State of Tennessee v. Comer Thomas Vance
The defendant, Comer Thomas Vance, appeals his Bedford County Circuit Court jury conviction of felony theft, claiming that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction and that the prosecutor’s closing argument was improper. Discerning no error, we affirm. |
Bedford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jimmy Newell
Defendant, Jimmy Newell, appeals from the trial court’s denial of his motion to withdraw his guilty pleas in multiple cases. Petitioner entered guilty pleas in several cases at a single hearing as part of a “global plea deal” and received a total effective sentence of four years’ incarceration. Defendant filed a pro se motion to withdraw his pleas. Counsel was appointed to represent him. Following an evidentiary hearing, the trial court denied Defendant’s motion. Defendant appeals the trial court’s ruling, asserting that his pleas were entered unknowingly and involuntarily and that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance. Having reviewed the entire record and the briefs of the parties, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Bradley | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Bart Leo Tucker
The Defendant, Bart Leo Tucker, was convicted by a Williamson County jury of one count of issuing a worthless check. See T.C.A. § 39-14-121. On appeal, the Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence and contends that the trial court erred by denying his motion for judgment of acquittal. Following our review, we reverse the judgment of the trial court. |
Williamson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Bart Leo Tucker - Dissent
Because I believe the appellate record is incomplete for our review, I respectfully dissent. While I am certainly a proponent of records containing only what is essential for a meaningful review on appeal, when an appellant raises the issue of sufficiency of the evidence, as is the case here, all of the evidence presented at trial is needed. Here, Defendant has picked and chosen parts of only one of the State’s witnesses for inclusion in the record, leaving us to speculate whether other evidence or witness testimony may have fulfilled the State’s burden. Thus, the record does not convey a fair, accurate, and complete account of what transpired with respect to the issue of sufficiency of evidence. The record is not in keeping with Tennessee Rule of Appellate Procedure 24(b). I would grant Defendant’s “(Conditional) Motion To Supplement The Record” and then proceed with an unabridged record. |
Williamson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Kenneth Kirkwood v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Kenneth Kirkwood, appeals the dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief, arguing that the post-conviction court erred in denying him a full hearing and concluding that he waived all his ineffective assistance of counsel claims by raising an allegation of ineffective assistance of counsel in his motion for new trial and on direct appeal. Following our review, we affirm the dismissal of the petition on the basis that the Petitioner has already been afforded an opportunity to litigate his ineffective assistance of counsel claim. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Lawrence A. Gray
The Defendant, Lawrence A. Gray, entered a guilty plea to three counts of aggravated robbery and two counts of attempted aggravated robbery with the trial court to determine sentencing. After a sentencing hearing, the trial court imposed an effective sentence of twelve years. On appeal, the Defendant asserts that the trial court improperly imposed a twelve-year sentence. We affirm the trial court’s judgments. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Christopher A. Williams v. State of Tennessee
After three trials, the Petitioner was convicted of attempted aggravated robbery and felony first degree murder, and the trial court sentenced him to life in prison. The Petitioner appealed his convictions, filed a petition for post-conviction relief, and filed multiple petitions for writs of habeas corpus relief. No relief was granted. In 2015, the Petitioner filed a petition for a writ of error coram nobis, alleging an anonymous informant’s statement was newly discovered evidence. The Petitioner conceded that his petition was untimely but asked the coram nobis court to toll the statute of limitations because, he asserted, the State withheld the statement. The coram nobis court declined to toll the statute of limitations, and it dismissed the petition as time-barred. We affirm the coram nobis court’s judgment. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Donnell V. Booker v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Donnell V. Booker, appeals the denial of his second petition for habeas corpus relief in which he argues that his guilty plea to an “out of range” sentence was illegal. Because Petitioner’s claim has been previously determined and he fails to state a cognizable claim, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Christopher M. Heath v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Christopher M. Heath, was convicted of driving under the influence (“DUI”), fifth offense, and second offense driving on a cancelled, suspended, or revoked driver’s license. He received an effective sentence of fifteen months. There was no direct appeal. Petitioner sought post-conviction relief. After a hearing at which Petitioner did not appear and did not present any proof, the post-conviction court dismissed the petition. Petitioner appeals from the denial of post-conviction relief. After a review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Williamson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Charles Phillip Maxwell v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Charles Phillip Maxwell, appeals the Davidson County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for a writ of error coram nobis from his driving with a suspended license conviction and his thirty-day sentence, which was suspended to probation after twenty-four hours in confinement. The Petitioner contends that the court erred by denying relief and improperly ordered him to pay court costs associated with his petition. We affirm the judgment of the coram nobis court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Phillip M. Mullins v. Cherry Lindamood, Warden
The Petitioner, Phillip M. Mullins, appeals the Wayne County Circuit Court’s summary dismissal of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus from his 2001 convictions and his effective sentence of life without the possibility of parole plus twenty-five years. He contends that his convictions violate double jeopardy principles on several grounds. We affirm the judgment of the habeas corpus court. |
Wayne | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Latoya Britton
Defendant, Latoya Britton, appeals the trial court’s revocation of her community corrections sentence and the imposition of additional consecutive sentencing and confinement upon resentencing. Following our review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Sumner | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
David Dwight Hester v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, David Dwight Hester, pleaded guilty to initiation of methamphetamine manufacture, and two counts of aggravated child neglect. He received an agreed effective sentence of twenty-five years at thirty percent as a Range I offender. Petitioner subsequently filed a post-conviction petition that was denied by the post-conviction court. On appeal, Petitioner argues that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to challenge the indictments charging him with aggravated child abuse or neglect because each indictment charged him with “two distinct offenses.” He also argues that trial counsel told him that he was required to receive the same sentence as his co-defendant and that Petitioner risked serving his sentence at one-hundred percent eligibility if the case went to trial. After thoroughly reviewing the record and applicable authorities, we affirm the post-conviction court’s judgment. |
