Raymond David Wright v. Howard Carlton, Warden
The Petitioner, Raymond David Wright, pled guilty to second degree murder in 1993 in exchange for a fifty year sentence as a Range III offender. He filed a petition for habeas corpus relief claiming his sentence was illegal because, had he been tried and convicted, he would be considered only a Range I offender. Thus, he claims his fifty-year sentence is illegal. The Petitioner further asserts second degree murder is not a lesser included offense of first degree felony murder, and, therefore, the trial court had no jurisdiction to sentence him. The habeas court dismissed the petition without a hearing. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the habeas court. |
Johnson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Charles W. McCaleb
Appellant, Charles W. McCaleb, was indicted by the Hickman County Grand Jury for aggravated assault and assault. After a jury trial, Appellant was acquitted of aggravated assault in Count One and convicted of assault by offensive touching in Count Two. As a result, the trial court sentenced Appellant to six months in jail. The trial court ordered Appellant to serve forty-five days in incarceration and the remainder of the sentence was suspended and Appellant was placed on probation. On appeal, Appellant argues that the evidence was insufficient and that his sentence is excessive. We affirm the judgment of the trial court because the evidence is sufficient to support the conviction for simple assault by offensive touching and the trial court properly sentenced Appellant. |
Hickman | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jeremy Crosby v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Jeremy Crosby, appeals the Davidson County Criminal Court’s order dismissing his pro se petition for post-conviction relief without a hearing. The state contends that the trial court properly dismissed most of the petitioner’s claims but admits that the post-conviction court should have appointed counsel to address the petitioner’s claim of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel. After reviewing the record, we affirm the majority of the post-conviction court’s order but remand the case to the post-conviction court for the appointment of counsel and additional proceedings regarding the petitioner’s claim of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Julius Jones v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Julius Jones, was convicted in 2002 of facilitation of felony murder, a Class B felony, and sentenced to twenty-three years in the Department of Correction. Following an unsuccessful direct appeal to this court, he filed a petition for post-conviction relief alleging that Tennessee’s 1989 Criminal Sentencing Reform Act was unconstitutional and that his appellate counsel rendered ineffective assistance in violation of his federal and state constitutional rights. The post-conviction court denied the petition, holding that the petitioner failed to prove his factual allegations by clear and convincing evidence. After our review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Troy Weston v. Tony Parker, Warden (State of Tennessee)
The Petitioner, Troy Lee Weston, appeals the lower court's denial of his petition for habeas corpus relief. The State has filed a motion requesting that this Court affirm the trial court pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. The Petitioner has failed to comply with the procedural prerequisites for seeking habeas corpus relief. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court's dismissal. |
Lauderdale | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Adrian K. Nelson
Appellant, Adrian K. Nelson, was indicted by a Warren County Grand Jury for possession of .5 grams or more of cocaine with the intent to sell, evading arrest, felony reckless endangerment, leaving the scene of an accident, resisting arrest and driving on a suspended license, second offense. After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of all of the offenses and sentenced to an effective sentence of twenty-two years. The trial court denied a motion for new trial. Appellant seeks review of the following issues on appeal: (1) whether the trial court erred in denying the motion for new trial; (2) whether the trial court properly denied the motion to suppress; (3) whether the evidence was sufficient to support Appellant’s convictions for possession of cocaine with intent to sell, evading arrest and reckless endangerment; (4) whether the trial court 1 erred by failing to instruct the jury with the lesser included offense of misdemeanor reckless endangerment; (5) whether the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury on the inference of casual exchange” as set forth in Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-17-419; and (6) whether the sentence is excessive. Because we determine that the trial court erred by failing to instruct the jury with the lesser included offense of misdemeanor reckless endangerment, we reverse Appellant’s conviction for felony reckless endangerment and remand the matter to the trial court for further proceedings. In all other respects, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed. |
Warren | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Danny Alexander v. State of Tennessee
This matter is before the Court upon the State’s motion to affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court by memorandum opinion pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. The Petitioner, Danny Alexander, appeals the post-conviction court’s dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief based on its untimeliness. Upon a review of the record, we are persuaded that the post-conviction court was correct that the petition is barred by the statute of limitations. This case meets the criteria for affirmance pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Accordingly, the State’s motion is granted, and the judgment of the post-conviction court is affirmed. |
Maury | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Reneshia Kiota Parker
The Defendant, Reneshia Kioto Parker, pled guilty to forgery involving $1000 or more and theft of property valued at $60,000 or more. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to an effective sentence of ten years in prison. On appeal, the Defendant claims the trial court abused its discretion when it sentenced her. After a thorough review of the record and the applicable law, we dismiss this appeal because the Defendant failed to file a timely notice of appeal. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Louis E. Whitecotton
