State of Tennessee v. James Leroy Poston
The Defendant-Appellant, James Leroy Poston, was indicted by the Cumberland County Grand Jury for one count of second degree murder. Poston subsequently entered a guilty plea to reckless homicide in the Cumberland County Criminal Court. Pursuant to his plea agreement, Poston received a sentence of two years as a Range I, standard offender, with the manner of service to be determined by the trial court. At the sentencing hearing, the trial court imposed a sentence of confinement in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, Poston argues that the trial court erred in denying his request for an alternative sentence. Upon review, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand for entry of a judgment sentencing Poston to serve his two-year sentence on supervised probation. |
Cumberland | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jimmy Lee Heard
The Defendant, Jimmy Lee Heard, was convicted of criminal conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, a Class D felony; aggravated robbery, a Class B felony; and evading arrest, a Class D felony. He pleaded guilty to attempted second degree murder. The trial court sentenced him as a Range II, multiple offender to an effective sentence of twenty-nine years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, he argues that the trial court erred by denying his motion for recusal and by imposing consecutive sentences. He further contends that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction for conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Rutherford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. William Darelle Smith (concurring)
I concur in Judge Wedemeyer’s opinion. I write separately to express my concern of how the trial court dealt with the issue of a juror’s communication with the witness Dr. Adele Lewis. The appellate record indicates that when the fact of the communication was made known to the trial court, there was no discussion of the matter on the record. Any instructions to the jury concerning appropriate juror conduct during the trial are not included in the transcripts, although the jury voir dire was added in a supplement to the record. Direct communication by a juror to a witness during the course of a trial in the nature of the “Facebook” message in this case could never be considered appropriate. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. William Darelle Smith
A Davidson County jury convicted the Defendant, William Darelle Smith, of first degree premeditated murder, and the trial court sentenced the Defendant to serve a life sentence in the Tennessee Department of Correction. The Defendant appeals his conviction, claiming the following: (1) the trial court erred when it allowed the Defendant’s girlfriend to testify about threatening statements the Defendant made two or three days before the victim’s murder; (2) the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction; and (3) the trial court erred when it failed to inquire into possible juror misconduct. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the trial court’s judgment. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. William Darelle Smith - Concur
I concur in Judge Wedemeyer’s opinion. I write separately to express my concern of how the trial court dealt with the issue of a juror’s communication with the witness Dr. Adele Lewis. The appellate record indicates that when the fact of the communication was made known to the trial court, there was no discussion of the matter on the record. Any instructions to the jury concerning appropriate juror conduct during the trial are not included in the transcripts, although the jury voir dire was added in a supplement to the record. Direct communication by a juror to a witness during the course of a trial in the nature of the “Facebook” message in this case could never be considered appropriate. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. William Darelle Smith
A Davidson County jury convicted the Defendant, William Darelle Smith, of first degree premeditated murder, and the trial court sentenced the Defendant to serve a life sentence in the Tennessee Department of Correction. The Defendant appeals his conviction, claiming the following: (1) the trial court erred when it allowed the Defendant’s girlfriend to testify about threatening statements the Defendant made two or three days before the victim’s murder; (2) the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction; and (3) the trial court erred when it failed to inquire into possible juror misconduct. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the trial court’s judgment. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
James K. Robbins v. David D. Mills, Warden & State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, James K. Robbins, appeals as of right from the Morgan County Criminal Court’s dismissal of his fourth petition for writ of habeas corpus. He contends that the judgment of conviction is void because he was sentenced illegally. Upon review, we affirm the habeas corpus court’s judgment. |
Morgan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Herman S. Hester, Jr. (aka "Sonny")
The Defendant, Herman S. Hester, Jr., pled guilty to four counts of selling over 0.5 grams of cocaine. The trial court imposed the ten-year effective sentenced agreed to in the plea agreement and granted the Defendant’s request for an alterative sentence, placing him in the Community Alternatives to Prison Program (“CAPP”). The Defendant’s alternative sentence supervisor filed a warrant alleging that he had violated the terms of the program. After a hearing, the trial court returned the Defendant to CAPP. The Defendant’s supervisor filed a second warrant, and, after a hearing, the trial court revoked the Defendant’s alternative sentence and ordered him to serve the balance of his sentence in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the Defendant contends the trial court erred when it revoked his probation. After reviewing the record, we affirm the trial court’s judgment. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. L.V. Williamson
The defendant, L.V. Williamson, appeals the judgment of the trial court revoking his probation and ordering that he serve the balance of his sentence in confinement, arguing that his youth and candor before the court should have resulted in less than the full revocation of his probation. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
David Hearing v. David Mills, Warden
The petitioner, David Hearing, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, seeking relief from his two convictions of felony murder and the accompanying life sentences. The habeas corpus court denied relief, and the petitioner appeals. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the habeas corpus court. |
Lake | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Roger Dale Harris v. David Sexton, Warden & State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Roger Dale Harris, appeals the Johnson County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for habeas corpus relief from his 1991 conviction for first degree murder and resulting sentence of life imprisonment. He contends that the conviction is void because of a defective indictment and that the trial judge should have recused himself. The State has moved this court to affirm the trial court’s denial of relief by memorandum opinion pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. The State’s motion for a memorandum opinion is granted, and the judgment of the trial court is affirmed. |
Johnson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Ronkeivius Williamson v. State of Tennessee
Ronkeivius Williamson (“the Petitioner”) filed for post-conviction relief from his conviction of second degree murder, and the resulting sentence of twenty-five years, on the grounds that he received ineffective assistance of counsel in conjunction with his guilty plea. After an evidentiary hearing, the post-conviction court denied relief, and this appeal followed. Upon our careful review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Joshua Daniel Brookshire
Joshua Daniel Brookshire (“the Defendant”) pled guilty to five counts of burglary of an automobile and entered nolo contendere pleas to two additional counts of burglary of an automobile. The trial court sentenced the Defendant as a Range I offender to concurrent terms of two years to serve in the Tennessee Department of Correction on each of the seven counts. The Defendant then reached his determinate release date and was released onto supervised probation. Subsequently, a probation revocation warrant was issued alleging that the Defendant had violated his probation by committing new driving offenses, changing residences without informing his probation officer, failing to report, failing to obtain permission to leave his county of residence, and failing to pay his probation fees. The Defendant was taken into custody, and the trial court later conducted a revocation hearing. At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court revoked the Defendant’s probation and ordered him to serve his remaining sentence in confinement. The Defendant has appealed the trial court’s ruling. Upon our careful review of the record, we affirm the trial court’s judgment. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Benjamin Ashley Ray Dickens v. State of Tennessee
A Davidson County jury found the Petitioner, Benjamin Ashley Ray Dickens, guilty of first degree felony murder, and the trial court sentenced him to life imprisonment in the Tennessee Department of Correction. The Petitioner appealed, and this Court affirmed the conviction in State v. Benjamin Ashley Ray Dickens, No. M2006-01697-CCA-R3-CD, 2007 WL 1988024, at *4 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Nashville, May 28, 2003), perm. app. denied (Tenn. Nov. 19, 2007). The Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief and filed two subsequent amended petitions. After the post-conviction court held an evidentiary hearing, it dismissed the petition. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that the post-conviction court erred when it dismissed his petition because he received the ineffective assistance of counsel at trial, and he further argues that the State made improper arguments during its closing argument,amounting to prosecutorial misconduct. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the post-conviction court’s judgment. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Marcell Jermaine Marbury
In September 2006, the Defendant, Marcell Jermaine Marbury, pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter. He was sentenced as a Range I, standard offender to six years and was placed on probation. Subsequently, the Defendant was transferred to enhanced probation. In February 2011, a violation report was filed, the fourth against the Defendant, citing violations of an arrest for a new offense, failure to report, and possession of illegal drugs. Following a hearing, the trial court revoked the Defendant’s sentence of probation and ordered that he serve the remainder of his six-year sentence in the Department of Correction (“DOC”). On appeal, the Defendant challenges the trial court’s imposition of total incarceration. After a review of the record, we conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion and affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Roger T. Johnson v. Ricky Bell, Warden
The petitioner, Roger T. Johnson, appeals the Davidson County Criminal Court’s summary dismissal of his pro se petition for the writ of habeas corpus. In 1994, the petitioner pled guilty to first degree murder and second degree murder, and the trial court sentenced him to the agreed sentence of consecutive terms of life plus thirty years in the Department of Correction. In the instant petition for habeas corpus relief, the petitioner alleges that his convictions are void because the trial court illegally altered the terms contained in his judgment of conviction for second degree murder. This alteration, he asserts, includes an illegal sentence. He further contends the trial court erred when it summarily dismissed his petition. Following review of the record, we find no error and affirm. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jeffery Wade Osborne
A Williamson County jury convicted the defendant, Jeffery Wade Osborne, of aggravated assault. Following his conviction, the trial court sentenced the defendant to thirteen years as a Range III, persistent offender. On appeal, the defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction.The State concedes that the evidence is insufficient to support the defendant’s conviction. Upon review, we conclude that the evidence is insufficient to support a conviction for aggravated assault but is sufficient to support a conviction for the lesser included offense of assault. Therefore, we modify the conviction to assault and remand for a new sentencing hearing. |
Williamson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Gregory A. Shaver
The defendant, Gregory A. Shaver, pled guilty to initiation of a process intended to result in the manufacture of methamphetamine, a Class B felony. After a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced the defendant to eleven years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the defendant contends that the length of the sentence is excessive. Following review of the record, we affirm the sentence. |
Williamson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Bryan K. Watkins
The defendant, Bryan K. Watkins, appeals the revocation of his probation, arguing that the trial court abused its discretion by basing its revocation decision on his failure to pay court costs and supervision fees without also making a determination that the nonpayment was willful. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court revoking the defendant’s probation and ordering that he serve the balance of his sentence in confinement. |
Dyer | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Mario Thomas v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Mario Thomas, appeals the Obion County Circuit Court’s denial of his motion to reopen post-conviction proceedings. The State has filed a motion requesting that this Court affirm the post-conviction 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 post-conviction court. |
Obion | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Chris Allen Dykes v. David Sexton, Warden
The Petitioner, Chris Allen Dykes, appeals as of right from the Johnson County Circuit Court’s summary dismissal of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. The Petitioner contends (1) that the habeas corpus court erred by dismissing his petition on procedural grounds and (2) that the judgments against him are void because they reflect a conviction of criminal responsibility for first degree murder when he was indicted for criminal responsibility for attempted first degree murder. Following our review, we conclude that the habeas corpus court erred by summarily dismissing the petition on the grounds stated in its order. However, we affirm the summary dismissal based upon other grounds stated in this opinion. |
Johnson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Kenneth Ford v. State of Tennessee
A Madison County Jury convicted Petitioner of three counts of aggravated assault and one count of reckless endangerment resulting from an altercation Petitioner had with his live-in girlfriend and her three daughters. State v. Kenneth Ford, No. W2007-02149-CCA-R3-CD, 2009 WL 1034522, at *1-3 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Jackson, Apr. 17, 2009). The trial court sentenced Petitioner to an effective sentence of twenty-two years. Id. at *3. Petitioner was unsuccessful in his direct appeal of his sentence to this Court. Id. at *1. Petitioner filed a timely petition for post-conviction relief arguing that he was afforded the ineffective assistance of counsel. The post-conviction court held a hearing and denied the petition. Petitioner now appeals the denial of his petition. After a thorough review of the record, we determine that the evidence does not preponderate against the post-conviction court’s findings. In addition, several issues raised by Petitioner were not raised in front of the post-conviction court. In addition they were not raised during direct appeal but could have been and are now waived; or were addressed on direct appeal. Therefore, we affirm the denial of the petition. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Tyeshia Stewart
The defendant was convicted in a jury trial of voluntary manslaughter, a Class C felony, for killing her boyfriend following an altercation. She was sentenced as a Range I, standard offender to six years, split one year in jail with the balance to be served on probation. The defendant now appeals her conviction and sentence, claiming that the evidence was insufficient to support her conviction and that the trial court erred by failing to sentence her to the minimum sentence. After carefully reviewing the record and the arguments of the parties, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v, Tyrone Ralph Wright
A Coffee County jury convicted the Defendant, Tyrone Ralph Wright, of one count of theft of property under $500 and one count of forgery over $1000. The trial court sentenced the Defendant as a career offender to an effective sentence of twelve years. The Defendant appeals, arguing that: (1) the trial court erred when it denied his motion to suppress evidence obtained during the search of a vehicle in which the Defendant was a passenger; (2) the trial court erred when it admitted evidence of an uncharged forgery; (3) the trial court erred when it failed to charge the jury on a lesser included offense; (4) the identification of the Defendant submitted at trial violated the “physical facts rule;” (5) the evidence at trial was insufficient to sustain his convictions; (6) he was denied his right to allocution at the sentencing hearing; and (7) the trial court erred when it sentenced him. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we conclude that there is no error in the judgments of the trial court, and we affirm the trial court’s judgments. |
Coffee | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Christopher M. Foster
The appellant, Christopher M. Foster, pled guilty in the Blount County Circuit Court to robbery and received a five-year sentence to be served on supervised probation. Subsequently, the trial court revoked his probation and ordered that he serve his sentence in confinement. On appeal, the appellant contends that the trial court abused its discretion by not granting him another alternative sentence. Based upon the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Blount | Court of Criminal Appeals |
