COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OPINIONS

Norman Matthews v. State of Tennessee
W2001-02895-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge David G. Hayes
Trial Court Judge: Judge Bernie Weinman

The appellant, Norman Matthews, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. In March 2000, Matthews pled guilty to burglary of a building and received an eight-year sentence. On appeal, Matthews argues that: (1) it was error for the post-conviction court to allow trial counsel to remain in the courtroom during the evidentiary hearing, despite invocation of "the rule" providing for sequestration of witnesses, and (2) he received ineffective assistance of counsel. After review, we affirm the judgment of the Shelby County Criminal Court.

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Wesley Pickett
W2001-02458-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge David G. Hayes
Trial Court Judge: Judge Joseph B. Dailey

The appellant, Wesley Pickett, appeals the verdict of a Shelby County jury finding him guilty of theft of a motor vehicle valued between one thousand and ten thousand dollars and two counts of vandalism causing damage over five hundred dollars. On appeal, Pickett raises the single issue of whether the evidence is sufficient to support his convictions. After review, we find the evidence sufficient. Accordingly, the judgment is affirmed.

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. James Dale Walker
E2002-00263-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge David H. Welles
Trial Court Judge: Judge D. Kelly Thomas, Jr.

The Defendant, James Dale Walker, pled guilty to aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, a Class C felony, and sexual exploitation of a minor, a Class E felony. Pursuant to the plea agreement, the Defendant received concurrent sentences of six years and two years, respectively, with the manner of service to be determined by the trial court. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court denied alternative sentencing and ordered the Defendant to serve his effective sentence of six years in the Department of Correction. It is from this order that the Defendant now appeals as of right. We reverse the trial court's order that the Defendant serve his sentences in total confinement and remand to the trial court for consideration of some form of alternative sentence.

Blount Court of Criminal Appeals

Michael A. Maddox v. State of Tennessee
M2002-00282-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Robert W. Wedemeyer
Trial Court Judge: Judge W. Charles Lee

The Petitioner was found guilty by a jury of five counts of sexual battery by an authority figure, a Class C felony, and two counts of aggravated sexual battery, a Class B felony. The trial court sentenced the Petitioner to an effective sixteen-year term. This Court affirmed the Petitioner's conviction and sentence on direct appeal. The Petitioner then filed a petition for post-conviction relief, which the post-conviction court denied. The Petitioner now appeals the denial of post-conviction relief, arguing that his counsel at trial was ineffective. Finding no error, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Marshall Court of Criminal Appeals

Jesse E. Rogers v. State of Tennessee
E2001-02869-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Trial Court Judge: Judge James Edward Beckner

The petitioner, Jesse E. Rogers, entered "best interest" guilty pleas to five counts of rape of a child. He was sentenced to twenty-five years incarceration in the Tennessee Department of Correction for each offense, with the sentences to be served concurrently. The petitioner subsequently filed for post-conviction relief. Following an evidentiary hearing, the post-conviction court denied relief and the petitioner timely appealed. We affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Hawkins Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Timothy Wayne Grimes
M2001-01460-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Joseph M. Tipton
Trial Court Judge: Judge Robert Burch

A Dickson County Circuit Court jury convicted the defendant, Timothy Wayne Grimes, of possession of a Schedule IV controlled substance with intent to deliver, a Class D felony, and the trial court sentenced him as a Range III, persistent offender to eight years in a community corrections program. The defendant appeals, claiming that the trial court erred by failing to instruct the jury as to the lesser included offenses of simple possession and casual exchange. We conclude that the trial court erred by failing to instruct the jury regarding simple possession of the controlled substance. Although we hold that casual exchange is not a lesser included offense of possession with intent to deliver, we also conclude that the trial court should have instructed the jury regarding the casual exchange inference provided in Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-419. We reverse the judgment of conviction and remand the case for a new trial.

Dickson Court of Criminal Appeals

Willie Joseph Lagano v. State of Tennessee
M2001-01576-CCA-R3-CO
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Trial Court Judge: Judge Seth W. Norman

Petitioner, Willie Joseph Lagano, filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the trial court. The trial court summarily dismissed the petition without an evidentiary hearing. Petitioner appealed. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Davidson Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Nelson Edward Meeks
M2001-03108-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge J. Curwood Witt, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Thomas W. Graham

Nelson Edward Meeks appeals the sentence imposed for three convictions for third offense driving under the influence, reckless driving, and driving on a revoked license. He claims that the lower court erred in (1) failing to consider the statutory sentencing principles and considerations, and (2) imposing a sentence not authorized by law. Because we disagree in both respects, we affirm.

Marion Court of Criminal Appeals

Antonio M. Miller v. State of Tennessee
M2001-01265-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge J. Curwood Witt, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge J. Steve Daniel

Antonio M. Miller appeals from the Rutherford County Circuit Court's denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. Miller is presently serving an effective nineteen-year sentence for convictions of second-degree murder, six counts of aggravated burglary, and one count of felony drug possession. He claims that two of his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance. The lower court ruled against the petitioner, and upon review of the record, we affirm that ruling.

Rutherford Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Ricky Brandon and Jimmy W. Brandon
M2002-00073-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge David G. Hayes
Trial Court Judge: Judge L. Craig Johnson

The Appellants, Ricky Brandon and Jimmy W. Brandon, were convicted by a Coffee County jury of misdemeanor assault. In this direct appeal of their convictions, the Appellants argue that they received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial and, as such, their convictions should be vacated. After review, we find no error and affirm the judgment.

Coffee Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Gregory Key
M2002-00154-CCA-R9-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Trial Court Judge: Judge James K. Clayton, Jr.

Defendant, Gregory Key, was indicted by the Rutherford County Grand Jury on two counts of aggravated sexual battery. During a hearing on several pretrial motions, defense counsel, Darrell Scarlett, advised the trial court of a joint business venture between himself and Detective Lawson, an investigating officer in the case. The court entered an Order disqualifying Defendant's attorney from further representation, finding that the relationship constituted an appearance of impropriety. Pursuant to Rule 9 of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure, Defendant appeals the trial court's disqualification of his attorney and argues that he waived any conflict or appearance of impropriety after full disclosure.

Rutherford Court of Criminal Appeals

Melvin Johnson v. State of Tennessee
W2002-00904-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Joe G. Riley
Trial Court Judge: Judge J. C. Mclin

The Shelby County Criminal Court dismissed the petition for post-conviction relief filed by the petitioner, Melvin Johnson, as untimely under the one-year statute of limitations. In this appeal, the sole issue before this court is whether the petitioner's allegation that he was housed in a therapeutic community with limited access to legal information tolls the statute of limitations. Upon review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Marquez Winters
W2001-00740-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Robert W. Wedemeyer
Trial Court Judge: Judge W. Fred Axley

The Shelby County Grand Jury indicted the Defendant for two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping and for one count of criminal attempt to commit first degree murder. The Defendant was subsequently convicted of one count of aggravated kidnapping and of one count of criminal attempt to commit first degree murder. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to consecutive maximum sentences totaling thirty-seven years. The Defendant now appeals his sentences, arguing that the trial court erred in its application of enhancement factors, that the trial court improperly imposed maximum sentences for both convictions, and that the trial court erred in ordering the sentences to be served consecutively. Although the trial court erred in its application of certain enhancement factors, we conclude that it properly considered other enhancement factors which warranted sentencing the Defendant to consecutive maximum terms. Therefore, we affirm the sentences imposed by the trial court.

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Roy L. Denton
E2001-03018-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge David H. Welles
Trial Court Judge: Judge Thomas W. Graham

The Defendant, Roy L. Denton, was convicted by a jury of DUI and public intoxication. The Defendant now appeals as of right, raising the following issues: whether the trial court should have dismissed the indictment; whether the trial court should have stayed the proceedings; whether the trial court should have suppressed evidence; whether the trial court erred in refusing to admit certain evidence proffered by the Defendant; whether the evidence is sufficient to sustain the Defendant's conviction of DUI; whether the prosecutor engaged in misconduct during trial; whether the trial court should have granted the Defendant's motions for mistrial and/or new trial; whether the Defendant received ineffective assistance of counsel; and whether the trial court erred with respect to advising the Defendant about his right to appeal. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Rhea Court of Criminal Appeals

James E. Swiggett v. State of Tennessee
E2002-00174-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge David H. Welles
Trial Court Judge: Judge James E. Beckner

The Defendant, James E. Swiggett, was convicted by a jury in 1992 of first degree premeditated murder. His conviction was affirmed on direct appeal. See State v. James Swiggett, No. 03C01-9209-CR-00312, 1994 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 766 (Knoxville, Nov. 23, 1994), perm. appeal den. (Tenn. 1995). The Defendant subsequently filed for post-conviction relief, which petition was denied by the trial court as barred by the statute of limitations. This ruling was affirmed on direct appeal. See James E. Swiggett v. State, No. 03C01-9804-CR-00161, 1999 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 422 (Knoxville, May 4, 1999), perm. appeal den. (Tenn. 1999). The Defendant then filed the instant petition for post-conviction relief, claiming grounds for tolling the statute of limitations. The trial court summarily dismissed the instant petition on the grounds that a prior petition had already been filed. This appeal followed. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Greene Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. William A. Marshall
M2001-02954-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge J. Curwood Witt, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Jane W. Wheatcraft

The defendant, William A. Marshall, appeals the Sumner County Criminal Court's revocation of his probation of a two-year sentence for sexual battery. Because we disagree with the trial court's view of whether the defendant satisfied a condition of his probation by "completing" a sexual offender treatment program, we reverse the revocation and dismiss the warrant.

Sumner Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Andre Dealto Perkins
W2001-02635-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Joe G. Riley
Trial Court Judge: Judge Julian P. Guinn

The defendant appeals his jury conviction for possession of a controlled substance with the intent to manufacture, deliver, or sell. He argues the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction. We find this issue is waived because the defendant has failed to include a trial transcript in the record. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

Henry Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Jerry Waymon Travis, aka Jerry Waymon Ray
W2001-01914-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge John Everett Williams
Trial Court Judge: Judge Julian P. Guinn

The defendant claims it was error for the trial court to sentence him to the Department of Correction for three years, then order one-year split confinement with the balance on Community Corrections. The defendant contends that a one-year split confinement sentence will require him to serve 1.2 months longer in confinement than a three-year sentence at 30% to the Department of Correction. We conclude the sentence imposed did not violate the principles of sentencing and, accordingly, affirm the judgment from the trial court as modified.

Henry Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. William Roy Gray
W2002-00460-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge David H. Welles
Trial Court Judge: Judge Donald H. Allen

Following a bench trial, the Defendant, William Roy Gray, was found guilty of possession of drug paraphernalia, a class A misdemeanor, and resisting arrest, a class B misdemeanor. He received consecutive sentences of eleven months and twenty-nine days and six months, respectively, to be served in jail. However, approximately two months later, the trial court entered an order allowing the Defendant to serve his sentences at home due to the Defendant's poor health. The court revoked this order based on the Defendant failing to comply with the conditions of his release from jail and the Defendant being arrested for theft. Moreover, the court ordered that the Defendant not be given credit for the portion of his sentences that he served at his home. In this appeal as of right, the Defendant argues that the order of the trial court denying him credit for the time he served outside of jail serves to increase his sentence and to effectively punish him twice for the same offense in violation of the double jeopardy clauses of the United States and Tennessee Constitutions. We disagree and affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Madison Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Randy Tyrone Crawford - Order
M2001-03063-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge David G. Hayes

The Appellant, Randy Tyrone Crawford, appeals from the order of the Sumner County Criminal Court revoking his probation and ordering him to serve his sentence in the Department of Correction. We affirm the judgment of the trial court pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals.

Sumner Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Rufus E. Neeley
E2001-02243-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Trial Court Judge: Judge R. Jerry Beck
Defendant, Rufus E. Neeley, was convicted of the following offenses following a jury trial: (1) unlawful possession of a prohibited weapon, to wit: a short-barreled shotgun, a Class E felony; (2) possession of a knife with a blade length exceeding four inches with intent to go armed, a Class C misdemeanor; (3) driving on a revoked driver's license, a Class B misdemeanor; and (4) operating a motor vehicle while possessing an open container of beer, a Class C misdemeanor. Defendant was sentenced to serve three years and six months as a Range II multiple offender for the felony offense, thirty days for each Class C misdemeanor, and six months for the Class B misdemeanor. All sentences were ordered to be served concurrently with each other. He was ordered to serve the felony sentence in the Department of Correction. Defendant has appealed, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence to support the convictions for unlawful possession of a prohibited weapon and possession of a knife with intent to go armed, and argues that he should have been sentenced to split-confinement rather than total incarceration. We affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Sullivan Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Thomas Dee Huskey - Order
E1999-00438-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Per Curiam
Trial Court Judge: Judge Richard R. Baumgartner

On August 23, 2002, the defendant filed a petition to rehear claiming that the opinion of this court fails to consider material facts, contains misstatements of fact, and overlooks or misapprehends case law. We disagree.

Knox Court of Criminal Appeals

Eric Boyd v. State of Tennessee
E2001-02069-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Trial Court Judge: Judge Mary Beth Leibowitz
Appellant, Eric Boyd, appeals the trial court's denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. The issues presented for review are, whether the State's promise not to offer Appellant's co-defendant a lesser sentence than Appellant, was in fact a condition of Appellant's plea agreement, and if so what relief Appellant should receive as a result of the State's breach of that condition. We hold that the State breached the conditions of its plea agreement with Appellant, thereby entitling him to post-conviction relief. We further hold that the appropriate remedy is to set aside Appellant's guilty pleas and for the original charges to be reinstated.

Knox Court of Criminal Appeals

Donnie W. Foulks v. State of Tennessee
E2002-00224-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Trial Court Judge: Judge James E. Beckner

The petitioner, Donnie W. Foulks, appeals the summary dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief. The post-conviction court, citing Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-30-202(c) (1997), determined that the petitioner had previously filed a petition for post-conviction relief and was therefore precluded from seeking relief in a second proceeding. Concluding that the post-conviction court failed to consider that the petitioner's first post-conviction petition was not resolved on the merits, we reverse the judgment of the post-conviction court and remand for further proceedings.

Greene Court of Criminal Appeals

David Andrew Jackson, Jr. v. State of Tennessee
E2001-02646-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Trial Court Judge: Judge Ray L. Jenkins

The petitioner, David Andrew Jackson, Jr., was convicted by a jury in the Criminal Court of Knox County of six counts of aggravated sexual battery, Class B felonies, and two counts of rape of a child, Class A felonies. Prior to sentencing, the petitioner also pled guilty to one pending count of aggravated sexual battery and two pending counts of rape of a child. Pursuant to the plea agreement, the petitioner received an effective sentence of twenty years incarceration in the Tennessee Department of Correction to be served at one hundred percent (100%). The petitioner timely filed for post-conviction relief, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. The post-conviction court denied his petition. On appeal, the petitioner challenges the post-conviction court's finding that the petitioner received effective assistance of counsel. After reviewing the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Knox Court of Criminal Appeals