The defendant, Louis E. Whitecotton, was convicted of failure to timely register as a violent sexual offender, a Class E felony, and sentenced to three years in the Department of Correction. On appeal, he argues that the trial court erred in denying alternative sentencing. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Tyrone Neely
The Appellant, Tyrone Neely, appeals the Shelby County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition to reinstate driving privileges, which were revoked after he was declared a motor vehicle habitual offender (MVHO) on October 20, 1994. In December 2006, Neely filed a petition to reinstate his driving privileges, pursuant to an amendment to the reinstatement of license statute, Tennessee Code Annotated section 55-10-615(c), which permits immediate reinstatement of driving privileges when one of the underlying convictions which qualifies a person for MVHO status is not enumerated in Tennessee Code Annotated section 55-10-603(2)(A). In his petition, Neely asserted that his underlying convictions for driving on a cancelled, suspended, or revoked license, were not qualifying offenses of Tennessee Code Annotated section 55-10-603(2)(A); therefore, he was entitled to reinstatement. At the scheduled hearing, the trial court summarily denied the petition without allowing Neely to present proof regarding the prior convictions. Neely appeals this ruling. On appeal, the State concedes, and we agree, that it is necessary that the case be remanded to the trial court for a full hearing to determine the nature of the qualifying convictions and whether Neely is entitled to immediate restoration of his driving privileges as provided by Tennessee Code Annotated section 55-10-615(c). Accordingly, the judgment of the trial court is vacated and remanded. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Barbara Ann Bryant
In Tipton County, Petitioner entered an open guilty plea to three counts of vehicular homicide, one count of vehicular assault and two counts of driving while intoxicated, which were later merged into the first vehicular homicide conviction. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced Petitioner to three consecutive ten-year sentences for the vehicular homicides and a consecutive three-year sentence for vehicular assault. This resulted in an effective thirty-three-year sentence. Petitioner was unsuccessful on appeal. State v. Barbara Ann Bryant, No. W2004-01245-CCA-R3-CD, 2005 WL 756252 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Jackson, Apr. 1, 2005), perm. app. denied, (Tenn. Oct. 3, 2005). Petitioner subsequently filed a petition for post-conviction relief. The post-conviction court denied and dismissed the petition. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm the post-conviction court’s decision based upon the fact that Petitioner did not present the issue to the post-conviction court that she now presents to this Court on appeal. |
Tipton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
John Willie Partee v. James Fortner, Warden and State of Tennessee
The pro se petitioner, John Willie Partee, appeals as of right the Hickman County Circuit Court’s summary dismissal of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The petitioner alleges that he is entitled to habeas corpus relief because the Board of Paroles violated his constitutional rights by the retroactive use of release eligibility standards. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the habeas corpus court. |
Hickman | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Don Sanders
The Appellant, Don Sanders, appeals his conviction by a Shelby County jury for the first degree murder of Marilyn Hughes. On appeal, Sanders argues that, because he suffers from a mental illness, the evidence is insufficient to establish that he possessed the mental capacity to premeditate the murder of the victim. Following a review of the record, we conclude that the evidence is legally sufficient to support his conviction. Accordingly, the judgment is affirmed. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Anthony D. Clement v. State of Tennessee
The pro se petitioner, Anthony D. Clement, appeals the dismissal of his petition for writ of habeas corpus, arguing that the habeas court erred in summarily dismissing the petition without appointing counsel. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the habeas court dismissing the petition. |
Wayne | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Floyd Antonius Taylor
The defendant, Floyd Taylor, was convicted of aggravated robbery, a Class B felony, and sentenced as a Range I, standard offender to eight years in the Department of Correction. He argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction because the State did not offer adequate proof that he intentionally or knowingly robbed the victim. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Tipton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Michael Dewayne Mann
The Appellant, Michael D. Mann, appeals his misdemeanor conviction by a Dyer County jury for aggravated criminal trespass. Mann challenges the sufficiency of the evidence underlying this conviction. The State argues that Mann has waived his right to appeal this issue by failing to file a timely motion for new trial or notice of appeal. We agree, but, in the interest of justice, we waive the timeliness requirement for the notice of appeal. After review, we conclude that the evidence at trial was legally sufficient to support Mann’s conviction for aggravated criminal trespass. Alternatively, the State appeals the trial court’s grant of Mann’s motion for judgment of acquittal as to a separate charge of simple assault. However, there is no authority which permits the State to appeal, as of right, from a trial court’s grant of a motion for judgment of acquittal when the grant is entered prior to a verdict of guilty. See Tenn. R. App. P. 3(c). Accordingly, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed in all respects. |
