State of Tennessee v. Charles Sharp
The Shelby County Grand Jury indicted Appellant, Charles Sharp, for one count of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, four counts of rape, one count of sexual battery by an authority figure, and one count of vandalism. An initial trial resulted in an acquittal for all charges except the especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor. At the second trial, a key witness was unavailable. Over the objection of Appellant, her redacted testimony from the first trial was read to the jury and presented as evidence. The jury convicted Appellant as charged. He was sentenced to nine years as a Range I, standard offender. On appeal, Appellant argues that his constitutional right of confrontation was violated by the State’s presentation of the previous testimony of this witness, that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction, that the trial court erred in sentencing Appellant to nine years as a Range I, standard offender, and that the trial court erred in denying probation. After a thorough review of the record, we have determined that the evidence is sufficient to sustain the verdict and that Appellant was properly sentenced. The State’s failure to adequately prove that it had made a good faith effort to locate the missing witness’ testimony from Appellant’s first trial violated Appellant’s constitutional right to confront the witness. Therefore, this case is reversed and remanded for a new trial. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Michael Bills v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Michael Bills, appeals from the Madison County Circuit Court’s denial of post-conviction relief from his conviction for possession with the intent to sell one-half gram or more of cocaine, a Class B felony. In his appeal, the Petitioner argues that he received ineffective assistance of counsel because trial counsel (1) failed to call two witnesses to testify at trial and (2) failed to properly prepare a defense. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Andrew Deon Harville
The Defendant-Appellant, Andrew Deon Harville, was convicted by a Tipton County jury of first degree premeditated murder and evading arrest in a motor vehicle, a Class E felony. He received a life sentence as a violent offender for first degree murder, and he was sentenced as a standard offender to two years for evading arrest. The trial court ordered that the two-year sentence be served consecutive to the life sentence. On appeal, Harville claims his conviction for first degree murder was not supported by sufficient evidence of premeditation. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Tipton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Bradley Hawks
The Defendant-Appellant, Bradley Hawks, pled guilty in the Circuit Court of Crockett County to possession of less than .5 grams of methamphetamine with intent to sell or deliver, a Class C felony. He was sentenced to eight years in the Tennessee Department of Correction and fined $2,000. Pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 37, Hawks attempted to reserve the following certified question of law: “Whether the search and arrest of the defendant was unconstitutional in violation of Article I, Section 7 of the [Tennessee] Constitution and the 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.” Because the certified question fails to identify the scope and limits of the legal issue reserved, we conclude that we are without jurisdiction to consider this appeal, and therefore it is dismissed. |
Crockett | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Robert Dale Jarvis
The Lincoln County Grand Jury indicted Appellant, Robert Dale Jarvis, for a total of twenty-one counts including aggravated burglary, theft over $500, theft over $1,000, and vandalism. Appellant pled guilty to two counts of theft over $500 and five counts of theft over $1,000. As a result of the guilty plea, the trial court imposed an effective sentence of twelve years to be served as a career offender at sixty percent. At the guilty plea hearing, the parties discussed the reservation of a certified question upon which Appellant wanted to appeal. On appeal, after a thorough review of the record, we conclude that Appellant has not properly preserved the certified question of law. Therefore, we must dismiss this appeal for want of jurisdiction. |
Lincoln | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Sheila Marie Lott
The Bedford County Grand Jury indicted Appellant, Sheila Lott, for eight counts of criminal simulation, one count of theft over $1,000, and one count of fraudulent use of credit/debit card. Appellant pled guilty to all charges as set out in the indictments. The trial court sentenced Appellant as a Range II, multiple offender to an effective sentence of eighteen years and six months. On appeal, Appellant argues that the trial court erred in setting the length of her sentences within the range and in imposing consecutive sentences. After a thorough review of the record, we conclude that the trial court correctly applied enhancement and mitigating factors and that Appellant has waived her issue regarding the imposition of consecutive sentences for failure to include an argument or cite to authority in her brief. Therefore, the judgments of the trial court are affirmed. |
Bedford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Mitchell Garner
The Appellant-Defendant, Mitchell Garner, was convicted by a Shelby County jury of aggravated sexual battery, a Class B felony. The trial court sentenced Garner as a violent offender to the maximum sentence of twelve years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, he claims: (1) the insufficiency of the evidence; and (2) the trial court erred in imposing the maximum sentence because it misapplied two enhancement factors. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Rudolph Powers v. State of Tennessee
A Shelby County Criminal Court jury convicted the Petitioner, Rudolph Powers, of aggravated rape and robbery accomplished with a deadly weapon against the victims Vivian Brodie and Carol Boone, and the Petitioner was sentenced to life imprisonment and twentyfive years respectively, which were to be served concurrently. A few months later, another Shelby County Criminal Court jury convicted the Petitioner of aggravated rape against victim Kris Brewer, and the trial court sentenced him to fifty years of imprisonment. The Petitioner was ordered to serve his fifty-year sentence consecutively to his concurrent sentences of life imprisonment and twenty-five years. Following a direct appeal and several collateral appeals, which were unsuccessful, the Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction DNA analysis, which the post-conviction court denied. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that the post-conviction court erred in denying his petition for post-conviction DNA analysis. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Willie Hall
The defendant, Willie Hall, was convicted by a Shelby County jury of assault, a Class A misdemeanor, and was sentenced to eleven months, twenty-nine days in jail and assessed a $500 fine. On appeal, he argues that: (1) the trial court erred in denying his motion in limine to exclude the 911 tape; (2) the trial court gave improper jury instructions on self-defense and flight; (3) the evidence is insufficient to sustain his conviction; and (4) the trial court imposed an excessive sentence. After review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court and remand for entry of a corrected judgment to reflect that the defendant is to serve sixty percent of his sentence. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
John Carroll Cook v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, John Carroll Cook, pled guilty in the Madison County Circuit Court to rape of a child and aggravated sexual battery. He received a total effective sentence of twentyfive years to be served at one hundred percent. Subsequently, the Petitioner filed for postconviction relief, alleging that his trial counsel was ineffective and that his guilty pleas were not knowingly and voluntarily entered. The post-conviction court denied relief, and the Petitioner appeals. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Sheila White Carlton
The Defendant-Appellant, Sheila White Carlton, was indicted for one count of burglary of an automobile, a Class E felony; one count of assault, a Class A misdemeanor; and one count of theft of property valued at $500 or less, a Class A misdemeanor. A Gibson County Circuit Court jury subsequently acquitted Carlton of the burglary count, found her guilty of the theft count, and failed to reach a verdict on the assault count, which resulted in a mistrial on that |
Gibson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Yolanda D. Barefield v. State of Tennessee
The pro se petitioner, Yolanda D. Barefield, appeals the summary dismissal of her petition for post-conviction relief. On appeal, she alleges that she entered an involuntary guilty plea due to the ineffective assistance of counsel. After careful review, we remand to the trial court for appointment of counsel and a hearing regarding the issue of whether the petitioner received ineffective assistance of counsel with regard to her guilty plea to felony escape. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Michael Hoover v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Michael Hoover, appeals the post-conviction court’s dismissal of his postconviction petition in which Petitioner alleged that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance of counsel in connection with the entry of his plea of guilty, and that his guilty plea was not voluntarily or knowingly entered. After a thorough review we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Tipton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Christopher J. Johnson
Appellant Christopher J. Johnson pled guilty to selling marijuana and especially aggravated burglary. He was given an effective sentence of 8 years, suspended and to be served on probation. He was then charged with violating the terms of his probation. After an evidentiary hearing, the trial court revoked his probation and ordered that the sentences be served in confinement. He appeals, arguing that revoking his probation in full was excessive. Upon review, we affirm. |
Dickson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Robert Lee Archibald, Jr.
The Defendant, Robert Lee Archibald, Jr., was charged with one count of possession with intent to sell or deliver twenty-six grams or more of cocaine within 1000 feet of a school, one count of possession of drug paraphernalia, and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. He filed a motion to suppress the evidence against him, arguing that the search warrant authorizing the search was defective. The Davidson County Criminal Court granted his motion. The State now appeals that grant. After our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Demetrius L. Lancaster v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Demetrius L. Lancaster, pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to sell within 1,000 feet of a school zone, being a convicted felon in possession of a weapon, and sale of .5 grams or more of cocaine. He received an effective fourteen-year sentence, as a Range I, standard offender for these convictions, which sentence was to be served consecutively to a prior seventeen-year sentence. The Petitioner then filed a timely petition for post-conviction relief. The post-conviction court held an evidentiary hearing on the petition and subsequently entered an order denying relief. The Petitioner appeals. Because the record on appeal does not include a transcript of the evidentiary hearing in the post-conviction court, we conclude that the Petitioner has waived the issues argued on appeal. We must presume that the post-conviction court correctly denied post-conviction relief and, therefore, the judgment of the post-conviction court is affirmed. |
Giles | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Christopher Cannon v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Christopher Cannon, appeals the Madison County Circuit Court’s denial of post-conviction relief from his open guilty pleas to aggravated burglary and aggravated assault which resulted in two twelve-year sentences to be served consecutively. He claims trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance in failing to advise him that he could potentially avoid his two consecutive twelve-year sentences by exercising his right to a jury trial. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Antonio Kendrick v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Antonio Kendrick, appeals the Criminal Court of Shelby County’s dismissal of his petition for habeas corpus relief. The State has filed a motion requesting that this court dismiss the petitioner’s appeal or, in the alternative, affirm the trial court’s order pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Following our review, we grant the State’s motion and affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. David F. Henning
The defendant, David Franklin Henning, was convicted by a Dyer County jury of simple possession of cocaine, a Class A misdemeanor, and tampering with evidence, a Class C felony. He was subsequently sentenced as a career offender to concurrent sentences of eleven months and twenty-nine days and fifteen years. On appeal, he raises two issues for our review: (1) whether the evidence was sufficient to support his conviction for tampering with evidence; and (2) whether he was inappropriately sentenced as a career offender. Following review of the record, we find no error and affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Dyer | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Justin Michael Scott
The appellant, Justin Michael Scott, pled guilty in the Knox County Criminal Court to vehicular assault and driving on a revoked license. He received a total effective sentence of three years, to be suspended after service of six months in the Knox County Jail. On appeal, the appellant challenges the trial court’s failure to grant a sentence of full probation. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Arthur Stamey, III v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Arthur W. Stamey, III, appeals the dismissal of his petition for writ of error coram nobis. In this appeal, he contends that the coram nobis court erred by permitting two witnesses to testify for the State and by concluding that those witnesses were more credible than the petitioner. He also claims that the court erred by concluding that a letter of recantation written by the victim did not constitute newly discovered evidence. Discerning no error, we affirm the judgment of the coram nobis court. |
Bradley | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Nathaniel Richardson
Appellant, Nathaniel Richardson, pled guilty to second degree murder in Shelby County and received a twenty-year sentence. At the guilty plea hearing, Appellant reserved the following certified questions of law for appeal pursuant to Rule 37(b)(2) of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure: |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jonathan Ransom
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Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Leah Joy Ward v. State of Tennessee
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Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Michael Hugo Brooks
The defendant, Michael Hugo Brooks, was convicted by a Hardin County jury of DUI, third offense, and was sentenced by the trial court to 11 months, 29 days, with 120 days to serve in the county jail followed by probation. The sole issue the defendant raises in this appeal is whether the trial court committed plain error by denying his motion to suppress. Based on our review, we conclude that he has not shown the existence of plain error in the trial court’s ruling. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Hardin | Court of Criminal Appeals |