Bedford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Javonta Marquis Perkins
Defendant, Javonta Marquis Perkins, was indicted by the Davidson County Grand Jury for aggravated robbery, carjacking, and possession of a weapon during the commission of a dangerous felony. Defendant was convicted as charged by a jury and sentenced by the trial court to ten years each for his aggravated robbery and carjacking convictions and six years for the possession of a weapon conviction. By operation of law, the trial court ordered Defendant’s six-year sentence consecutive to his concurrent ten-year sentences, for an effective sentence of 16 years. In this appeal as of right, Defendant contends that: 1) the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress the victim’s pretrial identification; 2) the trial court erred by instructing the jury on criminal responsibility; 3) the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions; and 4) his sentences are excessive. Having reviewed the entire record and the briefs of the parties, we find no error and affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Alexander R. Carino v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Alexander R. Carino, appeals the Trousdale County Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for habeas corpus relief from his 2010 convictions for two counts of second degree murder and his effective forty-three-year sentence. The Petitioner contends that the habeas corpus court erred by summarily denying relief. We affirm the judgment of the habeas corpus court. |
Trousdale | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jose Holmes v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Jose Holmes, appeals the habeas corpus court’s denial of his petition for habeas corpus relief in which he challenged his conviction for especially aggravated robbery and his sixty-year sentence as a career offender. Because the Petitioner filed an untimely notice of appeal and the interest of justice does not support waiver of the timely filing requirement in this case, this appeal is dismissed. |
Trousdale | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Antonio Braden
Petitioner, Antonio Braden, appeals from the denial of his Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 36.1 motion alleging that his sentence is illegal because the trial court erred by applying enhancement factors and sentencing him four years “beyond the statutory minimum.” Following our review, we affirm the trial court’s judgment. |
Williamson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Christopher D. Hodge v. Debra Johnson, Warden
Petitioner, Christopher D. Hodge, appeals from the summary dismissal of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. On appeal, Petitioner asserts that the trial court was without jurisdiction to convict him because the grand jurors were not picked from more than one county in the district; and that the trial court illegally amended his judgment 60 days after entry of the judgment to change his release eligibility from 35 percent to 100 percent. Upon review, we affirm the summary dismissal of the petition. |
Hickman | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Tedd A. Tjornhom
The Appellee, Tedd A. Tjornhom, was charged in the Williamson County Circuit Court with driving under the influence (DUI) and DUI per se and filed a motion to suppress his blood alcohol report due to the State’s destruction of his blood sample. The Williamson County Circuit Court granted the motion, and the State appeals. Based upon the oral arguments, the record, and the parties’ briefs, the order of the trial court is reversed, and the case is remanded to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. |
Williamson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Susan Lynette Baker
The defendant, Susan Lynette Baker, appeals her Sequatchie County Circuit Court jury convictions of felony murder, especially aggravated robbery, and setting fire to personal property, claiming that the trial court erred by refusing to suppress the pretrial statement she provided to the police, the evidence of her theft of property from the victim’s residence, and the surveillance video from a motel; that the trial court erred by denying her motion to sever the arson charge from the remaining charges; that the evidence was insufficient to support her convictions of felony murder and especially aggravated robbery; and that “the very nature” of the felony murder statute violates principles of due process. Discerning no error, we affirm. |
Sequatchie | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Fred Chad Clark, II v. State of Tennessee
The pro se Petitioner, Fred Chad Clark, II, appeals the Davidson County Criminal Court’s summary dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief. The Petitioner contends that the post-conviction court erred in dismissing his petition as untimely, and the State concedes the issue. Upon review, we reverse the judgment of the post-conviction court and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Mandrell Sanders
The Defendant, Mandrell Sanders, was convicted by a Shelby County Criminal Court jury of aggravated burglary, a Class C felony, and was sentenced to fourteen years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the Defendant argues that the trial court imposed an excessive sentence and erred in denying his request for probation. After review, we affirm the sentencing decision of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Rodney Turner
A jury convicted the Defendant, Rodney Turner, of two counts of attempted first degree murder and one count of employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. On appeal, this Court affirmed the Defendant’s convictions. State v. Rodney Turner, No. W2012-01930-CCA-R3-CD, 2013 WL 6706092, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Jackson, Dec. 18, 2013), perm. app. denied (Tenn. May 23, 2014). The Defendant filed a petition for post-conviction relief seeking a delayed appeal and an opportunity to file a delayed motion for new trial. The post-conviction court granted a delayed motion for new trial and, after a motion for new trial hearing, denied the Defendant’s motion. The Defendant appeals the trial court’s denial, maintaining that the trial court erred by not requiring the State to produce state witness Officer Brian Falatko’s prior statement. He further asserts that this statement is newly discovered evidence warranting a new trial. We affirm the trial court’s judgment. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Joseph Miles v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Joseph Miles, filed a petition for a writ of error coram nobis, asserting that newly discovered evidence entitled him to relief. The coram nobis court summarily dismissed the petition, and the Petitioner appeals. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the coram nobis court. |
Robertson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Deann Anelia Walls
Defendant, Deann Anelia Walls, appeals the trial court’s order requiring her to serve in confinement her effective ten-year sentence resulting from her guilty plea to nineteen counts of prescription medication fraud and thirty-six counts of identity theft. Upon reviewing the record and the applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Rutherford | Court of Criminal Appeals |
