State of Tennessee v. Travarious Dejuan White
A Madison County Grand Jury indicted the Defendant, Travarious Dejaun White, on one count of carjacking, two counts of aggravated robbery, and one count of felony evading arrest. The incident leading to the Defendant’s arrest occurred on August 26, 2007. Following a jury trial, the Defendant was convicted of all charged offenses. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to eight years for carjacking, eight years each for both counts of aggravated robbery, and one year for felony evading arrest. The court ordered all sentences to be served consecutively, for a total effective sentence of twenty-five years. On appeal, the Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction for carjacking and aggravated robbery. After review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Frederick Dewayne Gross
The defendant, Frederick DeWayne Gross, filed a motion to correct illegal sentences under Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 36.1, alleging that his sentences were improperly ordered to be served concurrently. The trial court reviewed the motion and dismissed it without holding a hearing, having determined that the defendant did not present a colorable claim because there was no statute mandating consecutive sentencing in his case. The defendant appeals the trial court’s dismissal. Upon review, we conclude that the trial court did not err in dismissing the petition, and we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jarus Smith
The Defendant, Jarus Smith, appeals as of right from his jury convictions for facilitation of attempted second degree murder, possession of contraband in a penal institution, and two counts of aggravated assault. One count of aggravated assault was merged into the facilitation conviction, and the trial court imposed consecutive terms of ten years for each of the remaining three convictions, resulting in a total effective sentence of thirty years’ incarceration. On appeal, the Defendant raises the following issues for our review: (1) whether the evidence was sufficient to support his convictions; (2) whether hearsay statements made by one of the victims were grounds for a mistrial and the curative instructions given were inadequate to address the harm; (3) whether the trial court abused its discretion by denying the Defendant’s motion for a continuance; (4) whether the superseding indictment, which added multiple counts of aggravated assault, should been dismissed as violative of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure; and (5) whether the trial court erred by enhancing the length of his sentencing terms for his facilitation of attempted second degree murder and contraband possession convictions. Following our review, we affirm the trial court’s judgments. |
Hickman | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Elashanti Dean
Defendant, Elashanti Dean, pled guilty to five counts of aggravated robbery in 1998. He filed a motion under Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 36.1, alleging that his concurrent sentences were illegal because he was released on bond in one case at the time he committed the crimes in four other cases. The trial court summarily dismissed the motion. Upon our thorough review of the record, we determine that Defendant has not presented a colorable claim for relief because the judgments are silent as to whether his sentences were to run concurrently or consecutively. Therefore, we affirm the decision of the trial court. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Elashanti Dean - Dissent
I respectfully dissent from the majority's conclusion that the Defendant has failed to state a colorable claim pursuant to Tennessee Criminal Procedure Rule 36.1. I also write separately to address the majority's discussion relative to whether a claim raised pursuant to Rule 36.1 is moot if a defendant has fully served the relevant sentence and to address my concerns that Rule 36.1 permits a defendant to withdraw a guilty plea to which a sentence has expired. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Travis Ware
The petitioner, Travis Ware, appeals the trial court’s denial of his motion to correct an illegal sentence pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 36.1. On appeal, he contends that the trial court erred in dismissing his petition because he received illegal concurrent sentences for crimes that he committed while released on bail. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Bradley | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Travis Ware - Dissent
I respectfully disagree with the majority’s conclusion that a petitioner is not entitled to seek relief under Rule 36.1 when his sentence has been fully served. “On its face, Rule 36.1 does not limit the time within which a person seeking relief must file a motion, nor does it require the person seeking relief to be restrained of liberty.” State v. Donald Terrell, No. W2014-00340-CCA-R3-CO, 2014 WL 6883706, at *2 (Tenn. Crim. App. at Jackson, Dec. 8, 2014). |
Bradley | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jonathan Lavelle Ewing
The Defendant-Appellant, Jonathan Lavelle Ewing, appeals the trial court’s revocation of his probation and reinstatement of his effective eight-year sentence in the Department of Correction. He previously pled guilty to two counts of sale of .5 grams or more of cocaine and received concurrent eight-year sentences. He was ordered to serve one year in confinement with the remainder suspended and Ewing placed on probation. On appeal, Ewing argues that the trial court abused its discretion in reaching a decision that was unsupported by the evidence. Upon our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Wilson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Glen B. Howard
Defendant, Glen B. Howard, was indicted by the Hamilton County Grand Jury with five counts of rape of a child and one count of aggravated sexual battery. After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of four counts of rape of a child and one count of aggravated sexual battery as charged and one count of aggravated sexual battery as a lesser included offense of rape of a child. He was sentenced to an effective sentence of fifty years in incarceration. After a thorough review of the record, and in light of State v. John J. Ortega, Jr., No. M2014-01042-CCA-R3-CD, 2015 WL 1870095 (Tenn. Crim. App. Apr. 23, 2015), we determine that Defendant‟s conviction for aggravated sexual battery as a lesser included offense of rape of a child was improper. We are unable to determine from the record whether the evidence supports a conviction for the next properly charged lesser included offense, child abuse. Consequently, we vacate the conviction for aggravated sexual battery. The remaining convictions and fifty year sentence are affirmed. Accordingly, the judgments of the trial court are affirmed in part, vacated in part, and remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Dewayne Leggs v. David B. Westbrook, Warden
Petitioner, Dewayne Leggs, is appealing the order of the trial court denying his petition seeking habeas corpus relief. The State has filed a motion asking this Court to affirm pursuant to Court of Criminal Appeals Rule 20. The motion is hereby granted. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Caleb Joseph Latham
The Defendant, Caleb Joseph Latham, entered guilty pleas to driving under the influence (“DUI”), first offense, and DUI per se. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-10-401. As a part of his guilty pleas, the Defendant reserved a certified question of law pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 37(b)(2) challenging his warrantless seizure. Following our review, we conclude that the trial court should have granted the Defendant's motion to suppress because he was subjected to a seizure without reasonable suspicion. The ruling of the trial court is reversed, and the charges against the Defendant are dismissed. |
Blount | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Darrell Anderson
The defendant, Darrell Anderson, was convicted of attempted aggravated assault, a Class D felony. On appeal, he argues that the evidence is insufficient to sustain his conviction. Following our review of the briefs of the parties, the record, and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Leroy Johnson v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Leroy Johnson, pled guilty to second degree murder and was sentenced to twenty-two years in the Department of Correction. He subsequently filed a petition for writ of error coram nobis that was summarily dismissed by the trial court as being time-barred and for failing to allege newly discovered evidence. Petitioner now appeals the denial of his petition. After review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Danny Branam
A Knox County jury convicted the Defendant, Danny Branam, of felony murder committed during the perpetration of aggravated child abuse and aggravated child abuse. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to life in prison for the felony murder conviction with a consecutive twenty-year sentence for the aggravated child abuse conviction. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the trial court erred when it denied his motion for a mistrial and that the evidence is insufficient to sustain his convictions. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Raymond Andrew Herbst v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Raymond Andrew Herbst, filed a petition for post-conviction relief, alleging that his guilty pleas to one count of rape and three counts of attempted rape were constitutionally infirm because he was not informed that he would be subject to lifetime community supervision. Because due process does not require tolling of the statute of limitations, the decision of the post-conviction court is affirmed. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Brent Allen Blye
A Sullivan County Circuit Court Jury convicted the appellant, Brent Allen Blye, of possession of 26 grams or more of cocaine with the intent to sell, a Class B felony; simple possession of dihydrocodeinone, a Class A misdemeanor; and simple possession of less than one-half ounce of marijuana, a Class A misdemeanor. The trial court sentenced him as a Range II, multiple offender to an effective sentence of twelve years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. In this delayed appeal, the appellant contends that the trial court erred by refusing to allow him to question a co-defendant about her criminal history; that the trial court erred by giving, or failing to give, certain jury instructions; and that the trial court erred by allowing a police detective to testify about the value of the cocaine. The State concedes that the trial court erred by instructing the jury that the simple possession offenses could be committed with a mens rea of recklessness but contends that the error was harmless. The State maintains that the trial court committed no other error. Upon review, we conclude that the trial court erred in its jury instruction regarding the necessary mens rea for the lesser included offense of simple possession of cocaine but that the error was harmless. For the charged offenses of simple possession of dihydrocodeinone and marijuana, we conclude that the trial court also erred in its instructions on the necessary mens rea and that the error was not harmless. Therefore, we must reverse those convictions and remand for a new trial. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. James W. Grooms, Jr.
The Defendant-Apellant, James W. Grooms, Jr., was convicted by a Hawkins County jury of two counts of aggravated assault, for which he received an effective sentence of four years and six months' confinement. On appeal, the Defendant asserts that (1) the trial court committed plain error by instructing the jury that aggravated assault was a lesser-included offense of attempted first degree murder, and (2) the evidence is insufficient to sustain his conviction for aggravated assault. Upon our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Hawkins | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Plaise Edward Spangler
The defendant, Plaise Edward Spangler, appeals the revocation of his probation, raising essentially the following issues: whether the trial court abused its discretion by finding that the defendant violated the terms of his probation by failing to submit to a drug screen and failing to pay court costs and fees when neither failure was willful; whether the trial court erred by not considering all lesser alternative means to incarceration, including intensive drug rehabilitation by referral to a drug court; and whether the trial judge committed plain error by not sua sponte recusing himself because he had been the prosecutor in a number of the defendant's previous criminal cases. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
McMinn | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Mark Takashi v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Mark Takashi, appeals from the denial of post-conviction relief by the Criminal Court for Knox County. He was convicted of aggravated child abuse and sentenced to twenty-five years' imprisonment, to be served at 100 percent. On appeal, the Petitioner argues that he received ineffective assistance of counsel during plea negotiations. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Curtis Cecil Wayne Bolton v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Curtis Cecil Wayne Bolton, was convicted of the first degree premeditated murder of his two and one-half year old son and received a life sentence. In the present post-conviction action, the post-conviction court granted relief on two ineffective assistance of counsel claims but denied relief on the Petitioner’s remaining ineffective assistance of counsel claims. In this appeal, the State contends that the post-conviction court erred by granting relief for ineffective assistance of counsel in failing to seek a severance and in failing to object to the State’s bolstering and vouching for the codefendant’s testimony. The Petitioner also contends that the post-conviction court erred by denying relief on his ineffective assistance of counsel claims related to failure to consult with a medical expert and investigate the medical evidence, failure to advise the Petitioner accurately during plea discussions regarding the sentence he would face if convicted, and failure to object to prosecutorial misconduct. We affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court granting post-conviction relief on the ground that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to seek a severance.
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Campbell | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Kenneth Ryan Mallady
In this procedurally complex case, in 2006, a trial court found the Defendant, Kenneth Ryan Mallady, not guilty by reason of insanity for the offenses of first degree premeditated murder, attempted first degree premeditated murder, and aggravated assault. The judge ordered that the Defendant be transported to Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute (“MTMHI”). The Defendant was subsequently discharged from MTMHI with the requirement that he participate in mandatory outpatient treatment. In 2012, the trial court found that the Defendant had not complied with his mandatory treatment plan, appointed him counsel, and ordered him temporarily recommitted to MTMHI. In 2014, the trial court held a hearing and ordered that he be permanently recommitted to MTMHI. The Defendant appeals his permanent recommitment, contending that the trial court applied the incorrect legal standard when making its findings. After a thorough review of the record and relevant authorities, we conclude that the record supports the trial court’s judgment. |
Hickman | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Louis Tyrone Robinson
Appellant, Louis Tyrone Robinson, appeals the Circuit Court of Gibson County’s denial of his motion to correct an illegal sentence pursuant to Rule 36.1 of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure. The State has filed a motion requesting that this Court affirm the trial court’s judgment pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Following our review, we grant the State’s motion and affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Gibson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Darrell Dean Hochhalter
The defendant, Darrel Dean Hochhalter, was convicted by a Davidson County Criminal Court jury of six counts of sexual battery by an authority figure and one count of rape. He was sentenced to five years for each count of sexual battery by an authority figure and twelve years for the rape conviction. The court ordered that two of the sentences for sexual battery by an authority figure and the sentence for rape be served consecutively, for an effective term of twenty-two years. On appeal, he argues that: (1) the evidence is insufficient to sustain his convictions; (2) the trial court erred in admitting the forensic interview of the victim at trial; and (3) the trial court abused its discretion in sentencing him to twenty-two years in confinement. After review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. However, we remand for entry of a corrected judgment in Count 7 to reflect the rape conviction as a Class B felony. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Doyale Montez Blacksmith
The Defendant, Doyale Montez Blacksmith, was convicted by a Davidson County Criminal Court jury of aggravated rape, a Class A felony, aggravated kidnapping, a Class A felony, and aggravated stalking, a Class E felony. See T.C.A. §§ 39-13-502 (2014), 39-13-304 (2014), 39-17-315 (2010) (amended 2012). The trial court sentenced the Defendant as a Range II, multiple offender to concurrent terms of thirty years for aggravated rape and fifteen years for aggravated kidnapping each at 100% service. The trial court sentenced the Defendant as a Range III, persistent offender to five years for aggravated stalking and ordered the sentence be served consecutively to the aggravated rape and aggravated kidnapping sentences, for an effective thirty-five-year sentence. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his aggravated rape conviction. We affirm the Defendant’s aggravated rape conviction. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. James Andrew Paige
The defendant, James Andrew Paige, pled guilty to one count of aggravated statutory rape, a Class D felony. He received a five-year sentence as a Range II offender with the trial court to determine the manner of service. The trial court ordered the defendant to serve his sentence in incarceration. On appeal, the defendant contends that the trial court erred in denying him alternative sentencing. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Sumner | Court of Criminal Appeals |
