State of Tennessee v. Dequevion Lamar Lee
The defendant, Dequevion Lamar Lee, was convicted by a Madison County jury for attempted first-degree murder and aggravated assault. On appeal, he argues the evidence is insufficient to sustain his convictions. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court but remand the case for entry of a corrected judgment form as to count two reflecting the defendant’s aggravated assault conviction was merged with count one. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
In re: Justin P., et al
This is a termination of parental rights case. Appellant/Mother appeals the trial court’s termination of her parental rights on the ground of: abandonment by willful failure to visit. Appellant also appeals the trial court’s finding that termination of her parental rights is in the children’s best interests. Because Appellee/Father thwarted Appellant’s attempts to visit the children, we conclude that Appellees failed to meet their burden to show, by clear and convincing evidence, that Appellant abandoned the children. Accordingly, we reverse the order terminating Appellant’s parental rights. |
Moore | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Trevor Wallace
The State of Tennessee appeals from the Houston County Circuit Court’s order granting the Defendant, Trevor Wallace’s, motion to dismiss the indictment charging him with driving under the influence. See T.C.A. § 55-10-401(a) (Supp. 2014) (amended 2015). The trial court granted the motion on the basis that the indictment failed to state an offense. The State contends that the trial court erred in granting the motion to dismiss. We reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand the case for further proceedings. |
Houston | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Chris Jones v. State of Tennessee
Pro se Petitioner, Chris Jones, appeals the Shelby County Criminal Court’s dismissal of his petition for writ of error coram nobis. The Petitioner concedes that his petition was filed nearly seven years beyond the one-year statute of limitations and argues that due process consideration warrants tolling of the limitations period. Upon review, we affirm the dismissal of the petition. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. William Zachary Weatherly
In this appeal, we address the constitutionality of police officers’ search of trash located within the curtilage of the home of the Defendant, Williams Zachary Weatherly. The police officers utilized evidence obtained from the Defendant’s trash to secure a search warrant for the Defendant’s home and vehicle. As a result of evidence seized from the Defendant’s trash and during the execution of the search warrant, the Defendant was charged with possession with the intent to sell or deliver more than one-half ounce of marijuana and possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. The Defendant filed a motion to suppress. Following a hearing, the trial court granted the motion, finding that the warrantless search of the Defendant’s trash was unconstitutional and that the search warrant failed to establish probable cause. The State appealed. Upon reviewing the record and the applicable law, we affirm the trial court’s granting of the motion to suppress. |
Dyer | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Tina Nelson v. State of Tennessee
A jury convicted the Petitioner, Tina Nelson, of first degree felony murder committed during the perpetration of aggravated child abuse and of the underlying felony of aggravated child abuse. She petitioned for post-conviction relief, asserting ineffective assistance of counsel, and her petition was denied. On appeal, the Petitioner alleges that she is entitled to post-conviction relief because her trial counsel failed to properly investigate her case or present witnesses, failed to move for a severance, failed to properly challenge testimony that she showed no emotion, and failed to establish that her mental impairment prevented her from assisting in her own defense. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm the denial of post-conviction relief. |
Lauderdale | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Kenneth Michael McIntosh
The defendant, Kenneth Michael McIntosh, pled guilty to sixteen counts of aggravated child abuse and a single count of child abuse. The trial court sentenced the defendant to eight years for each aggravated child abuse conviction and eleven months and twentynine days for the single child abuse conviction and ordered two of the sentences for aggravated child abuse to be served consecutively for an effective sentence of sixteen years. On appeal, the defendant argues the trial court erred in ordering two of his eightyear sentences to be served consecutively. Upon review, we affirm the findings of the trial court. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
William Casey v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, William Casey, appeals the post-conviction court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief in which he challenged his convictions for first degree criminal sexual conduct and two counts of aggravated rape for offenses that occurred in 1979 and 1980. The Petitioner raised numerous issues in his petition, alleging errors at trial, prosecutorial misconduct, and ineffective assistance of counsel at trial and on appeal. The post-conviction court entered a preliminary order dismissing all of the Petitioner’s claims of errors at trial, prosecutorial misconduct, and ineffective assistance of appellate counsel and the majority of his claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel. Following an evidentiary hearing on the Petitioner’s remaining claims, the postconviction court entered an order denying the Petitioner relief. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that the post-conviction court erred in dismissing the majority of his claims before the evidentiary hearing and in finding that the Petitioner failed to establish during the evidentiary hearing that he is entitled to relief as to his remaining claims. We conclude that the post-conviction court properly dismissed the Petitioner’s claims of errors during the trial and prosecutorial misconduct and properly denied the Petitioner relief as to his claims presented during an evidentiary hearing. We also conclude the post-conviction court erred in dismissing the Petitioner’s claims of ineffective assistance of counsel at trial and on appeal without conducting an evidentiary hearing. Accordingly, the post-conviction court’s judgment is affirmed in part and reversed in part, and we remand the case to the post-conviction court for an evidentiary hearing on the issues of ineffective assistance of counsel at trial and on appeal that were dismissed by the court in its preliminary order and properly preserved by the Petitioner on appeal. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Daniel Lee Mooneyhan
The Defendant, Daniel Lee Mooneyhan, appeals his Bedford County convictions for Count 1: aggravated burglary, and Counts 2 and 4: theft of property between the value of $1,000 and $10,000, for which he received an effective sentence of five years with a 30% release eligibility, to serve in the Department of Correction. The Defendant contends that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support his convictions in Counts 1, 2, and 4 because the State offered no independent evidence to corroborate an accomplice’s testimony about the Defendant’s involvement in the offenses. The Defendant does not appeal his conviction in Count 3, felon in possession of a handgun. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the convictions, but remand for merger of Counts 2 and 4. |
Bedford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Andrew McMurray, Jr.
The Defendant, Andrew McMurray, Jr., appeals the revocation of his community corrections sentence and the trial court’s order that he serve the remainder of his sentence in prison. After a thorough review of the record and the applicable law, we discern no abuse of discretion, and we affirm the trial court’s judgment. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Steven O. Summers, II
A Lewis County jury convicted the Defendant, Steven O. Summers, II, of theft of more than $1,000, and the trial court sentenced him to four years on probation and ordered him to pay restitution to the victim. In this appeal, the Defendant contends that: (1) the trial court erred when it failed to excuse certain members of the jury pool for cause; (2) the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction; and (3) the trial court ordered the Defendant to pay an incorrect amount of restitution and failed to follow the proper procedure when it determined restitution. After review, we affirm the trial court’s judgment. |
Lewis | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Steven Davis
The Petitioner, Steven Davis, appeals the post-conviction court’s dismissal of his petition as time-barred, arguing that he delivered his petition to the designated employee in the prison mail room in a timely manner. Following our review, we affirm the summary dismissal of the petition. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Moses A. Ballard, Jr.
The Defendant, Moses A. Ballard, Jr., was indicted for unlawful possession of a firearm and first degree premeditated murder. See Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-13-202, -17-1307. The unlawful possession of a firearm charge was ultimately dismissed upon the State’s request. Following a jury trial, the Defendant was convicted of the lesser-included offense of second degree murder, a Class A felony. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-210. The trial court subsequently imposed a sentence of thirty-eight years. In this appeal as of right, the Defendant contends (1) that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction; (2) that the trial court erred in allowing an expert witness to testify beyond the scope of her expertise; (3) that the trial court erred by not allowing recorded jail phone calls between the Defendant and two of the State’s witnesses to be introduced at trial; (4) that the trial court erred by not allowing “evidence regarding the gang affiliation of various involved parties” to be introduced at trial; (5) that the State committed a discovery violation by withholding evidence; (6) that the withheld evidence “amount[ed] to newly discovered evidence” requiring a new trial; and (7) that the trial court was unable to perform its duty as the thirteenth juror “due to the withheld evidence.” Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Washington | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Carlos Prather v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Carlos Prather, appeals the denial of post-conviction relief from his 2015 Shelby County Criminal Court guilty-pleaded convictions of vandalism of property valued at $1,000 or more but less than $10,000, for which he received an effective sentence of 10 years. In this appeal, the petitioner contends that his guilty pleas were not knowingly and voluntarily entered and that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel. Discerning no error, we affirm. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Ronnie Bradfield
The petitioner, Ronnie Bradfield, appeals from the summary dismissal of his pro se pleading, in which pleading the petitioner asked for relief via the writ of error coram nobis, the writ of habeas corpus, and Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 36.1. Because the record supports the dismissal, we affirm. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Alando Deshaun Brown
On April 1, 2016, the Obion County Grand Jury indicted the Defendant, Alando Deshaun Brown, on two counts of rape. A jury convicted the Defendant of both counts at trial. At the sentencing hearing, the trial court merged Count 2 into Count 1 and sentenced the Defendant to eight years in the Department of Correction, with release eligibility after service of 100% of the sentence for Count 1. The Defendant filed a timely motion for a new trial, which the trial court denied. The Defendant filed a timely notice of appeal, claiming insufficient evidence to support the verdict. Based on the evidence in the record, we affirm the trial court’s judgments. |
Obion | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Scott L. Bishop v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Scott L. Bishop, was convicted of four counts of aggravated sexual battery and sentenced to serve eleven years in prison. The Petitioner filed a postconviction petition asserting that his trial counsel did not provide effective assistance, and the post-conviction court denied the petition after a hearing. On appeal, the Petitioner asserts that trial counsel was deficient in failing to present character witnesses, failing to object to leading questions asked by the prosecutor, and preventing him from viewing the victim’s recorded forensic interview. After a thorough review of the record, we conclude that the Petitioner is not entitled to relief, and we affirm the post-conviction court’s judgment. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Anne Marie Kent v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Anne Marie Kent, was convicted by a Lewis County jury of two counts of aggravated child neglect or endangerment and two counts of child abuse and received an effective sentence of twenty-two years. The Petitioner filed a post-conviction petition alleging that she received ineffective assistance of counsel, which was subsequently denied by the post-conviction court. On appeal, the Petitioner asserts that trial counsel was ineffective by (1) failing to file a motion to change venue; (2) advising the Petitioner not to testify at trial; (3) failing to call a witness; and (4) failing to properly crossexamine a witness. Upon thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Lewis | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Nikolaus Johnson v. State of Tennessee
In this interlocutory appeal, the petitioner, Nikolaus Johnson, appeals the ruling of the post-conviction court ordering that he provide discovery materials to the State. The rules governing post-conviction proceedings impose upon the State an automatic and mandatory obligation to provide discovery materials to the petitioner as part of the postconviction proceeding even in the absence of a request for such materials. Although Rule 28 of the Rules of the Tennessee Supreme Court does not include a similar provision requiring automatic and mandatory reciprocal discovery from the petitioner to the State, the Post-Conviction Procedure Act provides that Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 16 governs discovery in a post-conviction proceeding. Nothing in Rule 28 specifically exempts a post-conviction petitioner from complying with the discovery requirements of Rule 16. Accordingly, we reverse that part of the post-conviction court’s ruling that held that the filing of a pro se petition for post-conviction relief, without more, triggers in the post-conviction petitioner a duty to provide reciprocal discovery to the State. Instead, we hold that a post-conviction petitioner’s duty to provide reciprocal discovery to the State arises when the State has fully complied with its own mandatory discovery obligation and has requested reciprocal discovery under the terms of Rule 16. Because the State has not yet satisfied its duty to disclose in this post-conviction proceeding, the post-conviction court erred by ordering the petitioner to provide reciprocal discovery to the State. Regarding the post-conviction court’s order that the petitioner disclose prior to the evidentiary hearing the underlying facts and data for those expert witnesses the petitioner intended to present at the evidentiary hearing, we conclude that Tennessee Rule of Evidence 705 authorizes the court’s order and, therefore, affirm. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Millard Ellis Spurgeon
The defendant, Millard Ellis Spurgeon, appeals his Sevier County Circuit Court jury convictions of burglary, theft of property valued at $1,000 or more, vandalism of property valued at $1,000 or more, and possession of burglary tools, challenging the trial court’s denial of his motion to suppress certain evidence and the sufficiency of the convicting evidence. Discerning no error, we affirm. |
Sevier | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jerry Reginald Burkes
The defendant, Jerry Reginald Burkes, appeals his convictions of money laundering, theft, and sales tax evasion and the accompanying 18-year effective sentence that included five years of confinement. The defendant argues that (1) the trial court erred by permitting the State to introduce certain evidence in violation of Tennessee Rule of Evidence 404(b); (2) the trial court erred by concluding that certain of the defendant’s convictions would be admissible for purposes of Tennessee Rule of Evidence 609; (3) the trial court violated his constitutional privilege against self-incrimination; (4) the State failed to discover and disclose exculpatory evidence; (5) the evidence was insufficient to support a conviction of money laundering; (6) the trial court erred by imposing a Range II sentence; and (7) the sentence imposed by the trial court is illegal. Because the fiveyear term of confinement imposed by the trial court is not authorized, we vacate the sentencing decision of the trial court and remand the case for resentencing. Additionally, because the amount of restitution ordered by the trial court cannot be satisfied under the terms ordered by the trial court, we vacate the restitution order and remand the case for the trial court to impose restitution in a manner that complies with Code section 40-35- 304. We affirm the judgments of the trial court in all other respects. |
Greene | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Martin Ellison Hughes
The Defendant, Martin Ellison Hughes, was found guilty by a Hawkins County Criminal Court jury of two counts of aggravated assault, a Class C felony. See T.C.A. § 39-13-102 (2014). The trial court sentenced the Defendant as a Range III, persistent offender to concurrent terms of fifteen and ten years, for an effective fifteen-year sentence at 45% service. On appeal, the Defendant contends that his sentence is excessive. We affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Hawkins | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Terry Lamont Bowden
The Defendant, Terry Lamont Bowden, appeals his jury conviction for possession of marijuana with the intent to sell or deliver. On appeal, the Defendant challenges the trial court’s denial of his motion to suppress the evidence obtained during the search of his vehicle, arguing that the drug-sniffing dog’s “body language changes,” as testified to by the officer handler, were insufficient to establish probable cause. He also argues that his absence at the initial suppression hearing violated Rule 43 of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure and his constitutional right to be present at trial. After a thorough review of the record and the applicable authorities, we conclude that the State failed to establish that the search of Defendant’s vehicle was supported by probable cause and that the case should, therefore, be reversed. Accordingly, the Defendant’s conviction is vacated, and the possession charge is dismissed. |
Williamson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Justus Onyiego
A Shelby County Criminal Court Jury convicted the Appellant, Justus Onyiego, of two counts of aggravated rape, a Class A felony. After a sentencing hearing, the trial court merged the convictions and sentenced him to seventeen years in confinement. On appeal, the Appellant contends that the trial court denied his right to due process by failing to dismiss the indictment due to the State’s ten-year preindictment delay, that the trial court erred by failing to strike the testimony of two police officers, that the trial court erred by refusing to admit evidence of the victim’s prior sexual behavior under Tennessee Rule of Evidence 412, and that a prosecutor’s failure to correct false statements during closing arguments violated Napue v. Illinois, 360 U.S. 264 (1959), and constituted prosecutorial misconduct. Based upon the record and the parties’ briefs, we find no reversible error and affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Gabriel Dotson
The defendant, Gabriel Dotson, was convicted of rape of a child, aggravated sexual battery, rape, and incest for which he received an effective sentence of thirty-five years. On appeal he challenges his convictions on the grounds there was insufficient evidence to support the jury’s verdicts, the State made improper statements throughout trial which prejudiced the defendant, the trial court erred in instructing the jury, the trial court erred in enhancing his sentence, and the cumulative effect of the errors at trial prejudiced the verdict. Upon our thorough review of the record, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals |
