petition for post-conviction relief and obtained an agreed order stating that defense counsel had provided ineffective assistance in drafting the certified questions. The trial court then vacated Forest’s judgments of conviction and allowed him to withdraw his guilty plea. Thereafter, Forest and the State agreed to re-enter the original plea agreement. Following a new plea submission hearing, the trial court accepted Forest’s guilty plea to the same offenses and entered new judgments of conviction, with Forest reserving two new certified questions of law regarding the stop of his vehicle. Because the parties and the trial court did not follow the post-conviction procedures and law before the new certified questions were reserved and because Forest cannot establish that he was prejudiced by counsel’s errors based on this record, we dismiss Forest’s appeal, vacate the agreed order granting post-conviction relief, as well as the subsequent plea agreement and guilty plea, and remand the case to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. |
Maury | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Corey Forest - Concurring
I concur with the majority opinion in this case. I write separately to expand upon what I feel is the inappropriate procedure employed during this post-conviction proceeding. I am unaware of any authority that allows a trial counsel to allege ineffective assistance of counsel against himself or herself. Trial counsel in this case had a clear conflict of interest. See Frazier v. State, 303 S.W.3d 674, 682-83 (Tenn. 2010) (noting that an attorney in a post-conviction proceeding who had represented the petitioner on direct appeal had a clear conflict of interest); see also Velarde v. United States, 972 F.2d 826, 827 (7th Cir. 1992) (“[T]rial counsel … can hardly be expected to challenge … his own ineffectiveness.”) (quoting United States v. Taglia, 922 F.2d 413, 418 (7th Cir. 1991)). Attorneys are obligated to avoid ethical violations in their practice of law. Frazier, 303 S.W.3d at 683. |
Maury | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Gregory Woods v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Gregory Woods, appeals from the denial of post-conviction relief, alleging that he was not competent to enter a guilty plea, that he was improperly sentenced as a Range II offender, and that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. Pursuant to a plea agreement, the Petitioner entered a guilty plea to aggravated sexual battery, for which he received an effective sentence of twenty years as a Range II offender.1 Upon our review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Mack Transou
Defendant, Mack Transou, appeals the dismissal of his “Motion for Correction of Clerical Oversight Pursuant to Rule 36” of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure, in which Defendant alleged his March 1999 judgment of conviction for driving after being declared a habitual motor vehicle offender contained a clerical error because it failed to properly list his pretrial jail credits. Defendant contends on appeal that the trial court erred in denying his motion. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Michael Anthony Rodgers
The Defendant, Michael Anthony Rodgers, was convicted by a Madison County Criminal Court jury of possession of heroin with the intent to deliver, a Class B felony; possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, a Class C felony; and simple possession of methamphetamine and heroin, both Class A misdemeanors, and was sentenced by the trial court as a Range IV, persistent offender to an effective term of twenty-two years at 45% in the Department of Correction, to be served consecutively to his sentence in a federal case. On appeal, he challenges the sufficiency of the evidence in support of his felony drug convictions, arguing that there was insufficient proof from which the jury could infer that he possessed the drugs with the intent to deliver. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Spencer T. Gibson
Defendant, Spencer T. Gibson, pled guilty in the Davidson County Criminal Court to the offense of robbery and received a sentence of eight years on supervised probation. We note that Defendant agreed to be sentenced outside of the statutory range in exchange for the reduced charge. On February 9, 2016, a probation violation warrant was issued. Following a hearing, the trial court revoked probation and ordered Defendant to serve the balance of his sentence by incarceration. On appeal, Defendant argues that the trial court abused its discretion in revoking his probation and ordering him to serve his eight-year sentence in confinement. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Christopher Talley
A Shelby County jury convicted the Defendant, Christopher Talley, of attempted second degree murder, aggravated assault, and theft of property valued under $500. The trial court sentenced him to an effective sentence of twenty-four years of incarceration. On appeal, the Defendant contends that: (1) the evidence is insufficient to sustain his convictions; (2) the prosecutor committed prosecutorial misconduct; and (3) the trial court erred when it applied certain enhancement factors at sentencing. After review, we affirm the trial court’s judgments. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Christopher Talley - Concurring
I concur in the majority opinion, but write separately to again say that the term “prosecutorial misconduct” should not be used to describe errors by counsel for the State in making arguments to the jury. Instead, I believe it should be referred to as “improper prosecutorial argument” for non-constitutional errors. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Rudolph Miller Brooks, Jr.
The Appellant, Rudolph Miller Brooks, Jr., appeals from the Blount County Circuit Court’s order revoking his community corrections sentence and ordering him to serve his sentence in confinement. The Appellant’s counsel has filed a motion to withdraw pursuant to Rule 22 of the Rules of the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. We conclude that counsel’s motion is well-taken and, in accordance with Rule 22(F), affirm the trial court’s judgment pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. |
Blount | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Kristie M. Smith v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Kristie M. Smith, appeals from the denial of post-conviction relief, alleging the trial court erred in summarily dismissing her petition for post-conviction relief. Upon our review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. James Douglas Black
A Greene County jury convicted the Defendant, James Douglas Black, of first degree premeditated murder and first degree felony murder of Courtney Thompson and Terrance Stewart. The trial court imposed concurrent life sentences. On appeal, the Defendant asserts that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions. After review, we affirm the trial court’s judgments, but we remand for entry of corrected judgments reflecting the merger of certain counts. |
Greene | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Stephen Douglas Smith
The Defendant-Appellant, Stephen Douglas Smith, was convicted by a Marshall County jury of one count of rape of a child, four counts of aggravated statutory rape, and forty counts of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, for which he received an effective sentence of forty-one years. T.C.A. §§ 39-13-522, -506; 39-17-1005. On appeal, the Defendant argues that: (1) the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions; (2) the trial court improperly admitted a thumb drive and the photographs from it into evidence; and (3) the trial court erred in denying his motion to cross examine the victim regarding her sexual history. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Marshall | Court of Criminal Appeals |
