State of Tennessee v. Fred Elliot Hunter
The appellant, Fred Elliot Hunter, was convicted by a jury of conspiracy to possess with the intent to deliver three hundred (300) grams or more of a substance containing cocaine, a Class A felony. The appellant was sentenced to twenty-one (21) years as a Range I Standard Offender and fined $2,000. The trial court denied the appellant's motion for new trial, and he appeals, arguing: (1) that the trial court erred in failing to grant the appellant's motion for judgment of acquittal; (2) that the trial court erred in failing to grant the appellant's motion to dismiss for want of a speedy trial; (3) that the evidence was insufficient to sustain the conviction; (4) that the trial court erred in admitting the appellant's manslaughter conviction; (5) that the trial court erred in failing to consider appropriate mitigating factors in sentencing; and (6) that the trial court failed to order alternative sentencing. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Shawn Hodge
Convicted by a jury of first degree murder, the defendant, Shawn Hodge, appeals and claims (1) the evidence is insufficient to support the conviction, (2) the trial court erred in denying a jury view of the crime scene, (3) the trial court erroneously excluded evidence of a threat made against a defense witness, (4) the defendant was prejudiced by an attempt by the state to pay a prosecution witness, (5) the court inadequately instructed the jury on the elements of the offense, and (6) the court erroneously admitted the testimony of an allegedly incompetent defense witness. We affirm the lower court's judgment. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Thomas E. Dunn v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner appeals the summary dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief as time-barred, arguing that he made out a prima facie case of mental incompetence and should therefore have been granted an evidentiary hearing to determine whether due process required that the statute of limitations be tolled. Based on our review, we affirm the post-conviction court's dismissal of the petition. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Dewayne Jordan
The Defendant, Dewayne Jordan, was found guilty by a Shelby County jury of first degree premeditated murder of one victim, first degree felony murder of a second victim and aggravated robbery. The Defendant was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for the murder convictions and to ten years imprisonment for the aggravated robbery conviction. The ten-year sentence was to be served concurrently with the two life sentences. The Defendant now appeals his convictions, raising the following issues: (1) whether there was sufficient evidence to convict the Defendant of first degree premeditated murder, first degree felony murder and aggravated robbery, (2) whether the trial court properly admitted the Defendant's statement into evidence, and (3) whether the trial court properly ordered that the Defendant's two life sentences be served consecutively. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Bobby Blair
The defendant, Bobby Blair, appeals as of right the sentence imposed by the Humphreys County Circuit Court following his plea of nolo contendere to the sale of methamphetamine, a Class B felony. The trial court sentenced him as a Range I, standard offender to ten years in the Department of Correction consecutive to an effective sixteen-year sentence for prior convictions for manufacturing methamphetamine and felonious possession of methamphetamine. The defendant contends that the trial court erroneously imposed consecutive sentences. We affirm the trial court's judgment of conviction. |
Humphreys | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
David L. Robinson, Jr. v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, David L. Robinson, appeals the Putnam County Criminal Court's denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his conviction for first degree murder and resulting sentence of life imprisonment. He claims he received the ineffective assistance of counsel because his trial attorneys (1) failed to challenge the fact that no African-Americans were on the jury, (2) failed to appeal an issue properly regarding a state witness's testimony, (3) failed to file a motion to sever his case from his codefendant's case, and (4) failed to call a potential defense witness to testify. We affirm the trial court's denial of the petition. |
Putnam | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Charity H. Keith
Defendant, Charity H. Keith, appeals from the revocation of her probation, arguing that the trial court erred in ordering her original sentence to run consecutively to her subsequent sentences in Davidson County. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Williamson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Dewayne M. McDaniel a/k/a Anthony McDaniel
The appellant, Dewayne A. McDaniel, a/k/a Anthony McDaniel, was convicted by a jury of theft of property. Specifically, the jury convicted the appellant of the second charge contained in the indictment, exercising control over property with a value of $10,000 but less than $60,000 without the consent of the owner, a Class C felony. The trial court sentenced the appellant to fifteen years as a Range III, persistent offender. The appellant’s motion for new trial was denied by the trial court in an order entered May 10, 2001. The trial court entered an order granting a delayed appeal on June 28, 2002. The trial court’s order granting the delayed appeal indicates that the request for the delayed appeal was made by the appellant’s attorney, even though no motion for a delayed appeal appears in the technical record before this Court. The notice of appeal was not filed until September 13, 2002. Because of the untimeliness of the filing of the notice of appeal the appeal is dismissed. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jaye Wesley Mitts
The State appeals contending the trial court erred in allowing the defendant to receive jail credit from an unrelated charge against the 150-day mandatory minimum sentence he received in his plea to sixth offense D.U.I. Also, the State alleges error in the trial court modifying the defendant's payment plan for paying fines and costs to less than the defendant agreed to pay when the trial court accepted the defendant's plea agreement. We conclude it was error to allow this defendant to receive any jail credit toward his mandatory minimum of 150 days for his sixth D.U.I. offense where the credit accumulated on an unrelated charge. We further conclude the trial court was within its discretion to modify the payment plan, not the overall fine, upon determining the defendant did not have the ability to pay. We reverse in part and affirm in part the judgments of the trial court and remand for entry of a corrected judgment consistent with this opinion. |
Campbell | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Rashe Moore
The defendant was found guilty of six counts of aggravated rape, seven counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, five counts of aggravated robbery, and one count of aggravated burglary. The defendant contends on appeal that (1) the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress the photographic identification, (2) the evidence was insufficient to support the convictions, (3) the trial court erred in excluding evidence of a scar upon the defendant's abdomen, (4) the trial court erred in not requiring the State to make an election of offenses as to the aggravated rape convictions, (5) the trial court did not properly instruct the jury on lesser included offenses, and (6) the sentence was improper. Finding no reversible error, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Steven Bernard Wlodarz v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Steven Bernard Wlodarz, appeals the Hawkins County Criminal Court's denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his guilty pleas to first degree premeditated murder, attempted first degree premeditated murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and one count of manufacturing a Schedule VI controlled substance and resulting sentence of life without parole. He claims that his guilty pleas were not knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily entered because (1) his trial counsel coerced him into pleading guilty, (2) his trial counsel failed to inform him of important defense evidence before he accepted the state's plea offer, and (3) he was taking medications that may have affected his ability to understand his pleas. In addition, he contends that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel because his trial attorneys waived one of his preliminary hearings without his consent, failed to file a motion to suppress evidence, and failed to prepare a defense. We affirm the trial court's denial of the petition. |
Hawkins | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Steve McKenzie
The defendant, Steve McKenzie, pled guilty to DUI, a Class A misdemeanor, and violation of the open container law, a Class C misdemeanor, and was sentenced, respectively, to concurrent sentences of eleven months, twenty-nine days, all suspended except for seven days, and thirty days, to be served on probation. As a condition of his guilty pleas, the defendant reserved two certified questions of law: (1) whether the trial court should have dismissed the charges or ordered another preliminary hearing because the tape recording of the initial hearing was inaudible; and (2) whether the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence obtained as the result of his alleged illegal arrest. On appeal, the defendant pursued only the second question, which the State argues is not dispositive of the charges, resulting in this matter not properly being before the court. We agree that the certified question is not dispositive and, accordingly, dismiss the appeal. |
Bradley | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Lillian Ileene Thornton
The defendant pled guilty to forgery and agreed to a sentence of eighteen months, with the manner of service to be determined by the trial court. The trial court denied her request for alternative sentencing based on her lack of potential for rehabilitation and her lack of honesty at the sentencing hearing. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed. |
Bedford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Alejandro Rivera
The Cocke County Grand Jury indicted the Defendant for first degree premeditated murder pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-13-202 (1997). After a trial, the jury convicted the Defendant of the indicted charge and then sentenced him to life in prison with the possibility of parole. The Defendant appeals contending that: (1) the prosecutor made improper statements to the jury; (2) the trial court improperly admitted into evidence two pieces of evidence and statements of his co-defendants; (3) the trial court erred when it refused to grant his request for a continuance; (4) the trial court erred when it refused to grant him a judgment of acquittal; (5) the trial court erred when it instructed the jury; (6) the voir dire was improper; (7) the trial court erred when it refused the Defendant's request to change venue; (8) the trial court erred when it refused to admit drawings made by a key prosecution child-witness; (9) the trial court erred when it allowed two witnesses to remain in the courtroom for the duration of the trial; (10) the trial court erred when it refused to consider evidence regarding statements allegedly made by the jury foreman; (11) the trial court erred when it refused to allow a New York search warrant and affidavit to be admitted into evidence; (12) the trial court erred when it allowed a photograph of the deceased to be admitted into evidence; and (13) the trial court erred when it did not review the "TBI file." Finding no error in the judgments of the trial court, we affirm the Defendant's conviction. |
Cocke | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jason D. Seiler
The defendant, Jason D. Seiler, appeals from the Sullivan County Circuit Court's revoking his probation that he received for his guilty pleas to four counts of failure to appear. The defendant contends that the trial court abused its discretion by revoking his probation and sentencing him to confinement. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
David Jones v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, David Jones, appeals the Claiborne County Criminal Court's denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his convictions for attempted second degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault and resulting effective sentence of fifteen years. He claims that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel because his trial attorney failed to request a mental evaluation for him and that his guilty pleas were not knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily entered. We affirm the trial court's denial of the petition. |
Claiborne | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Angalee Love
The defendant was convicted of aggravated child abuse of her seventeen-month-old daughter. The defendant contends on appeal that the evidence was insufficient to support the conviction, and the trial court erred in allowing testimony by Dr. Lazar concerning the effects of acetone. We conclude that the evidence presented was sufficient to support the conviction, and any error in admitting the testimony of Dr. Lazar concerning the effects of acetone was harmless. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. James A. McCurry
The defendant was charged with driving on a revoked license and misdemeanor evading arrest. The jury found him not guilty of driving on a revoked license and guilty of evading arrest. The defendant contends on appeal that the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Antray Terrill Morrow
A Hardin County jury convicted the appellant of four counts of aggravated assault and one count of felony reckless endangerment. The trial court imposed an effective twelve-year sentence. In this appeal, the appellant argues: (1) there is insufficient evidence to support his convictions; and (2) the trial court erred in sentencing him. Upon review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the appellant’s convictions and sentences for aggravated assault. However, because felony reckless endangerment is not a lesser-included offense of aggravated assault, the jury was improperly instructed on that offense. Accordingly, we reverse the appellant’s conviction for felony reckless endangerment and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. |
Hardin | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Timothy Wakefield
The Defendant, Timothy Wakefield, pled guilty to DUI, fourth offense, and was sentenced to two years in confinement, suspended after service of 150 days. The Defendant was placed on community corrections. A petition for the revocation of the Defendant’s community corrections sentence was subsequently filed and granted. The sole issue on appeal is whether the trial court erred by not allowing the Defendant full credit for the time that the Defendant had served in the community corrections program. We conclude that the trial court erred and remand to the trial court to modify its judgment to reflect ninety-eight days of credit for time served. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jasper Turner
Following a jury trial, Defendant, Jasper Turner, was convicted of identity theft, a Class D felony. He was sentenced to twelve years incarceration as a career offender. On appeal, Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support the conviction, argues that the trial court erred in sentencing him, and contends that it was plain error for the trial court to allow the State to refer to the victim being attacked at the time the victim’s wallet and credit cards were taken. After a thorough review of the evidence, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Detrick Cole
Capital defendant Detrick Cole appeals as of right his sentence of death resulting from the October 2000 murder of Santeife Thomas. A Shelby County jury found the defendant guilty of premeditated first degree murder. Following a separate sentencing hearing, the jury unanimously found the presence of one statutory aggravating circumstance, i.e., the defendant had previously been convicted of one or more violent felony offenses; determined that this aggravating circumstance outweighed any mitigating circumstances; and imposed a sentence of death. The defendant now appeals, presenting for our review the following issues: (1) whether the evidence is sufficient to support premeditated first degree murder; (2) whether the trial court erred in permitting the state to introduce a photograph of the victim while he was alive; (3) whether the trial court erred in permitting the introduction of post-mortem photographs of the victim; (4) whether the fingerprinting of the defendant in the presence of the jury at the penalty phase was constitutional error; (5) whether the trial court erroneously prohibited the defendant from introducing hearsay evidence during the penalty phase; (6) whether the trial court's instructions to the jury as to the (i)(2) aggravating circumstance were contrary to the United States Supreme Court's holdings in Apprendi v. New Jersey and Ring v. Arizona; (7) whether there is a reasonable probability that the instruction on victim impact evidence coerced the death sentence from the jury; (8) whether the evidence is sufficient to establish the defendant had previously been convicted of one or more violent felony offenses; (9) whether the jury verdict form was clear as to whether the jury found the aggravating circumstance relied upon by the state; (10) whether the Tennessee death penalty statutory scheme is constitutional; and (11) whether the sentence of death imposed in this case is disproportionate. Upon review, we question, but need not determine, whether the trial court in the penalty phase had the authority under Apprendi and Ring to find the defendant's prior felony convictions were crimes of violence and to instruct the jury that these prior convictions were crimes of violence; however, we conclude that if there were error, any error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Thus, we discern no error of law requiring reversal. Accordingly, we affirm the defendant's conviction for first degree murder and the jury's imposition of the sentence of death. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Calvin Reginald Edwards
The defendant, Calvin Reginald Edwards, entered a plea of guilt to simple possession of marijuana, explicitly reserving a certified question of law challenging the legality of an investigatory stop. See Tenn. R. Crim. P. 37(b)(2)(i). Because the stop was based upon a reasonable and articulable suspicion, the judgment is affirmed. |
Tipton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Richard Dilling
Following a bench trial in the Circuit Court of Obion County, Defendant, Richard Dilling, was convicted of misdemeanor reckless endangerment. He was sentenced to serve 11 months and 29 days, with all but 30 days to be suspended. He now appeals, challenging both the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the conviction and the sentence imposed by the trial court. After a careful review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Obion | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Carolyn Diane Brown v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Carolyn Diane Brown, appeals the trial court's denial of post-conviction relief. In addition to a challenge of the sufficiency of the convicting evidence, the petitioner alleges that she was denied the effective assistance of counsel. The judgment is affirmed. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals |
