State of Tennessee v. Quinton A. Cage
At the conclusion of a post-conviction evidentiary hearing, the trial court denied the Petitioner, Quinton Cage's, petition for post-conviction relief. The Petitioner presents one appellate issue: Whether the trial court erred in finding that the Petitioner received effective assistance of counsel at trial? After a review of the entire record, briefs of the parties, and applicable law, we affirm the trial court's judgment. |
Montgomery | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Edwin Beard
After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of the included offense of simple assault in two counts and the jury assessed fines of $5,000 for each count. Defendant was subsequently sentenced to 11 months and 29 days on each count to run concurrently. The sentence was suspended except for 12 days to be served consecutively or six consecutive weekends. The fines were remitted to $500 for each count. In this direct appeal as of right, Defendant asserts that the jury and court erred in finding Defendant guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt, in two counts of simple assault based upon the sufficiency of evidence. We conclude that the evidence was sufficient to support Defendant's two convictions for simple assault. Thus, we affirm the trial court's judgment. |
Maury | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Stephen Michael Ware
The defendant, Stephen Michael Ware, pled guilty to driving under the influence (third offense), driving on a revoked license (second offense), felony evading arrest, resisting arrest and felony failure to appear. The plea agreement provided for consecutive sentences of one year each for felony evading arrest and felony failure to appear. All other sentences were to be served concurrently, for an effective sentence of two years. The trial court ordered a sentence of split confinement, consisting of 270 days in jail, two years of house arrest, on one felony and a consecutive sentence of two years' house arrest for the second felony. In this appeal of right, the defendant argues that the trial court imposed sentences in contravention of the plea agreement and contends that the jail sentence of 270 days, day-for-day, is excessive. The felony evading arrest sentence is vacated and the cause is remanded to the trial court for resentencing in conformance with the plea agreement |
Washington | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Paul Randall Freeland
The defendant was declared a motor vehicle habitual offender in Benton County Circuit Court. On appeal, he argues that the trial court erred because the first qualifying underlying conviction occurred more than five years before the date the state's petition was filed. Because no statute of limitations applies under the Motor Vehicle Habitual Offenders Act, we affirm the trial court's judgment. |
Benton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Leon Goins v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner appeals the denial of post-conviction relief on his conviction for the sale of .5 grams of cocaine, a Schedule II controlled substance. In his pro se petition for post-conviction relief, the petitioner alleged that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to thoroughly investigate and keep him informed of vital information regarding his case. After the appointment of post-conviction counsel and a hearing on the petition, the court denied the petition for post-conviction relief. The petitioner filed a timely appeal to this court, raising the sole issue of whether the post-conviction court erred in finding that he had effective assistance of trial counsel. Based upon a careful review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Dyer | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Teresa Deion Smith Harris v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner was originally convicted by a Henry County jury of first degree felony murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. The conviction was affirmed on direct appeal. The petitioner sought post-conviction relief, which was denied by the post-conviction court. In this appeal, the petitioner contends she is entitled to post-conviction relief based on (1) newly discovered evidence and (2) ineffective assistance of counsel. After a thorough review of the record, we conclude that the post-conviction court correctly denied post-conviction relief. |
Henry | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Ernest Eugene Thomas, alias: Victor Knable
In 1997, pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement, the Defendant pled guilty to possession of more than seventy pounds of marijuana with the intent to sell, a Class B felony, and received a twelve-year sentence as a Range II multiple offender, to be served in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On March 3, 2000, the Defendant filed a motion to correct an illegal sentence, alleging that he should have been sentenced as a Range I standard offender rather than a Range II multiple offender because two prior Pennsylvania convictions that were the basis for his Range II sentencing were misdemeanors rather than felonies. Following a hearing on the Defendant's motion, the trial court dismissed the motion, finding that "the Defendant may plead outside the range" and that the Defendant had sufficient qualifying felonies. Finding no error by the trial court, we affirm the judgment of the trial court dismissing the Defendant's motion. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Gerald Stovall
The Monroe County grand jury indicted the defendant on two counts of selling or delivering over .5 grams of cocaine. At the conclusion of a bench trial, the trial court found beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant had sold cocaine in the alleged amounts on the dates in question. However, immediately after making this determination, the trial court sua sponte announced that it was dismissing the indictment because of a fatal wording error. Through this appeal the State contends that the dismissal was erroneous and asks that the case be remanded for sentencing. Following our review of the record and applicable caselaw, we find the State's issue to have merit and, therefore, reverse the trial court's dismissal and grant the requested remand for sentencing. |
Monroe | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Kenneth Stomm v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Kenneth Stomm, appeals the trial court's denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. The single issue presented for review is whether the petition was properly dismissed without an evidentiary hearing. The judgment is affirmed. |
Morgan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Daniel Wade Wilson
