COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OPINIONS

State of Tennessee v. Monty Blackwell
E2009-00043-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge D. Kelly Thomas, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Richard R. Vance

Following the warrantless search of his residence and adjoining property, the Defendant, Monty Blackwell, was charged by presentment from the Grainger County grand jury with manufacture of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia related to the manufacture of marijuana, possession of marijuana with the intent to sell or deliver, theft of property valued at over one thousand dollars, and theft of property valued at over five hundred dollars. The Defendant filed a motion to suppress all evidence seized as a result of the warrantless entry onto his property. Following an evidentiary hearing, the trial court granted the motion and suppressed the evidence. In this appeal as of right, the State contends that the trial court erred in granting the motion to suppress. Following our review, we affirm the judgment ofthe trial court.

Grainger Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Kristen A. Wilson
M2008-01243-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Trial Court Judge: Judge Monte D. Watkins

Defendant, Kristen A. Wilson, entered a plea of guilty to driving under the influence per se. Defendant was sentenced to eleven months, twenty-nine days, which sentence was suspended after service of forty-eight hours in confinement. As part of the negotiated plea agreement, the parties purported to reserve a certified question of law pursuant to Rule 37(b)(2)(I) of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure. After review, we conclude that Defendant has failed to comply with the strict requirements of Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 37(b)(2) and dismiss the appeal.

Davidson Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Kevin McDougle
W2007-02344-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Trial Court Judge: Judge W. Mark Ward

Following a jury trial, Defendant, Kevin McDougle, was convicted of aggravated robbery, a Class B felony, in case no. 06-04210. The trial court sentenced Defendant as a Range I, standard offender, to twelve years. The trial court ordered Defendant to serve his sentence in case no. 06-04210 consecutively to his effective sentence of thirty-two years in case nos. 06-04209 and 07-01739, for an effective sentence of forty-four years. On appeal, Defendant argues that (1) the prosecutor committed prosecutorial misconduct during the crossexamination of a witness for the defense; (2) the trial court erred in imposing consecutive sentencing; and (3) the imposition of consecutive sentencing violates his Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial. After a thorough review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Edgar Allgood
W2008-00870-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Trial Court Judge: Judge Carolyn Wade Blackett

Defendant, Edgar Allgood, was indicted in count one of the indictment for possession of more than 0.5 grams of cocaine with intent to sell and in count two for possession of more than 0.5 grams of cocaine with intent to deliver. Following a jury trial, Defendant was found not guilty of the charged offenses. The jury found Defendant guilty in count one of the indictment of the lesser included offense of facilitation of possession of more than 0.5 grams of cocaine with intent to sell, a Class C felony, and in count two of the lesser included offense of facilitation of attempted possession of more than 0.5 grams of cocaine with intent to deliver, a Class D felony. The trial court sentenced Defendant as a Range III, persistent offender, to concurrent sentences of twelve years for each conviction, for an effective sentence of twelve years. On appeal, Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the convicting evidence and the trial court’s sentencing determinations. After a thorough review, we conclude as plain error that Defendant’s dual convictions violate double jeopardy principles. Accordingly, we merge Defendant’s conviction of facilitation of attempted possession of cocaine with intent to deliver into his conviction of facilitation of possession of cocaine with intent to sell. We affirm the trial court’s judgment as to Defendant’s conviction of facilitation of possession of cocaine with intent to sell and his sentence of twelve years. We remand solely for the correction and entry of an appropriate judgment consistent with this opinion.

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

Jason Lee White A/K/A/ Jason Broadnax v. State of Tennessee
M2009-01048-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Jerry L. Smith
Trial Court Judge: Judge Michael R. Jones

Petitioner, Jason Lee White, appeals the post-conviction court's dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief. Petitioner pled guilty in September of 1996 to two counts of aggravated robbery and one count of attempted aggravated robbery. As a result, he was sentenced to an effective sentence of twenty-three and one-half years. On May 19, 2008, Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief. Petitioner filed a supplemental petition for post-conviction relief on September 8, 2008. The post-conviction court dismissed the petition on September 24, 2008, holding that "Blakely violations do not apply retroactively to cases on collateral appeal." Petitioner then filed a "Motion/petition to Vacate Final Order and Judgment" on April 20, 2009, and a notice of appeal on May 11, 2009. We determine that the petition for post-conviction relief was properly dismissed because it was time-barred and Petitioner failed to show that the statute of limitations should be tolled. Accordingly, the judgment of the post-conviction court is affirmed.

Montgomery Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Lia Bonds
W2008-02066-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Trial Court Judge: Judge W. Mark Ward

Following a jury trial, Defendant, Lia Bonds, was convicted of second degree murder, and the trial court sentenced her as a Range I, standard offender, to twenty years. Defendant’s conviction was affirmed on appeal. State v. Lia Bonds, No. W2006-01943-CCA-R3-CD, 2007 WL 3254711 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Jackson, Nov. 2, 2007). This Court, however, vacated Defendant’s sentence because she was improperly sentenced under the 2005 amendments to the 1989 Sentencing Act. On remand, Defendant waived her ex post facto rights to be sentenced under the 1989 Sentencing Act, and the trial court sentenced Defendant under the 2005 amendments to twenty years. On appeal, Defendant argues that the trial court erred in determining the length of her sentence. After a thorough review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Gerald Eugene Rogers
W2008-02651-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Trial Court Judge: Judge J. Weber Mccraw

Following a jury trial, Defendant was found not guilty of violating the open container law, a Class C misdemeanor, and was found guilty of driving under the influence (seventh offense), a Class E felony. The trial court found that Defendant violated the implied consent law and revoked his driver’s license for one year. The trial court sentenced Defendant as a Range I, standard offender, to two years to be served on probation after serving one hundred and sixty days in confinement. On appeal, Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the convicting evidence. Specifically, Defendant argues that the evidence was insufficient to support a finding that he was driving on a public road at the time of the incident or a finding that he was driving under the influence of alcohol. After a thorough review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Fayette Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Larry Edward Moore, Jr.
M2008-00703-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Trial Court Judge: Judge Monte Watkins

Following a jury trial, Defendant, Larry Edward Moore, Jr., was convicted of carjacking, a Class B felony. The trial court sentenced Defendant as a Range III, career offender, to thirty years. On appeal, Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the convicting evidence and also argues that the trial court erred (1) in not redacting certain statements from Defendant’s statement to the police which was introduced as an exhibit at trial; (2) in limiting Defendant’s cross-examination of the victim about her use of drugs and whether she had received any compensation from the Victim’s Compensation Fund; and (3) in denying Defendant’s motion for a mistrial. After a thorough review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Davidson Court of Criminal Appeals

Dennis Jarrett v. State of Tennessee
W2008-01644-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge John Everett Williams
Trial Court Judge: Judge Donald H. Allen

The petitioner, Dennis Jarrett, proceeding pro se, appeals the Madison County Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. In two separate cases, the petitioner was convicted of two counts of driving after being declared a habitual motor vehicle offender, felony reckless endangerment, felony evading arrest, possession of drug paraphernalia, violation of the implied consent law, failure to appear, and violation of the open container law. On appeal, he contends that the post-conviction court erred in denying relief. Specifically, he contends that he was denied his right to the effective assistance of counsel based upon: (1) trial counsel’s failure to properly challenge that the traffic stop was based on reasonable suspicion in Case No. C07-351; (2) trial counsel’s failure to object to inadmissible hearsay in Case No. 07-385; (2) the judge’s application of enhancement factors not found by the jury; and (3) the cumulative effect of trial counsel’s errors. Following review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Madison Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Maurice Jones
W2008-01877-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge John Everett Williams
Trial Court Judge: Judge Paula L. Skahan

The defendant, Maurice Jones, entered an open plea agreement to one count of Class E felony sexual battery in the Shelby County Criminal Court. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court imposed a sentence of two years, all suspended to probation but sixty days to be served in the county workhouse. As a special condition of his probationary sentence, the trial court ordered that the defendant is not allowed unsupervised contact with any minor child under eighteen years of age, including his own children. On appeal, the defendant asserts that the trial court exceeded its authority in denying him unsupervised contact with his minor children. Following review of the record, we conclude that the special condition is overbroad as written. Accordingly, the case the remanded to the trial court for imposition of a more defined and less limiting condition.

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Ricky Lee Hatchel
W2008-01030-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Camille R. McMullen
Trial Court Judge: Judge Joseph H. Walker, III

The Defendant-Appellant, Ricky Lee Hatchel, was convicted by a Tipton County jury of aggravated assault, a Class C felony and originally sentenced to three years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. The jury also imposed a $10,000 fine, which was reduced by the trial court to $5,000. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court subsequently found that Hatchel qualified for alternate sentencing, and ordered Hatchel to complete one year of community corrections before being transferred to supervised probation. In this appeal, Hatchel claims: (1) the insufficiency of the evidence; and (2) the trial court erred by allowing the State to introduce photographs of the victim’s injuries. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Tipton Court of Criminal Appeals

Courtney Anderson v. State of Tennessee
W2008-02814-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Camille R. McMullen
Trial Court Judge: Judge Carolyn Wade Blackett

The Petitioner, Courtney Anderson, appeals the Shelby County Criminal Court’s denial of post-conviction relief, contending that he received ineffective assistance of counsel based on counsel’s failure to include a copy of the presentence report, a transcript of the plea submission hearing, and a transcript of the sentencing hearing in the record on appeal. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Dana Webb
W2008-02815-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Alan E. Glenn
Trial Court Judge: Judge Carolyn Wade Blackett

The defendant, Dana Webb, appeals the denial of her request for judicial diversion, arguing that the trial court abused its discretion by focusing on the need for deterrence while not considering factors in favor of diversion. Following our review, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and grant judicial diversion. The matter is remanded to the trial court for the imposition of conditions of the probationary term.

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. George Chisholm
E2008-02670-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge D. Kelly Thomas, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Carroll L. Ross

The Defendant, George Chisholm, pled guilty in the Bradley County Criminal Court to driving under the influence, eighth offense, a Class E felony, and to two counts of vehicular assault, Class D felonies. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to two years for the DUI to be served consecutively to concurrent four-year sentences for the vehicular assault counts, for a total effective sentence of six years incarceration. In this appeal as of right, the Defendant contends that the trial court should have granted some form of alternative sentence in consideration of the condition of his health. Following our review, we affirm the denial of alternative sentencing, but we remand for the correction of the judgments.

Bradley Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Willie Price
W2009-00083-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Alan E. Glenn
Trial Court Judge: Judge Chris B. Craft

The defendant, Willie Price, was convicted by a Shelby County jury of aggravated rape, a Class A felony, two counts of aggravated burglary, a Class C felony, and robbery, a Class C felony, and was sentenced by the trial court as a Range II offender to an effective sentence of sixty years in the Department of Correction. On appeal, he challenges the sufficiency of the convicting evidence and argues that the trial court erred by ruling that the State could impeach his testimony with his prior burglary and theft convictions, consolidating his indictments for trial, admitting his statements to police, and enhancing his sentences and ordering that they be served consecutively. Having reviewed the record and found no error, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

Szumanski Stroud v. State of Tennessee
W2009-01641-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Alan E. Glenn
Trial Court Judge: Judge John T. Fowlkes, Jr.

The petitioner, Szumanski Stroud, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, arguing that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by not properly cross-examining the victim about his identification of the petitioner. Following our review, we affirm the denial of the petition for post-conviction relief.

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Darryl Keith Robinson
W2008-02069-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge David H. Welles
Trial Court Judge: Judge Joseph B. Dailey

The Defendant, Darryl Keith Robinson, was indicted for one count of felony murder and one count of premeditated first degree murder. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-202. He was also charged with one count of theft of property valued at greater than $10,000 but less than $60,000, a Class C felony. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-105(4). Following a jury trial, he was found guilty as charged of theft, and convicted of one count of second degree murder, a Class A felony. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-210(c). He was sentenced as a Range I, standard offender to consecutive sentences of twenty-five years for second degree murder and six years for theft of property, for a total effective sentence of thirty-one years in the Department of Correction. In this direct appeal, he contends that:(1) the trial court erred by excluding evidence that the victim filed for orders of protection against another individual; (2) the trial court erred by allowing testimony that the Defendant had a criminal history; (3) the trial court erred by allowing testimony regarding a conversation between the victim and the Defendant; (4) the State presented evidence insufficient to convict him of either second degree murder or theft of property valued at greater than $10,000 but less than $60,000; and (5) the trial court erred in setting the length of the Defendant’s sentence. After our review, we affirm the Defendant’s conviction for second degree murder. We vacate the twenty-five year sentence imposed for the second degree murder conviction. We modify the conviction for Class C felony theft to a conviction for Class A misdemeanor theft. We remand this case to the trial court for resentencing.

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v Michael Edwards
M2009-01208-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge David H. Welles
Trial Court Judge: Judge W. Charles Lee

On December 16, 2008, after pleading guilty to two counts of sale of marijuana and one count of aggravated assault, the Defendant, Michael Edwards, was sentenced to four years in the Department of Correction, all but 120 days of which was ordered to be served on probation. The trial court issued probation violation warrants for the Defendant on March 13 and April 14, 2009. Following an evidentiary hearing on April 23, 2009, the Coffee County Circuit Court revoked his probation. In this appeal, the Defendant contends that his probation was revoked in error. After our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Coffee Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Barbara Jean Totty
M2009-01149-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Trial Court Judge: Judge Jeffrey S. Bivins

The Appellant was convicted in the Hickman County Circuit Court of driving under the influence. She was sentenced to 11 months and 29 days, to be served on probation. She appeals, asserting she received ineffective assistance of counsel. Because both her brief and the record she provided are inadequate under our rules, we affirm.

Hickman Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Cortino Harris
W2009-00457-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Alan E. Glenn
Trial Court Judge: Judge Donald H. Allen

The defendant, Cortino Harris, was convicted by a Madison County Circuit Court jury of possession of marijuana with intent to sell and possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, Class E felonies, and evading arrest, a Class A misdemeanor. The court merged the felony drug convictions and sentenced the defendant as a Range II multiple offender to four years in the Department of Correction. The court sentenced the defendant to eleven months, twenty-nine days on the misdemeanor conviction, to be served consecutively to the felony sentence. On appeal, the defendant challenges the sufficiency of the convicting evidence and the trial court’s imposition of consecutive sentences. After review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Madison Court of Criminal Appeals

James Carr v. State of Tennessee
W2009-00683-CCA-R3-CO
Authoring Judge: Judge John Everett Williams
Trial Court Judge: Judge W. Otis Higgs, Jr.

The petitioner, James Carr, appeals the dismissal of his petition for writ of error coram nobis. He was convicted on November 4, 1984, of aggravated rape and sentenced to life imprisonment as a Range II offender. The trial court ruled the petition should be dismissed because it did not set out any newly discovered evidence and contained no exception to the one-year statute of limitations. On appeal he argues that the dismissal was an unconstitutional denial of his right to due process. After careful review, we affirm the judgment from the trial court.

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Bethany Dawn Hunt
M2008-01983-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Trial Court Judge: Judge Robert G. Crigler

Appellant, Bethany Dawn Hunt, was convicted on her open guilty plea to a Marshall County Grand Jury indictment for burglary, illegal possession of a debit card, and two counts of theft of property valued at less than $500. The trial court merged the theft convictions and imposed an effective sentence of three years and three months in confinement. Appellant appeals, asserting the sentence is excessive and contrary to law. We affirm.

Marshall Court of Criminal Appeals

Dexter Johnson v. Howard Carlton, Warden
E2008-02032-CCA-R3-HC
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Trial Court Judge: Judge Lynn W. Brown

The petitioner, Dexter Johnson, filed a petition in the Johnson County Criminal Court seeking habeas corpus relief from his multiple felony convictions. The petitioner argued that because the trial court failed to enumerate enhancing and mitigating factors on the record and because the judgments of conviction fail to specify whether his sentences are to be served concurrently or consecutively, his convictions and sentences are therefore void. The habeas corpus court dismissed the petition, and the petitioner appeals. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the habeas corpus court.

Johnson Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Agatha Rannah Hodge
M2009-00751-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Trial Court Judge: Judge Robert G. Crigler

Appellant Agatha Rannah Hodge was charged with fifty counts of theft and one count of burglary. She pled guilty to one count of theft of property valued between $1,000 and $10,000 and one count of burglary. The remaining charges were dismissed. She was sentenced to four years for the theft conviction and three years for the burglary conviction, with the sentences to run consecutively. The trial court ordered the Appellant to serve seven months in confinement, with the remainder to be served on probation. She subsequently pled guilty to violating the rules of her probation, and the trial court ordered her to serve her sentences in confinement. She appeals, arguing the revocation was excessive. We affirm.

Marshall Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Stephanie Mayfield
W2008-02534-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge John Everett Williams
Trial Court Judge: Judge Donald H. Allen

The defendant, Stephanie Mayfield, appeals the Madison County Circuit Court’s revocation of her community corrections sentence and subsequent resentencing. The defendant, in two separate cases, pled guilty to ten counts of Class D felony identity theft and received an effective four-year sentence to be served in the Community Corrections Program. A violation warrant was later issued, alleging that the defendant had violated the terms and conditions of her agreement. Following a revocation hearing, the trial court ordered revocation of the defendant’s community corrections sentence. After a sentencing hearing, the court again imposed sentences of four years for each conviction but ordered that the two sentences be served consecutively for an effective sentence of eight years. On appeal, the defendant contends that the trial court erred in ordering revocation based upon the testimony of the current case officer. The defendant further challenges the imposed sentence due to the reliance on prior criminal charges and the imposition of consecutive sentencing. Following review of the record, we find no error and affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Madison Court of Criminal Appeals