Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Trial Court Judge: Thomas W. Graham
The appellant, James Eric Alder, was convicted by a jury in the Criminal Court for Sequatchie County of one count of aggravated robbery, a class B felony. The trial court sentenced the appellant, as a Range I offender, to ten years incarceration in the Tennessee Department of Correction and assessed a fine of $25,000. The appellant raises the following issue(s) for review: whether the trial court erred in refusing to charge the jury as to aggravated assault, assault, and theft as lesser-included offenses of aggravated robbery. Upon review of the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Trial Court Judge: Charles D. Haston, Sr.
The appellant, Jeffrey Leon Medley, appeals his sentence of eleven months and twenty-nine days incarceration imposed by the Warren County Circuit Court pursuant to the appellant's conviction of improper influence of a juror. Following a review of the record and the parties' briefs, we dismiss this appeal.
Authoring Judge: Judge Alan E. Glenn
Trial Court Judge: Douglas A. Meyer
The petitioner was convicted in the Hamilton County Criminal Court in 1992 of first degree murder, especially aggravated robbery, and theft over $1,000, receiving an effective sentence of life plus twenty-three years. The convictions and sentences were affirmed on direct appeal in 1993; and the petitioner subsequently filed a petition for post-conviction relief, presenting as issues, whether there was a variance between the indictment and the proof, whether he was improperly compelled to participate in a courtroom demonstration, whether he received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial and on direct appeal, whether his convictions constitute double jeopardy, whether the trial court erred in evidentiary rulings, whether he was improperly convicted because of prosecutorial misconduct or cumulative errors at the trial, and whether his convictions amount to a miscarriage of justice. Finding no error, we affirm the judgment of the trial court denying the petition for post-conviction relief.
Authoring Judge: Judge David G. Hayes
Trial Court Judge: Walter C. Kurtz
The appellant, Henry Eugene Hodges, seeks post-conviction relief from his 1992 first degree murder conviction and sentence of death. The Davidson County Criminal Court denied the appellant's petition and this appeal was taken. This court is presented with the following issues: (1) the effectiveness of trial counsel; (2) the post-conviction court's failure to provide funds for expert services; and (3) the post-conviction court's denial of a continuance and refusal to bifurcate the post-conviction evidentiary hearing. Following review of the record, we conclude (1) the appellant was not denied the effective assistance of counsel; (2) the post-conviction court properly denied the appellant's request for funds for additional expert services; and (3) the post-conviction court properly denied the appellant's request for a continuance of the evidentiary hearing. Accordingly, we affirm the post-conviction court's finding that the appellant is not entitled to post-conviction relief.
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Trial Court Judge: Jim T. Hamilton
The appellant, the State of Tennessee, appeals the order of the Maury County Circuit Court permitting the appellee, Marcus Morrow, to participate in a work release program during his forty-five-day incarceration for driving under the influence of an intoxicant (DUI), second offense. Following a review of the record and the parties' briefs, we reverse the judgment of the trial court.
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Trial Court Judge: J. O. Bond
Defendant, Reginald Tyrone Donnell, was indicted on two counts of first degree murder. A Wilson County jury found him guilty of two counts of second degree murder. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced the Defendant to twenty-five (25) years in the Department of Correction for each count, with the sentences to run consecutively. The Defendant now appeals contending: 1) the evidence was insufficient to support convictions of second degree murder, 2) the trial court failed to exclude autopsy photographs of the victims, 3) the sentences imposed by the trial court were excessive, and 4) the trial court erred in ordering consecutive sentences. After review of the record, we affirm.
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Trial Court Judge: Seth W. Norman
William Andrew Dixon was convicted of kidnapping for ransom in violation of Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-2603 in April 1981 in the Circuit Court of Dickson County. The offense was committed in April 1978. Between the time of the offense in 1978, and the time of trial in 1981, kidnapping for ransom was redesignated by the legislature as the offense of aggravated kidnapping; the maximum punishment was reduced by the legislature from life imprisonment without parole to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole. The Tennessee Department of Correction maintains that it is incarcerating Petitioner under a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Petitioner filed a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in the Criminal Court of Davidson County, asserting the judgment is illegal and void. The petition was denied. The judgment is affirmed.