Dyer | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Kevin Wilkins v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Kevin Wilkins, filed in the Shelby County Criminal Court a petition for post-conviction relief, challenging trial counsel’s failure to appeal the petitioner’s conviction for especially aggravated kidnapping. The post-conviction court granted the petitioner post-conviction relief, and the State appeals. Upon our review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we reverse the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Lonnie Maclin v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Lonnie Maclin, was convicted of first degree felony murder, attempted aggravated robbery, misdemeanor reckless endangerment, especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery, reckless aggravated assault, and two counts of aggravated assault, and received an effective sentence of life imprisonment. Following an unsuccessful direct appeal, he filed a petition for post-conviction relief alleging that the trial court’s instructions to the jury were erroneous. Finding that the issue was waived because it was not raised on direct appeal, the post-conviction court summarily dismissed the petition without appointing counsel or holding an evidentiary hearing. The petitioner argues that the post-conviction court erred in those determinations and in dismissing his petition without affording him an opportunity to amend or supplement it. He also argues that we should not find waiver because he is seeking to vindicate a federal constitutional right. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
William Thompson v. Virginia Lewis, Warden, and the State of Tennessee
The petitioner, William Thompson, filed in the Bledsoe County Circuit Court a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The habeas corpus court denied the petition, finding that the petitioner’s sentence was not illegal. On appeal, the petitioner challenges the habeas corpus court’s ruling. In response, the State filed a motion requesting that this Court affirm the trial court’s denial of relief pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Upon review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we conclude that the petition was properly denied. Accordingly, the State’s motion is granted and the judgment of the trial court is affirmed. |
Bledsoe | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Oscar Torres, Jr.
The defendant, Oscar Torres, Jr., was convicted by a Blount County jury of two counts of rape of a child, a Class A felony, for which he received an effective sentence of twenty years at 100% in the Department of Correction. On appeal, he argues that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his convictions and that the trial court committed reversible error by admitting improper rebuttal testimony from the victim. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Blount | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Reginald Dion Hughes v. Tony Parker, Warden (State of Tennessee)
The petitioner, Reginald Dion Hughes, appeals the circuit 1 court’s order summarily dismissing his pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus. Following our review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the court’s order. |
Lauderdale | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Koy Owens
The defendant, Koy Owens, pled guilty to simple assault, a Class A misdemeanor, and to solicitation of aggravated assault, a Class E felony. He received concurrent sentences of seven days for assault and one-and-a-half years for solicitation. The trial court denied in part and granted in part the defendant’s petition to have his sentence suspended. The trial court ordered the defendant to serve forty-five days in confinement, day-for-day, on a non-consecutive basis and imposed two years probation. On appeal, the defendant argues that the trial court erred by refusing to fully suspend his sentence. Following our review of the parties’ briefs, the record, and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Quincy Bryan Banks
The Appellant, Quincy Bryan Banks, was convicted by a Davidson County jury of two counts of aggravated rape and one count of especially aggravated kidnapping. For these Class A felony convictions, Banks received concurrent twenty-three-year sentences for each aggravated rape conviction, to be served consecutively to a twenty-three-year sentence for especially aggravated kidnapping. On appeal, Banks challenges his convictions and resulting sentences, specifically asserting: (1) that the evidence is insufficient to support each of his three convictions and that the conviction for especially aggravated kidnapping violates the due process holding of State v. Anthony; and (2) that the aggregate sentence of forty-six years is excessive based upon: (a) misapplication of enhancing factors with regard to the length of the respective sentences; and (b) the erroneous imposition of consecutive sentences. After review, we conclude that Banks’ challenges to his convictions are without merit. Accordingly, the convictions are affirmed. With regard to sentencing, however, we conclude that because Banks was sentenced under provisions of the June 7, 2005 sentencing amendments for crimes committed in November 2004, without a waiver of his ex post facto protections as required by statute, remand for a new sentencing hearing is required. Furthermore, because the sentencing record fails to demonstrate the requisite considerations for the imposition of consecutive sentencing, the case is also remanded for reconsideration of that issue and for entry of corrected judgment forms in accordance with this opinion. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. James Leonard Corder
The defendant, James Leonard Corder, was convicted of driving on a revoked license and violating the Habitual Motor Vehicle Offender Act. The defendant was sentenced to six years in confinement. On appeal, the defendant argues that the evidence was not sufficient to sustain his conviction. The defendant also argues that the statute cited in the warrant for the defendant’s arrest was different from the statute cited in the defendant’s indictment, and therefore “an error.” Following our review of the parties’ briefs, the record, and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Henry | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Stacy Johnson v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Stacy Johnson, was convicted of eight counts of burglary of a motor vehicle, two counts of burglary of a building, and theft of property over $1000. He received an effective sentence of thirty years. He seeks post-conviction relief arguing that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel at trial. He appeals the trial court’s denial of post-conviction relief, arguing that his trial counsel was ineffective in failing to move to sever his indictments and in failing to investigate an alibi defense and defense witnesses. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals |
