State of Tennessee v. Donald C. McCary
The defendant, Donald C. McCary, was convicted in two separate trials of two counts of aggravated sexual battery, one count of sexual battery, and four counts of statutory rape. There were two minor victims. The aggravated sexual battery convictions related to one victim and the remaining offenses were against the other. By consent of the state and the defendant, this court consolidated the two appeals during oral argument. The defendant claims (1) that the state failed to make a proper election of offenses at the close of the proof; (2) that there was a fatal variance between the indictments and the proof offered at both trials; (3) that the trial court erred by the admission of certain of the evidence; (4) that the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress evidence seized during the search of his office; (5) that the trial court erred by refusing to suppress certain statements made during the search and after his arrest; (6) that the prosecutor's comments during closing argument were improper; (7) that the trial court erred by failing to declare the defendant incompetent to stand trial; (8) that the trial court erred by permitting amendment of the indictments; (9) that the cumulative effect of the errors denied him the right to a fair trial; and (10) that the trial judge should have recused himself from the hearing on the motions for new trial. The convictions on each count of aggravated sexual battery are affirmed. The remaining convictions are reversed and remanded for a new trial. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Mitchell Shephard
This case is before this court upon remand from the Supreme Court of Tennessee. In our original opinion we affirmed defendant's conviction for first degree murder in perpetration of aggravated child abuse but remanded to the trial court for a new sentencing hearing. In our original opinion we examined numerous issues, including whether the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury on the lesser-included offenses of reckless homicide and criminally negligent homicide. We concluded the failure to charge these offenses constituted harmless error. The remand from the Supreme Court of Tennessee indicates we should reconsider the lesser-included offense issue in light of State v. Locke, S.W.3d , 2002 Tenn. LEXIS 474 (Tenn. Nov. 14, 2002). We now conclude that the trial court's failure to instruct the jury on the lesser-included offenses of reckless homicide and criminally negligent homicide constitutes reversible error. |
McMinn | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Steven Hassell v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner was originally convicted of first degree murder and attempted second degree murder and sentenced to an effective life term. He now appeals the denial of post-conviction relief, arguing trial counsel denied him the right to testify and ineffectively failed to present closing argument. We affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Hickman | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Donald Ray Middlebrooks v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner has been sentenced to death and now appeals as of right the judgment of the Davidson County Criminal Court denying his petition for post-conviction relief. The petitioner argues: (1) the post-conviction court erred in denying his ex parte request for funds for expert services; (2) the post-conviction court erred in denying his request for a continuance; and (3) he did not receive effective assistance of counsel during his resentencing hearing. We affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Montez Antuan Adams v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Montez Antuan Adams, appeals the Madison County Circuit Court's denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. He contends that the trial court improperly determined that he did not sufficiently allege facts to support one of his claims and improperly struck the claim from his amended petition. We remand the case for another evidentiary hearing in order for the petitioner to present evidence regarding the dismissed claim and for the trial court to make appropriate findings of fact consistent with this opinion. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Ronald Troy Agee v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Ronald Troy Agee, appeals the trial court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, in which he alleges ineffective assistance of counsel. Petitioner entered guilty pleas to one count of conspiracy to distribute over 300 pounds of marijuana and one count of possession with intent to deliver over seventy pounds of marijuana and received an effective sentence of thirty-five years. The indictment alleges that the conspiracy, charged in count one, commenced in August of 1997 and continued through December of 1999. In 1998, the legislature amended the law, designating conspiracy to deliver 300 or more pounds of marijuana as a Class A felony offense. Prior to the enactment of the new statute, the offense was a Class B felony. Petitioner argues that his trial counsel was ineffective in setting out the range of punishment for the offense charged. Consequently, Petitioner argues, he entered a guilty plea to Class A felony, rather than a Class B felony, and his sentence exceeds the maximum sentence available for a Range II offender of a Class B felony. We conclude that Petitioner received the effective assistance of counsel and that his pleas were entered voluntarily and intelligently. The judgment of the post-conviction court is affirmed. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Sammie Netters
Defendant, Sammie Netters, was convicted by a jury of aggravated robbery, and the trial judge sentenced him to twenty years incarceration as a Range II multiple offender. In this appeal, defendant contends that: (1) the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction; (2) the trial court erred by denying defendant's motion to suppress his confession; and (3) the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury on the lesser-included offenses of robbery and theft. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Lewis V. Hill v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Lewis V. Hill, appeals the Shelby County Criminal Court's denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, claiming that the trial court erred by determining that he filed his petition outside the statute of limitations. He contends that his petition was not time-barred because it was filed within one year of this court's denying his motion to waive the timely filing of a notice of appeal. We affirm the trial court's dismissal of the petition. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jeffery Connor
A Shelby County Criminal Court jury convicted the defendant, Jeffery Connor, of aggravated rape, a Class A felony, and the trial court sentenced him as a Range I, violent offender to twenty-four years in confinement. The defendant appeals, claiming that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction and that the trial court improperly enhanced his sentence. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Roger Dale Quillen
The appellant, Roger Dale Quillen, was convicted by a jury in the Criminal Court of Sullivan County of aggravated burglary, felony murder, premeditated first degree murder, and simple assault. The trial court merged the murder convictions and sentenced the appellant to an effective sentence of life imprisonment. On appeal, the appellant asserts that he established the affirmative defense of insanity by clear and convincing evidence and, therefore, he should have been found not guilty by reason of insanity. After a careful review of the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Michael J. Young
The defendant pled guilty to two counts of sexual battery by an authority figure and two counts of statutory rape. He received agreed sentences totaling five years. The defendant sought alternative sentencing from the trial court, which was denied. In this appeal, the defendant argues the trial court improperly denied alternative sentencing. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Rutherford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Frankie Donald Releford
The defendant, Frankie Donald Releford, brings this direct appeal of his convictions for possession of cocaine with intent to sell or deliver, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, to wit, rolling papers, and destruction of evidence. The trial court sentenced the defendant to serve an aggregate eleven-year sentence. In this appeal, the defendant alleges (1) that the trial court erroneously denied his motion to suppress drugs and drug paraphernalia seized in a search incident to his arrest, (2) that the trial court erroneously allowed a witness to testify regarding the results of two spectrophotometer tests without sufficiently establishing the reliability of those instruments, (3) that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions, (4) that the trial court erred by refusing to grant his motion for new trial on the basis of newly discovered evidence, and (5) that the trial court improperly sentenced him. After reviewing the record and applicable case law, we find that none of the defendant's allegations merit relief and therefore affirm the judgment of conviction. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Randy Ray and Bobby Pryor
The defendants, Bobby Pryor and his son-in-law, Randy Ray, were indicted by a Marion County Grand Jury for one count of aggravated assault and one count of vandalism over $1000 based on a November 8, 1999, altercation with the victim, Randy Hutchins. A third count of the indictment charged Pryor with another aggravated assault against the same victim, based on a separate incident on November 8, 1999, in which Ray was not involved. At the conclusion of the defendants' joint trial, Pryor was found guilty of assault, a Class A misdemeanor, in count one; vandalism over $1000, a Class D felony, in count two; and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, a Class E felony, in count three. Ray was found guilty of reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, a Class E felony, in count one; and vandalism of $500 or less, a Class A misdemeanor, in count two. Following the denial of their motions for new trial, both defendants filed timely appeals to this court. However, during the pendency of the appeal, Pryor's counsel filed a suggestion of Pryor's death, followed by a copy of his death certificate. Consequently, on May 1, 2002, this court entered an order declaring that the criminal proceedings against Pryor were abated by his death, leaving only Ray's appeal to continue. Ray raises four issues for our review: (1) whether he was denied a fair trial by the victim's allegedly having tampered with the jury; (2) whether he was denied his right to an impartial trial judge; (3) whether the evidence was sufficient to support his conviction for vandalism; and (4) whether count one of the indictment was fatally defective. Based on our review of the record and of applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Marion | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Courtney Anderson
The defendant appeals his resentencing of 162 years, 11months and 29 days, as excessive. The defendant failed to provide this Court with transcripts of the sentencing hearing, the presentence report, or the guilty plea submission hearing. Therefore, the record is insufficient and incomplete for our review. We affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Kevin Jones
A Shelby County Criminal Court jury convicted the defendant, Kevin Jones, of aggravated child abuse, a Class A felony, and the trial court sentenced him as a Range I, violent offender to twenty years in confinement. The defendant appeals, claiming (1) that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction; (2) that the trial court erred by failing to grant his request for a mistrial when a police officer testified that the defendant refused to give a statement to the police; (3) that the trial court should have ordered a mistrial when the state failed to provide him with Jencks material; and (4) that his sentence is excessive. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Kevin Jones
A Shelby County Criminal Court jury convicted the defendant, Kevin Jones, of aggravated child abuse, a Class A felony, and the trial court sentenced him as a Range I, violent offender to twenty years in confinement. The defendant appeals, claiming (1) that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction; (2) that the trial court erred by failing to grant his request for a mistrial when a police officer testified that the defendant refused to give a statement to the police; (3) that the trial court should have ordered a mistrial when the state failed to provide him with Jencks material; and (4) that his sentence is excessive. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Patrick Wingate v. State of Tennessee
Patrick Wingate appeals the Bedford County Circuit Court's summary dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief. He is serving sentences of life and 25 years in the Department of Correction as a result of his 1998 convictions of first-degree murder and arson. This court affirmed the convictions. See State v. Patrick Wingate, No. M1999-00624-CCA-R3-CD (Tenn. Crim. App., Nashville, May 25, 2000), perm. app. denied (Tenn. 2000). Wingate's post-conviction petition challenged (1) the effectiveness of his trial counsel's assistance and (2) the sufficiency of the convicting evidence. On April 30, 2001, the post-conviction court entered an order dismissing the petition on grounds that it contained mere conclusions of law and bare, unsupported factual allegations. Because we agree that the post-conviction petition was properly dismissed, we affirm. |
Bedford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jeremy Kyle Massey v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Jeremy Kyle Massey, appeals the Lawrence County Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. He challenges his conviction pursuant to a plea agreement with the state and contends that he received ineffective assistance of counsel and that his guilty plea was |
Lawrence | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Robert S. Lutrick
After a Giles County Circuit Court jury convicted the defendant, Robert S. Lutrick, of aggravated assault, a Class C felony, he applied to the court for an order of diversion. The trial court denied the request and sentenced the defendant to the minimum Range I sentence of three years, to be served on probation. The defendant now appeals the denial of judicial diversion. Upon review, we affirm. |
Giles | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Rufus Steven Johns
The Defendant, Rufus Steven Johns, entered a nolo contendere plea to illegally registering to vote, a class E felony. After a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced the Defendant as a Range I standard offender to eighteen months to be served on probation. In this appeal as of right, he raises three issues: (1) whether the district attorney general abused his discretion by denying the Defendant pretrial diversion, (2) whether the trial court abused its discretion by refusing to grant judicial diversion, and (3) whether the trial court imposed an excessive sentence. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Rutherford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Chester Floyd Cole
The defendant appeals his conviction and sentence for rape of a child alleging insufficient evidence and excessive punishment. The trial court failed to apply pre-July 1995 sentencing guidelines for this April 1995 crime, and the trial court erred in applying one enhancement factor. After careful review, we affirm the conviction and remand for a new sentence. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Eric D. Wallace v. Warden, James M. Dukes
In 1995, petitioner was convicted of first degree murder and attempted first degree murder and sentenced to consecutive sentences of life and fifteen years, respectively. Petitioner now files for habeas corpus relief, alleging he was convicted based on defective indictments. The trial court summarily dismissed petitioner's claim. We affirm the trial court's dismissal. |
Lauderdale | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Ervin Lee Hayes v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner was indicted for two counts of attempted first degree murder. Following a jury trial, the Petitioner was convicted of both counts of attempted first degree murder. The trial court sentenced the Petitioner as a Range II, multiple offender to thirty-five years for each count and ordered that the sentences be served consecutively. The Defendant appealed, and this Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court. The Tennessee Supreme Court denied permission to appeal. The Petitioner then filed a pro se motion for post-conviction relief. The trial court found that the Petitioner failed to state any grounds for which relief could be granted and ordered that the Petitioner respond within fifteen days. Receiving no response, the trial court dismissed the petition. Eventually, with permission from the trial court based on extenuating circumstances, the Petitioner filed an amended pro se petition, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. Following an evidentiary hearing, the trial court denied the petition. The Petitioner now appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. Finding no error, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Ricky E. Pullen
The defendant, Ricky E. Pullen, was indicted by a Rutherford County Grand Jury on one count of rape of a child and one count of aggravated sexual battery. After a jury trial, the defendant was convicted of aggravated sexual battery and acquitted of child rape. The trial court sentenced him as a violent offender to eight years in the Department of Correction. Only one issue is raised on appeal: whether the evidence was sufficient to convict the defendant of aggravated sexual battery. We conclude that the evidence was sufficient and affirm the conviction. |
Rutherford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Terry David Stephens v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner was convicted in 1996 of aggravated rape and sentenced to confinement for twenty years as a Range I, standard offender. The conviction was affirmed on direct appeal and, subsequently, he filed a timely petition for post-conviction relief. The post-conviction court dismissed the petition following a hearing, and the petitioner timely appealed, alleging that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to convey settlement offers and to request jury instructions as to lesser-included offenses. The post-conviction court dismissed the petition following a hearing, and we affirm that dismissal. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals |