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Trial Court Judge: James E. Beckner
Defendant Robert Eugene Finchum, Jr., pled guilty to one count of simple possession of LSD, one count of simple possession of marijuana, one count of possession of untaxed whiskey, and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. Pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement, Defendant received a total effective sentence of eleven months and twenty-nine days with 30% minimum service prior to eligibility for work release, furlough, trusty status, and rehabilitative programs. Following a hearing, the trial court denied Defendant's request for probation. Defendant contends that the trial court erred when it failed to impose an alternative sentence. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
Authoring Judge: Judge Gary R Wade
Trial Court Judge: Earle G. Murphy
The defendant, Billy Bivens, was convicted of official misconduct and assault. On appeal, he argues that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his convictions;that the trial court erred by failing to require the state to elect the offenses for which it sought conviction; that the jury delivered inconsistent verdicts; and that the trial court imposed an excessive sentence. Because the jury was erroneously instructed on assault as a lesser included offense of sexual battery, we reverse the assault conviction. The conviction and sentence for official misconduct are affirmed.
Authoring Judge: Judge John Everett Williams
Trial Court Judge: Jane W. Wheatcraft
The petitioner appeals the summary dismissal of his habeas corpus petition. Specifically, he alleges fatal deficiencies in the indictment; an involuntary, unintelligent, and unknowing guilty plea; an illegal and void sentence; and ineffective assistance of counsel. Upon review, we conclude that the petitioner has not presented any claims that justify habeas corpus relief. Therefore, we affirm the summary dismissal of the habeas corpus petition.
Authoring Judge: Judge John Everett Williams
Trial Court Judge: Phyllis H. Miller
Having pled guilty to two counts of statutory rape, the defendant now challenges his sentence. He argues that the trial court improperly denied his motion for judicial diversion. We affirm his sentence of five years on probation.
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Joseph M. Tipton
Trial Court Judge: Douglas A. Meyer
The defendant, Richard Korsakov, appeals his conviction for driving under the influence of an intoxicant, third offense. He contends that (1) the breath test results were inadmissible because the officer administering the test failed to observe him for twenty minutes; (2) the photocopies of certification and maintenance records were inadmissible for lack of compliance with the rules of evidence; (3) he should have been allowed to cross-examine the officer on the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test for the purpose of impeachment; (4) a sealed, miniature bottle of cognac was irrelevant and, therefore, inadmissible; (5) the trial court improperly commented upon the evidence by instructing the jury to disregard the address on an exhibit's tag; and (6) the cumulative effect of the errors at trial prejudiced him. Because we hold that the results of the breath test are inadmissible, we reverse the judgment of conviction and remand the case to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Authoring Judge: Judge John Everett Williams
Trial Court Judge: Robert E. Cupp
While incarcerated in the Tennessee Department of Correction, the defendant was indicted for aggravated assault, pled guilty to the lesser included offense of simple assault, and received a sentence of eleven months and twenty-nine days. The defendant moved for pretrial jail credits, in the amount of three hundred and twenty-one days, calculated from the day the arrest warrant was served to the day the judgment was entered. We conclude that the defendant is not entitled to the claimed jail credits and therefore affirm the trial court's order dismissing the defendant's Motion to Modify Judgment to Reflect Jail Credits. We modify the sentence to indicate service in either the Carter County Jail or workhouse.
Authoring Judge: Judge Jerry Smith
Trial Court Judge: Timothy L. Easter
The Williamson County grand jury indicted the appellant, Michael S. Reid, with one (1) count of driving under the influence, third offense, one (1) count of driving on a revoked license and one (1) count of criminal impersonation. The appellant pled guilty to driving on a revoked license and criminal impersonation and, after a jury trial, was found guilty of driving under the influence, third offense. The trial court sentenced the appellant to concurrent terms of eleven (11) months and twenty-nine (29) days, suspended after service of 180 days, for driving under the influence, third offense and six (6) months, suspended after service of ten (10) days, for driving on a revoked license. In addition, the appellant received a consecutive sentence of six (6) months, suspended after service of five (5) days, for criminal impersonation. On appeal, the appellant argues that the trial court erred in (1) admitting hearsay evidence over his objection by allowing a Williamson County Sheriff's Deputy to testify as to the contents of a dispatch he received prior to stopping the appellant; and (2) allowing the state to introduce evidence concerning a prior stop of the appellant for which he was not charged. We hold that the officer's testimony concerning the dispatch was nonhearsay and relevant and, as a result, properly admissible. Additionally, we conclude that the appellant has waived the issue regarding the prior stop as a result of his failure to object to this evidence at trial and his failure to include this issue in the motion for new trial. Therefore, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Authoring Judge: Judge Alan E. Glenn
Trial Court Judge: Thomas W. Graham
The defendant pled guilty in Sequatchie County to two counts of selling a Schedule II substance and was sentenced to confinement for four years and six months. After serving six months, she was placed in community corrections. Subsequently, an affidavit was filed by her probation officer, alleging that she had violated her Community Services Behavioral Contract in several ways, including "breaking house arrest." Following a hearing, the trial court agreed that the defendant had violated the house arrest provision of the contract and ordered that she serve the remainder of her sentence with the Department of Correction. The defendant timely appealed, alleging that the trial court improperly considered certain evidence and that, if she was reconfined, she should have served her sentence at the local jail, rather than with the Department of Correction. Based upon our review, we reverse the order of the trial court and remand for a new revocation hearing.
Authoring Judge: Judge John Everett Williams
Trial Court Judge: William Charles Lee
The defendant appeals his aggravated burglary conviction. He asserts that insufficient evidence supported the jury verdict, that the trial court improperly admitted evidence of another crime, and that his sentence is excessive. We conclude that sufficient evidence supported the verdict and that the "other crime" evidence was properly admitted. We affirm the sentence.
Authoring Judge: Judge Alan E. Glenn
Trial Court Judge: Thomas H. Shriver
The defendant was convicted in Davidson County of especially aggravated robbery and sentenced to confinement for seventeen years. He appealed the conviction, alleging that the evidence was insufficient to convict him of the offense, that his videotaped confession should have been excluded, and that his trial counsel was ineffective. Based upon our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Defendant appeals the trial court's denial of judicial diversion and full probation following his guilty plea to possession of cocaine under 0.5 grams with intent to deliver and possession of drug paraphernalia. We affirm the judgment of the trial court pursuant to Rule 20, Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals.
Authoring Judge: Judge David H. Welles
Trial Court Judge: Joseph B. Dailey
The Defendant, DeShawn McClenton, was convicted by a Shelby County jury of the offenses of aggravated robbery and especially aggravated kidnapping. The trial court sentenced the Defendant as a career offender to thirty years imprisonment for the aggravated robbery conviction and to sixty years imprisonment for the especially aggravated kidnapping conviction, with the sentences to be served consecutively. In this appeal as of right, the Defendant argues (1) that the evidence regarding his identity as the perpetrator was insufficient to support the convictions, (2) that the trial court erred in ruling that his prior aggravated robbery conviction and his three prior attempted second degree murder convictions were admissible to impeach his credibility if he chose to testify, and (3) that the movement and confinement of the victim were essentially incidental to the accomplishment of the aggravated robbery and were therefore insufficient to support a separate conviction for kidnapping. We find no error and affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Trial Court Judge: Bernie Weinman
The Defendants were each convicted in 1982 of two counts of felony murder. Each Defendant received two death penalties for the murders. On post-conviction, the Defendants contend that the State withheld exculpatory information and that their death penalties were predicated in part on an invalid aggravating circumstance. The trial court dismissed the petitions without a hearing, finding that the Brady claims were time-barred and finding beyond a reasonable doubt that the jury would have imposed the death sentences absent consideration of the invalid aggravating circumstance. The Defendants now appeal the trial court's findings on both claims for relief. We affirm the trial court's judgment.
Authoring Judge: Judge Alan E. Glenn
Trial Court Judge: Chris B. Craft
The defendant was convicted of reckless homicide and sentenced to eight years as a Range II, multiple offender. On appeal, the defendant raises the issue of whether the trial court erred in relying on New York convictions as prior felonies in order to sentence him as a multiple offender. After review, we conclude that the record does not support the trial court's finding that the New York convictions qualified as prior felonies for sentencing purposes. Accordingly, we reverse, and remand the case to the trial court for resentencing.
