State of Tennessee v. Scott Lee Myers
A Bradley County jury convicted the defendant, Scott Lee Myers, of second degree murder. The defendant appeals, arguing that the trial court erred by improperly qualifying two police officers as expert witnesses and that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction. Discerning no error, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Bradley | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Dennis Burnett - Concurring
I concur in the result reached by the majority; however, I depart slightly from the majority’s chosen pathway to those results. Specifically, I would hold that the issues raised on appeal were precluded by the absence of a timely motion for new trial rather than by their absence from such a motion. |
Monroe | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Frank Dodson
The defendant, Frank Dodson, entered a guilty plea in the Franklin County Circuit Court to possession of cocaine, a Class C felony. At sentencing, the trial court imposed a Range I sentence of four years to be served on probation following the service of one hundred eighty days in the Franklin County Jail. In this appeal as of right, the defendant contends that the trial court erred in denying him full probation. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Franklin | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Ronald Edward Walker v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Ronald Edward Walker, sought habeas corpus relief for his convictions for aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault, and robbery. Petitioner argued that his sentences were illegal because the trial court ordered the sentences to be served concurrently despite the fact that Petitioner was on bail for a burglary charge at the time he committed the offenses. While the petition for habeas corpus relief was pending, this Court issued an opinion in another one Petitioner’s cases. See Ronald E. Walker v. Ricky Bell, Warden, No. W2006-00644-CCA-R3-HC, 2007 WL 121730 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Jackson, Jan. 18, 2007) (“Walker I”). This Court that Petitioner’s sentences for aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault, and robbery were illegal but determined that the error was “clerical” and did “not merit habeas relief.” Id. at *4. The matter was remanded to the trial court for entry of corrected judgments. Id. The habeas corpus court in the case herein denied the petition for habeas corpus relief but granted Petitioner forty-five days to supplement the record with further documentation. Petitioner supplemented the record with additional documentation relating to his convictions. The habeas corpus court entered a “Supplemental Memorandum Opinion,” in which it determined that Petitioner was not entitled to relief because of this Court’s decision in Walker I. Petitioner now seeks an appeal of that decision. On appeal, Petitioner argues that the habeas corpus court improperly dismissed his petition and asks this Court to vacate the judgment of the trial court and remand the case for resentencing. After a review of the record, we determine that this Court has previously ruled on Petitioner’s argument and that he is not entitled to habeas corpus relief. Accordingly, the judgment of the habeas corpus court is affirmed. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Donald Knight
Appellant, Donald Knight, was indicted by the Rutherford County Grand Jury for felony murder and aggravated child abuse after the death of five-month-old T.J.1 Appellant was convicted by a jury of the lesser included offense of voluntary manslaughter and aggravated child abuse. He was sentenced as a Range I standard offender to five years at 30% for the voluntary manslaughter conviction. Appellant received a sentence of twenty years for the aggravated child abuse conviction, to be served at 100% in incarceration. The sentences were ordered to run concurrently. Appellant filed a motion for new trial that was denied by the trial court. On appeal, Appellant argues that the trial court improperly denied a continuance and that the evidence is insufficient to support the convictions. We determine that Appellant failed to show actual prejudice resulting from the denial of the continuance and that the evidence was sufficient to support the convictions. Accordingly, the judgments of the trial court are affirmed. |
Rutherford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Paul Neil Laurent v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Paul Neil Laurent, was convicted by a judge of aggravated kidnapping, attempted aggravated sexual battery, aggravated sexual battery, two counts of sexual battery by an authority figure, and one count of attempted child neglect for which he received an effective sentence of seventeen years. State v. Paul Neil Laurent, No. M2005-00289-CCA-R3-CD, 2006 WL 468700 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Nashville, Feb. 27, 2006), perm. app. denied, (Tenn. Aug. 21, 2006). Petitioner filed a timely petition for post-conviction relief in which he argues that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial. The post-conviction court dismissed the petition after a hearing. After a review of the record, we determine that Petitioner has failed to establish that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. Accordingly, the judgment of the post-conviction court is affirmed. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. John Tate
The Defendant-Appellant, John Tate (“Tate”), pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of a Schedule III controlled substance with intent to sell, a Class D felony, with the length and manner of service of the sentence to be determined by the trial court. The Madison County Circuit Court sentenced Tate as a Range I, standard offender; imposed two four-year sentences for each conviction to be served concurrently, which were suspended; and ordered him to serve six months in the Department of Correction before serving the remainder of his sentence on supervised probation. In his appeal, Tate argues the trial court erred by (1) denying judicial diversion, (2) sentencing him to the maximum in the range, and (3) denying full probation. Upon review, we reverse the trial court’s judgment regarding sentencing and remand the case for a resentencing hearing on all issues regarding the length and manner of sentence. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jeffrey D. Allen - Dissenting
I respectfully dissent from the conclusion of the majority that upholds the determination of the trial court that the defendant’s May 11, 2005, statement was admissible. While I recognize the difficulty of securing an attorney qualified to represent the defendant in this first degree felony murder case, I believe that the nearly two-month gap between his arrest and his confession to the offenses compels our concluding that the confession was inadmissible. |
Crockett | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jeffrey D. Allen
The defendant, Jeffrey D. Allen, was convicted by a Crockett County jury of first degree felony murder, criminally negligent homicide, facilitation of attempted first degree murder, and attempted especially aggravated robbery. On appeal, he argues that the sequestered jury was improperly separated and that the trial court erred by not suppressing his statement to police, ruling a witness unavailable, admitting prior bad act evidence, and allowing improper opinion evidence. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court but remand for entry of a corrected judgment form to reflect that the defendant received a life sentence for his first degree murder conviction. |
Crockett | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Oliver J. Higgins v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Oliver J. Higgins, appeals the trial court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. The State has filed a motion requesting that this Court affirm the trial court’s denial of relief pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. The petition for post-conviction relief fails as it is barred by the statute of limitations. Accordingly, we grant the State’s motion and affirm the judgment of the lower court. |
Hardin | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Halbert B. Dodd, II
The defendant, Halbert B. Dodd, II, was indicted on two counts of reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon and two counts of aggravated assault. The defendant applied for pretrial diversion and the prosecutor denied the defendant’s application. The trial court granted the defendant’s writ of certiorari and determined that the prosecutor had not abused his discretion in denying pretrial diversion. The defendant’s motion for an interlocutory appeal was granted. On appeal, the defendant asserts that the trial court erred in finding that the prosecutor had not abused his discretion in denying pretrial diversion and that the prosecutor’s abuse of discretion was evidenced by his: (1) characterization of the defendant’s past behavior as a “history of criminal behavior”; (2) failure to consider evidence which tended to show that the defendant was amenable to correction; (3) reliance on the defendant’s failure to admit guilt; and (4) failure to consider all factors favorable to diversion. Following our review of the parties’ briefs, the record, and the applicable law, we affirm the order of the trial court. |
Gibson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Dennis Burnett
A Monroe County jury convicted the defendant, Dennis Burnett, of second degree murder, and the trial court sentenced him to eighteen years in the Department of Correction. On appeal, the defendant argues that the trial court erred by: (1) refusing to grant a continuance based upon the defendant’s medical issues; (2) refusing to grant a mistrial after a State’s witness testified regarding information that had not been contained in his pretrial statements; (3) improperly informing the jury that a certain witness would testify when the trial court was aware that the witness was unavailable; and (4) refusing to grant a mistrial or call rebuttal witnesses after a perjured testimony. After reviewing the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Monroe | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Wendi Nicole Garrison
The defendant, Wendi Nicole Garrison, was found guilty as charged of second degree murder, a Class A felony, and was sentenced to sixteen years as a violent offender. On appeal, she argues that: the evidence was insufficient to support her conviction; the trial court erred in failing to charge the lesser included offense of voluntary manslaughter; and the trial court erred in denying a new trial based on the composition of the jury. After careful review, we find that plain error exists in the omission of jury instruction for the lesser included offense of voluntary manslaughter. We are, therefore, compelled to remand for a new trial. |
Carter | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. David Scott Winfrey
Appellant, David Scott Winfrey, pled guilty in Sumner County to twenty-nine Class A misdemeanors consisting of one count of aggravated criminal trespass, one count of stalking, thirteen counts of harassment, and fourteen counts of violation of an order of protection. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced Appellant to eleven months and twenty-nine days for each misdemeanor conviction. In addition, the trial court ordered Appellant to serve ten of his violation of an order of protection sentences consecutively to each other, with the remaining sentences to be served concurrently. The trial court based the imposition of the consecutive sentences on Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-13-113(g). On appeal, Appellant argues that the trial court erred in imposing sentences of eleven months and twenty-nine days, in ordering incarceration above time already served, and in imposing consecutive sentences. After a thorough review of the record, we find no error with the length of the sentences imposed. However, we have determined that Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-13-113(g) authorizes sentences for violation of an order of protection to run consecutively to other convictions stemming from the same underlying facts, as opposed to authorizing sentences for violation of an order of protection to run consecutively to each other. Therefore, we vacate the sentences imposed by the trial court and remand for resentencing in accordance with this opinion. |
Sumner | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Troy Tackett v. State of Tennessee
Pursuant to a plea agreement, the Petitioner, Troy Tackett, pled guilty to one count of rape of a child and two counts of aggravated sexual battery, and the trial court ordered him to serve twenty years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. The Petitioner then filed a petition for post-conviction relief claiming that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel and that his guilty plea was not knowingly and voluntarily entered. The post-conviction court denied relief after a hearing, and the Petitioner now appeals. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Warren | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. J. C. Fair And Krederick Fair
Following a jury trial, Defendants, J. C. Fair and Krederick Fair, were convicted of aggravated robbery, a Class B felony. Each Defendant was sentenced as a Range II, multiple offender, to eighteen years. On appeal, both Defendants argue (1) that the evidence was insufficient to support their conviction of aggravated robbery; (2) that the trial court erred in denying Defendants’ motions for a mistrial; and (3) the trial court erred in its instructions to the jury. Defendant J. C. Fair also argues on appeal that the trial court erred in denying his motion to dismiss the indictment against him on the basis of prosecutorial vindictiveness and that the trial court erred in certain evidentiary rulings. After a thorough review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Candice Parrish
The defendant, Candice Parrish, pled guilty to theft of property over $1000, a Class D felony. Following her guilty plea, the trial court sentenced the defendant to a term of four years but granted her request for judicial diversion. Shortly thereafter, the defendant was found to be in violation of her diverted probationary sentence, and, following a sentencing hearing, the trial court removed the defendant from judicial diversion and sentenced her to four years in the Department of Correction. On appeal, the defendant contends that the court erred in ordering a sentence of total confinement. Following review of the record, we find no error and affirm. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Michael Lebron Anderson v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Michael Lebron Anderson, was convicted of burglary of a building other than a habitation and was sentenced to twelve years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. Subsequently, the petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief, alleging that his trial counsel was ineffective. The post-conviction court denied the petition, and the petitioner appeals. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Tobias Toby Horton and Latoya Lynn Townsend
The Defendant-Appellant, Latoya Lynn Townsend, pleaded guilty to facilitation to distribute cocaine, a Class C felony, and possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, a Class E felony. For the facilitation offense, she was sentenced to three years at Westate, a community based alternative to imprisonment. For the marijuana offense, she was sentenced to two years at Westate, to be served concurrently with the sentence imposed for the facilitation offense, and ordered to pay a fine. The Defendant-Appellant, Tobias Toby Horton, pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to deliver, a Class B felony, and possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, a Class E felony. For the cocaine offense, he was sentenced to eight years in the Tennessee Department of Correction, and he was ordered to pay a fine. For the marijuana offense, he was sentenced to two years in the Tennessee Department of Correction, which was to be served concurrently with the sentence imposed for the cocaine offense and his sentence for a prior probation violation. Townsend and Horton, as a part of their conditional plea agreements, attempted to reserve certified questions of law under Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 37. In agreed orders filed contemporaneously with their judgment forms, they each set out the following certified question of law: whether the search of the residence leased by Townsend was unconstitutional in violation of Article I, section 7, of the Tennessee Constitution and the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Because the certified questions fail 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. |
Obion | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Charles Nash
A Hamilton County jury convicted the defendant, Charles Nash, of first degree murder and especially aggravated robbery. The defendant appeals, arguing that the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress his statement to police. The defendant asserts that he unequivocally invoked his right to counsel before the statement began, thus rendering the statement violative of his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination. Discerning no error, we affirm the trial court, but we remand the case for correction of the judgments. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. William R. Cook
The Defendant, William R. Cook, was charged with driving under the influence (first offense)(“DUI”), a Class A misdemeanor. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-10-403. The trial court denied his motion to suppress the evidence obtained as a result of the traffic stop that led to the charges against him. The Defendant thereafter pleaded guilty, but reserved for our consideration a certified question of law regarding the constitutionality of the traffic stop supporting the charge against him. After our review, we reverse the judgment of the trial court. The indictment charging the Defendant with DUI is dismissed. |
Williamson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jimmy Heard v. James Fortner, Warden, and State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Jimmy Heard, appeals from the trial court’s dismissal of his petition seeking habeas corpus relief. The State has filed a motion requesting that this court affirm the habeas corpus court’s dismissal of the petition pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. The State’s motion is granted. The judgment of the habeas corpus court is affirmed. |
Hickman | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jerome Dance v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Jerome Dance, appeals the Gibson County Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. He was convicted of two counts of sale of cocaine over .5 grams, Class B felonies, and one count of sale of cocaine less than .5 grams, a Class C felony. Subsequently, he was sentenced, as a Range II offender, to an effective term of thirty-five years in the Department of Correction. On appeal, the petitioner contends that he was denied effective assistance of counsel. He specifically argues that trial counsel was ineffective in failing to: (1) object to an insufficient Notice of Enhancement Factors filed by the State; (2) file a motion for recusal of the trial judge; (3) adequately prepare for the sentencing hearing; (4) inform the petitioner of a plea offer and to adequately advise him that he would not be sentenced as a Range I offender if he proceeded to trial; and (5) pursue a Rule 11 application to appeal with the Tennessee Supreme Court or to properly withdraw. Following review of the record, the denial of post-conviction relief is affirmed. |
Gibson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Timothy Ray Azbill
The defendant, Timothy Ray Azbill, was convicted of aggravated burglary, rape of a child, and especially aggravated kidnapping. For his conviction of aggravated burglary, the defendant was sentenced as a Range II, multiple offender to eight years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. For his convictions of rape of a child and especially aggravated kidnapping, the defendant was sentenced as a Range I, violent offender to twenty-five years for each conviction. The court ordered that the sentences were to run concurrently but consecutively to the sentence on a prior conviction. On direct appeal, this court affirmed the defendant’s convictions, but determined that the trial court had erroneously begun at the midpoint of the statutory range and remanded the case for resentencing for rape of a child and especially aggravated kidnapping. On remand, the trial court again sentenced the defendant to twenty-five years for each conviction. On appeal, the defendant asserts that the trial court erred by failing to consider mitigating evidence offered by the defendant and summarily imposed the sentences. After a thorough review of the record and the parties’ briefs, the judgments of the trial court are affirmed. |
Decatur | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Dock Walker v. Tony Parker, Warden
The petitioner, Dock Walker, proceeding pro se, appeals the Lauderdale County Circuit Court’s summary dismissal of his petition for the writ of habeas corpus. The petitioner is currently an inmate in the West Tennessee State Prison as a result of his conviction for assault with the intent to commit murder, for which he was sentenced to a term of sixty years. On appeal, he argues that the habeas corpus court erred in dismissing the petition because his sixty-year sentence is illegal, as it was not authorized by statute and is in violation of ex post facto provisions. After review, we find no error and affirm the judgment of the court. |
Lauderdale | Court of Criminal Appeals |