The Defendant, Daniel Wade Wilson, appeals as of right his convictions for second degree murder, first degree felony murder and especially aggravated robbery in the Sullivan County Criminal Court. The trial court merged the second degree murder conviction into the felony murder conviction, and the jury sentenced the Defendant to life imprisonment for the felony murder. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to twenty-three (23) years for the especially aggravated robbery conviction. The sentences were ordered to run consecutively. The Defendant raises the following four issues in this appeal: 1) whether the trial court erred in failing to charge all applicable lesser-included offenses; 2) whether the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury on the natural and probable consequences rule; 3) whether the evidence was sufficient to sustain Defendant's convictions for first degree felony murder and especially aggravated robbery; and 4) whether the trial court erred in sentencing the Defendant. The judgment of the trial court is hereby affirmed in part and reversed in part, and remanded to the trial court for a new trial on the felony murder charge in Count II and the especially aggravated robbery charge in Count III of the indictment. The case is further remanded for sentencing on the second degree murder conviction in Count I of the indictment |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Donald Mitchell Green v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Donald Mitchell Green, appeals the trial court's denial of post-conviction relief. In this appeal of right, the petitioner contends that the trial court erred by ordering a dismissal without an evidentiary hearing. The judgment is reversed and remanded to the trial court for the appointment of counsel and an evidentiary hearing. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. James Kevin Underwood
The defendant, James Kevin Underwood, was convicted of evading arrest, a Class E felony; driving on a revoked license, fourth offense; and possession of drug paraphernalia, the sentences to be served concurrently. Germane to this appeal, the defendant was sentenced for the evading arrest as a Range I offender either to two years in "house arrest" under a community corrections alternative program of which six months are to be served in jail, "day for day," or to six months in jail, day for day, followed by two years in a community corrections alternative program. Either way, the defendant contends (1) that the sentence exceeded the one-year sentence in his plea agreement and (2) that, in any event, the trial court cannot order him to serve six months day for day. We affirm the judgments for the two misdemeanor offenses, but we remand the evading arrest case for resentencing. |
Washington | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jackie F. Curry
The Defendant, Jackie F. Curry, appeals as of right his conviction for three counts of aggravated rape. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to twenty-two (22) years for each count. The sentences were ordered to run consecutively to each other and consecutively to a prior eight-year sentence for which the Defendant was on probation at the time of this incident. The Defendant raises the following three issues in this appeal: 1) whether the evidence was sufficient to sustain his convictions for aggravated rape; 2) whether the trial court erred in permitting the State to impeach him with two prior convictions for the sale of cocaine; and 3) whether the trial court erred in sentencing the Defendant. The judgment of the trial court is hereby affirmed. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Ben Warren Miller
Pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated sections 55-10-601 to 55-10-617, the State of Tennessee filed a "petition and notice" to have the Appellant/Respondent, Ben Warren Miller, declared an Habitual Motor Vehicle Offender. The Appellant filed, in one pleading, an "Answer and Motion to Dismiss." In the answer, the Appellant admitted all material allegations which would support a judgment declaring him to be an habitual motor vehicle offender. In his motion to dismiss, the Appellant argued that no summons was issued with the petition, and the trial court violated the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure in signing an order which required, in part, that Appellant "may be held in violation of this order" if he did not appear and defend the petition to be declared an habitual motor vehicle offender. The trial court denied the motion to dismiss and rendered a judgment declaring Appellant to be an habitual motor vehicle offender. On appeal, the Appellant does not challenge the substantive grounds for having him declared an habitual motor vehicle offender. However, in three issues, he argues that the judgment should be reversed and the petition dismissed because: (1) The trial court's order entered subsequent to the filing of the petition required Appellant to appear and defend or "he may be held in violation of this order," (2) the trial court's order giving notice of the hearing on the petition was not signed by an assistant district attorney, (3) the trial court did not have the authority to issue an order directing the Appellant to appear at a hearing on the petition and did not have the authority to state in the order that he might be held in violation of the order if he did not appear and defend the petition. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Lewis Woody
The Defendant, Lewis Woody, filed a notice of appeal which we construe to appeal the judgments of conviction for two forgeries resulting from a negotiated plea agreement, and he also included within the notice, an appeal from the trial court's order denying his motion to tax costs to the State and to "quash execution of garnishment." For the reasons set forth herein, we dismiss his appeal. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Raul T. Garcia
A Greene County jury convicted the Defendant of reckless aggravated assault, a Class D felony, and the trial court sentenced the Defendant as a Range I, standard offender to four years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. The Defendant now appeals, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence and the propriety of the sentence imposed by the trial court. After a careful review of the record, we conclude that the evidence is sufficient to support the conviction and that the sentence is proper. Accordingly, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed. |
Greene | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. David Wayne Osborne
The Defendant pled nolo contendere to one count of felony child neglect, one count of possession of drug paraphernalia, one count of possession of marijuana, and two counts of public intoxication. At issue in this appeal is the sentence for felony child neglect, a Class D felony for which the Defendant received a two-year Community Corrections sentence. Subsequently, based upon a warrant alleging that the Defendant had violated the terms and conditions of his Community Corrections sentence, the trial court revoked the Defendant's Community Corrections sentence and increased his original sentence from two years to four years, to be served with the Tennessee Department of Correction. In this appeal, the Defendant argues that the trial court improperly enhanced his two-year sentence for felony child neglect to four years and that the court erred by failing to impose some form of alternative sentencing. We conclude that the trial court properly increased the length of the Defendant's sentence from two to four years and that the Defendant's prison sentence was properly imposed. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jeremy Wayne Aikens
The Loudon County Grand Jury indicted the Defendant for driving under the influence of an intoxicant. The Defendant's first jury trial resulted in a mistrial. Following a second trial, a Loudon County jury convicted the Defendant of the offense charged. The trial court sentenced him to eleven months, twenty-nine days incarceration, with all but four days suspended, and fined him $400. The Defendant now appeals his conviction, arguing (1) that insufficient evidence was presented to support his conviction; and (2) that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial. Upon review of the record, we conclude that the evidence presented at trial was sufficient to support the Defendant's conviction, and we conclude that the Defendant received adequate representation at trial. We thus affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Loudon | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Roy B. Lipford
The issues in this interlocutory appeal by the state, as we view them, are straightforward: (1) whether the Supreme Court of Tennessee has the authority by rule to prohibit a full-time municipal judge from representing a defendant or otherwise practicing law after 180 days from assuming judicial office; and (2) if so, whether the Supreme Court of Tennessee intended exactly what the rule says. We conclude that it does and did. We further conclude that a violation of this Supreme Court Rule is prejudicial to the judicial process, and the issue is not waived by the failure of the opposing party to request disqualification at its first opportunity to do so. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the trial court which declined to disqualify defendant's attorney, a sitting judge, from further participation in this case. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Waylon D. Knott
The Appellant, Waylon D. Knott, was indicted by a Stewart County Grand Jury on one count of manufacturing methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to sell methamphetamine, and one count of felony possession of drug paraphernalia. Following a traffic stop for improper registration, Knott, after first refusing, granted consent to search his vehicle, which resulted in the seizure of a quantity of drugs. Knott moved to suppress the evidence upon grounds that consent was not voluntarily given. The trial court granted Knott's motion to suppress and dismissed the indictment, finding that the "search was unconstitutional because the officer had no reasonable, articulable suspicion of further criminal activity to justify the request to search the vehicle and further detain [Knott]." The State appeals from the trial court's ruling asserting that Knott's consent was voluntary and therefore the search was valid. We find that the dispositive issues presented are: (1) whether Knott was unlawfully detained at the time that he consented to the search and, if so; (2) whether Knott's consent to search was voluntarily given. Because no findings were entered relevant to these issues, we are required to remand for findings of fact on these questions. Accordingly, the judgment of the trial court is reversed and the case remanded. |
Stewart | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Donald W. Rhea, Jr.
The Appellant, Donald W. Rhea, Jr. was indicted on one count of aggravated robbery and one count of attempted aggravated robbery stemming from a single criminal episode. Pursuant to a plea agreement, Rhea pled guilty to the lesser offenses of robbery and attempt to commit robbery. Following a sentencing hearing, the Davidson County Criminal Court sentenced Rhea to the maximum sentence of six years for robbery and three years for attempted robbery. The court, finding Rhea's history of criminal activity extensive, further ordered that these sentences be served consecutively, for an effective sentence of nine years in the Department of Correction. Rhea appeals to this court, contending that the trial court erred in ordering consecutive sentences. After review of the record, we affirm. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Lisa White
The appellant, Lisa White, a/k/a Lisa Croft, appeals her conviction for aggravated robbery. On appeal, the appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence and alleges she was prejudiced by allegedly improper remarks by the prosecutor during opening arguments. After a thorough review of the record, this Court disagrees and affirms the appellant's conviction. |
Monroe | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Mary Christine Whiteside Cook
The defendant, Mary Christine Whiteside Cook, seeks to appeal as of right from the trial court's denying her petition to enforce a plea bargain agreement and her request for a writ of habeas corpus. She asserts that pursuant to the agreement, she is entitled to immediate release from her imprisonment, which results from her 1986 conviction upon her plea of guilty to first degree murder. We are constrained to dismiss the appeal because of the lack of jurisdiction. |
Bradley | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Raymond O. Jackson v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner appeals the trial court's dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief. Specifically, he contends that the trial court denied him an opportunity to have a full and fair hearing on the merits of his claim. After review, we agree with the trial court and affirm the dismissal. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. James E. Gordon
The petitioner appeals the post-conviction court's denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. He claims that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel because trial counsel failed to call certain witnesses and did not call the petitioner to testify on his own behalf at trial. After review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court denying the petitioner any relief. |
Williamson | Court of Criminal Appeals |
