COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OPINIONS

State of Tennessee v. Lamont Hogan
M2011-0113-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge D. Kelly Thomas, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Robert E. Burch

The Defendant, Lamont Hogan, pled guilty as indicted by the Dickson County Grand Jury for sale of less than .5 grams of cocaine, a Class C felony, and sale of a counterfeit controlled substance, a Class E felony, with the length and manner of service for the sentences left to the discretion of the trial court. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced the Defendant as Range III, persistent offender to ten years for the Class C felony conviction and a concurrent four years for the Class E felony conviction. The trial court ordered the Defendant to serve his total effective sentence of ten years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. In this appeal as of right, the Defendant contends that the trial court erred in denying alternatively sentencing. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Dickson Court of Criminal Appeals

Jarvis Harris v. State of Tennessee
W2010-01848-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge James Curwood Witt, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Robert Carter Jr.

The petitioner, Jarvis Harris, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, which challenged his convictions of first degree premeditated murder and attempted first degree murder. In this appeal, the petitioner challenges the trial court’s denial of his pretrial motion to suppress the evidence, the sufficiency of the convicting evidence, and the performance of his attorneys at trial and on appeal. Because the first two issues are either waived or previously determined, see T.C.A. § 40-30-106(g)-(h) (2006), and because the petitioner failed to establish by clear and convincing evidence that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel, we affirm the denial of post-conviction relief.

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. James Johnson
W2010-01674-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Trial Court Judge: Judge James C. Beasley, Jr.

The appellant, James Johnson, pled guilty in the Shelby County Criminal Court to vehicular homicide by intoxication, a Class B felony, and received a ten-year sentence with the manner of service to be determined by the trial court. After a sentencing hearing, the trial court ordered the appellant to serve the sentence in confinement. On appeal, the appellant contends that the trial court erred by denying his request for alternative sentencing. Based upon the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

Brandon Mobley v. State of Tennessee
E2010-00379-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge James Curwood Witt, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Bob R. McGee

The petitioner, Brandon Mobley, appeals from the Knox County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief challenging his 2005 convictions of two counts of premeditated first degree murder, especially aggravated robbery, and setting fire to personal property for which he is now serving two consecutive life sentences plus 19 years in the custody of the Department of Correction. On appeal, the petitioner contends that the postconviction court erred by denying his petition for post-conviction relief based upon allegations that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel and other constitutional deprivations. Because we determine that the petitioner is entitled to relief on the issue of the ineffective assistance of counsel concerning the use of expert testimony, we reverse the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Knox Court of Criminal Appeals

Brandon Mobley v. State of Tennessee - Concurring/Dissenting
E2010-00379-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Jerry L. Smith
Trial Court Judge: Judge Bob R. McGee

I concur in the holding of the majority that the allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel save for the failure to ask the expert witness whether Petitioner could premeditate do not have merit. However, I dissent from the holding that counsel was ineffective in failing to ask the defense’s expert the ultimate question of whether Petitioner could have “premeditated” the murders for which he was convicted.

Knox Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Darrel Watson
W2010-00166-CCA-MR3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Camille R. McMullen
Trial Court Judge: Judge Joseph B. Dailey

Defendant-Appellant, Darrel Watson, was convicted by a Shelby County jury of first degree premeditated murder and was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment. The sole issue presented for our review is whether the evidence was sufficient to support his conviction. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Christopher Bankston
W2010-01269-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Camille R. McMullen
Trial Court Judge: Judge Lee V. Coffee

A Shelby County jury convicted the Defendant-Appellant, Christopher Bankston, of aggravated robbery, a Class B felony. He was sentenced to a twelve year term of imprisonment in the Tennessee Department of Correction. The sole issue presented for our review is whether the evidence is sufficient to support his conviction. Upon our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. George Tucker
W2010-01270-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Trial Court Judge: Judge Lee V. Coffee

A Shelby County Criminal Court jury convicted the appellant, George Tucker, of theft of property valued one thousand dollars or more but less than ten thousand dollars, a Class D felony, and the trial court sentenced him as a Range III, career offender to twelve years in confinement. On appeal, the appellant claims that the evidence is insufficient to support the conviction. Based upon the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Willie Hampton
W2010-01603-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Camille R. McMullen
Trial Court Judge: Judge W. Mard Ward

A Shelby County jury convicted the Defendant-Appellant, Willie Hampton, of theft of property in excess of $10,000, a Class C felony. The Defendant-Appellant was sentenced as a Range III, persistent offender, to a term of fifteen years imprisonment in the Tennessee Department of Correction. In this appeal, the sole issue presented for our review is whether the evidence presented at trial was sufficient to support the Defendant-Appellant’s conviction of theft over $10,000. Upon our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Quincy Bryan Banks
M2010-02653-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Joseph M. Tipton
Trial Court Judge: Judge Seth W. Norman

The Defendant, Quincy Bryan Banks, was convicted by a Davidson County Criminal Court jury of two counts of aggravated rape and one count of especially aggravated kidnapping, class A felonies. He was sentenced as a violent offender to twenty years’ confinement for each conviction. The kidnapping conviction was ordered to be served consecutively to the rape convictions, for an effective forty-year sentence. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the trial court erred by ordering consecutive sentences. We affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Davidson Court of Criminal Appeals

Michael D. O'Guin v. State of Tennessee
M2010-02039-CCA-R3-HC
Authoring Judge: Judge D. Kelly Thomas, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Stella L. Hargrove

The Petitioner, Michael D. O’Guin, appeals as of right from the Wayne County Circuit Court’s summary dismissal of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The Petitioner contends (1) that his sentence is illegal because it is in violation of Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-13-523(b) and (2) that his sentence has expired because he has served 85 percent of it. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the habeas corpus court

Wayne Court of Criminal Appeals

Issac Eugene Jones, III v. State of Tennessee
E2010-02115-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge. D. Kelly Thomas, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Jon Kerry Blackwood

The Petitioner, Isaac Eugene Jones, III, appeals as of right from the Hamilton County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. The Petitioner was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced as a Range I, standard offender to 25 years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. In this appeal as of right, the Petitioner contends that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to ensure that he was given the opportunity to testify at trial and for failing to object to his statement in which he said that he had molested his cousin. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Hamilton Court of Criminal Appeals

Stephen Anthony Scott v. State of Tennessee
M2010-00448-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge John Everett Williams
Trial Court Judge: Judge Michael R. Jones

The defendant, Stephen Anthony Scott, appeals the sentencing decision of the Montgomery CountyCircuit Court. The defendantwas convicted of aggravated robbery, a Class B felony; attempted aggravated robbery, a Class C felony; especially aggravated kidnapping, a Class A felony; aggravated kidnapping, a Class B felony; and attempted robbery, a Class D felony. The defendant was originally sentenced to an effective term of thirty-seven years in the Department of Correction. After multiple appeals and new filings in both state and federal courts, the defendant’s case was eventually sent back to the trial court for re-sentencing in accordance with Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296 (2004). A resentencing hearing was held, and the trial court determined that one enhancement factor was applicable, that being that the defendant had juvenile adjudications which would have been felony convictions if they had occurred when the defendant was an adult. As such, the trial court, applying partial consecutive sentencing, resentenced the defendant to an effective sentence of thirty-four years and six months. On appeal, the defendant raises multiple sentencing issues for our review: (1) whether the imposed sentences are still in violation of Blakely, based upon the application of the single enhancement; (2) whether the imposed sentences are illegal as the State failed to file notice of intent to seek enhancement factors; (3) whether the court erred in imposing consecutive sentencing; (4) whether the court erred in treating a juvenile adjudication as a felony conviction for enhancement purposes; and (5) whether the court erred in failing to offer the defendant the right to waive his ex post facto rights and be sentenced pursuant to the 2005 amendments to the Sentencing Act. Following review of the record, we conclude that the trial court erred in applying the enhancement factor to the defendant’s sentences. Accordingly, we conclude that the presumptive minimum sentences for each conviction must be imposed in this case, and we remand to the trial court for entry of corrected judgments to so reflect. Additionally, we conclude that the defendant’s others issues are not meritorious and that no relief is warranted.

Montgomery Court of Criminal Appeals

James C. Osborne, IV v. State of Tennessee
M2010-00065-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Trial Court Judge: Judge John D. Wootten, Jr.
The petitioner, James C. Osborne IV, appeals the Wilson County Criminal Court’s denial of post-conviction relief from his conviction of rape. He claims on appeal that the trial court erroneously instructed the jury as to the State’s burden of proof and that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance in failing to object to the erroneous instruction. The record supports the post-conviction court’s denial of relief, and we therefore affirm

Wilson Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Maurice Johnson
E2010-00142-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Special Judge David H. Welles
Trial Court Judge: Judge Amy Reedy

A Bradley County jury convicted the Defendant, Maurice Johnson, of one count of especially aggravated robbery and three counts of first degree murder in the perpetration of an especially aggravated robbery. He was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for each of the felony murder convictions and to twenty-five years for the especially aggravated robbery conviction. On appeal, the Defendant argues that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his convictions, that the district attorney engaged in repeated instances of misconduct substantially prejudicing the jury against him, and that the lead detective’s wrongdoing warrants a new trial. Following our review, we affirm the Defendant’s convictions and sentences for first degree murder during the perpetration of or attempt to perpetrate an especially aggravated robbery. The Defendant’s conviction for especially aggravated robbery is reversed and dismissed.

Bradley Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Donald A. Jahr, Jr.
E2010-02288-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge. D. Kelly Thomas, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge David R. Duggan, Jr.

The Defendant, Donald A. Jahr, Jr., appeals as of right from the Blount County Circuit Court’s revocation of his probation and order of incarceration. The Defendant contends that the trial court erred by ordering the previously imposed sentence to be served in confinement. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Blount Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Matthew Garrett
M2010-01338-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Camille R. McMullen
Trial Court Judge: Judge Don R. Ash

The Defendant-Appellant, Matthew Garrett, was indicted by a Rutherford County Grand Jury for aggravated assault. He was subsequently convicted by a jury of the lesser included offense of reckless aggravated assault, a Class D felony. The Defendant-Appellant was sentenced to three years imprisonment, which was suspended after service of six months. The sole issue presented for our review is whether the evidence was sufficient to support the Defendant-Appellant’s conviction. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Rutherford Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Quincy Mills
E2010-00519-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Trial Court Judge: Judge Rebecca J. Stern

The appellant, Quincy Mills, appeals the trial court’s revocation of the appellant’s probation for failure to comply with the terms of release. The appellant contends that the trial court violated his due process rights by failing to reduce its findings to writing and by admitting unreliable hearsay at the revocation hearing. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Hamilton Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Broderick Joseph Smith
M2011-01173-CCA-RM-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge D. Kelly Thomas, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge J. Randall Wyatt
On May 26, 2011, the Tennessee Supreme Court remanded this case for reconsideration in light of its opinion in State v. Garrett, 331 S.W.3d 392 (Tenn. 2011). In Garrett, our supreme court clarified the proper procedure to be used when a defendant requests a severance of offenses pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 14. Id. at 401-05. At issue upon remand in this case is whether the trial court erred in its denial of the Defendant’s motion to sever one count of aggravated robbery from the remainder of the indictment. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court

Davidson Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Varion Johnson
E2010-01363-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Trial Court Judge: Judge Richard R. Vance

A Sevier County Circuit Court jury convicted the appellant, Varion Johnson, of facilitation of aggravated robbery. The trial court imposed a sentence of nine years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence sustaining his conviction. Upon review, we reverse the judgment of the trial court.

Sevier Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Myron Taylor
W2009-02423-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Trial Court Judge: Judge Chris Craft

Defendant, Myron Taylor, was charged with rape of a child. Following a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of the lesser included offense of aggravated sexual battery. He was sentenced to twelve years in the Department of Correction as a violent offender. On appeal, Defendant argues that the trial court erred by allowing the victim’s sister to testify about an incident that she witnessed where Defendant pulled a cover off of the victim while she was sleeping. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

Lisa Marie Butler v. State of Tennessee
W2010-01232-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Joseph M. Tipton
Trial Court Judge: Judge John T. Fowlkes

The Petitioner, Lisa Marie Butler, appeals the Shelby County Criminal Court’s denial of post-conviction relief from her convictions for first degree felony murder and aggravated child abuse. On appeal, she contends that trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to exclude irrelevant evidence of the victim’s earlier injuries and that appellate counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to argue on appeal that the evidence should have been excluded. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Nakia Bohanan
W2010-02669-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge James Curwood Witt Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Chris Craft

A Shelby County Criminal Court jury convicted the defendant, Nakia Bohanan, of aggravated burglary, see T.C.A. § 39-14-403 (2006), and the trial court sentenced the defendant to serve 15 years’ incarceration as a Range III, persistent offender. On appeal, the defendant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction and that the trial court erred in its application of an enhancement factor to determine the length of his sentence. Discerning no infirmity in the evidence but that the trial court erred at sentencing, we affirm the defendant’s conviction and modify the sentence to 14 years’ incarceration.

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Rickie Sipes
W2010-02524-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Alan E. Glenn
Trial Court Judge: Judge J. Weber McCraw

The defendant, Rickie Sipes, was convicted of first degree premeditated murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in the Department of Correction. On appeal, he argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion for judgment of acquittal and for a new trial because the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Hardeman Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. James Michael Wise
M2010-01065-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge John Everett Williams
Trial Court Judge: Judge Dee David Gay

The defendant, James Michael Wise, was convicted by a Sumner County jury of three counts of sexual battery by an authority figure, two counts of solicitation to commit rape, thirteen counts of rape, and thirteen counts of incest. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced the defendant to an effective forty-eight-year sentence in the Department of Correction. On appeal, the defendant challenges the sentences imposed. Specifically, he contends that the trial court erred in failing to impose the minimum sentences within the range and in its application of consecutive sentencing. Following review of the record, we find no error and affirm the sentences as imposed

Sumner Court of Criminal Appeals