COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OPINIONS

State of Tennessee v. Gary Lamar McBride
M1999-00319-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge L. Terry Lafferty
Trial Court Judge: Judge J. Randall Wyatt, Jr.

The defendant/appellant, Gary Lamar McBride, appeals as of right from a conviction for murder second degree by a Davidson County jury. The Davidson County Criminal Court imposed a sentence of sixteen (16) years in the Department of Correction. The defendant presents three appellate issues:

1.     Whether the trial court erred in allowing the defendant’s statement to be read to the jury and not suppressing the same.

2.     Whether the trial court erred in not finding that the proof adduced at trial by the State is in conflict with the physical facts rule applicable to criminal cases.

3.     Whether the evidence adduced at trial was sufficient to convict the defendant of murder second degree.

Davidson Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Steven D. Pittman
M1999-00320-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Jerry L. Smith
Trial Court Judge: Judge Steve R. Dozier

A Davidson County jury convicted the appellant, Steven D. Pittman, of one (1) count of possession with the intent to sell over 0.5 grams of cocaine, one (1) count of felonious possession of a weapon and one (1) count of simple possession of marijuana. The trial court sentenced the appellant as a Range I offender to concurrent terms of eleven (11) years for possession with the intent to sell cocaine, two (2) years for felonious possession of a weapon and eleven (11) months and twenty-nine (29) days for marijuana possession. On appeal, the appellant contends that the evidence is insufficient to sustain his convictions. After a thorough review of the record before this Court, we conclude that the state presented sufficient evidence to support the appellant’s convictions. We therefore affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Davidson Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Arcenta Van Harrison
M1999-01184-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Jerry L. Smith
Trial Court Judge: Judge Seth W. Norman

The appellant, Arcenta Van Harrison, pled guilty in the Davidson County Criminal Court to three (3) counts of theft of property over $500 and two (2) counts of theft of property over $1,000. The trial court sentenced the appellant to concurrent terms of four (4) years for the theft over $500 counts as a Range II offender and eight (8) years for the theft over $1,000 counts as a Range III offender.  The trial court ordered that the appellant serve his sentence on community corrections. A warrant was subsequently issued alleging that the appellant had violated the terms of his community corrections sentence. After an evidentiary hearing, the trial court revoked community corrections and re-sentenced the appellant to an effective term of nine (9) years incarceration. On appeal, the appellant contends that: (1) the trial court erred in revoking his community corrections; (2) the trial court erred in enhancing his sentence to nine (9) years; and (3) the trial court imposed illegal sentences for three (3) of his convictions. After a review of the record before this Court, we conclude that the trial court did not err in revoking the appellant’s community corrections sentence; and we affirm that portion of the trial court’s judgment. However, because the trial court did not conduct an appropriate sentencing hearing, before increasing the appellant’s sentence, we reverse and remand this case to the trial court for re-sentencing.

Davidson Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Mell Thomas Bruton
M1999-00956-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Jerry L. Smith
Trial Court Judge: Judge Cheryl A. Blackburn

In June 1998, the appellant, Mell Thomas Bruton,1 pled guilty to one (1) count of aggravated assault and received a sentence of six (6) years as a Range II offender.2 The trial court ordered that the appellant be placed on community corrections after serving six (6) months of his sentence. In July, a warrant was filed against the appellant alleging that he had violated two conditions of his community corrections sentence. After an evidentiary hearing, the trial court revoked the appellant’s community corrections sentence and re-sentenced him as a Range II offender to nine (9) years incarceration. On appeal, the appellant claims that the trial court erred in revoking his community corrections sentence and in increasing his sentence to nine (9) years. Because we find that the appellant was not eligible for community corrections in the first instance, and further that, in any event, ample reason exists to revoke the appellant’s community corrections placement and increase his sentence, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Davidson Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Everett D. Robinson
W1999-01348-CCA-RE-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Welles
Trial Court Judge: Judge Julian P. Guinn

The Defendant was indicted by the Henry County Grand Jury for (1) driving under the influence (fourth offense); (2) driving while license is cancelled, suspended, or revoked; (3) violation of the “light law”; and (4) failure to appear. He pleaded guilty to driving while license is cancelled, suspended, or revoked and to violation of the “light law.”1 He was then tried on the remaining offenses, found guilty of DUI, and acquitted of failure to appear.

Henry Court of Criminal Appeals

Ronald C. Mitchell v. State of Tennessee
W1999-01097-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Joseph M. Tipton
Trial Court Judge: Judge Joseph H. Walker, III

Ronald C. Mitchell appeals from the Lauderdale County Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief following an evidentiary hearing. He contends that he is entitled to post-conviction relief from a conviction for felonious possession of cocaine because (1) he received the ineffective assistance of trial counsel, (2) he received the ineffective assistance of appellate counsel, (3) the convicting trial court’s admission of a pager and money violated his right to due process, and (4) the systematic exclusion of African-Americans from the position of grand jury foreperson violated his right to equal protection. We affirm the trial court’s denial of the petition.

Lauderdale Court of Criminal Appeals

Jeffery L. Vaughn v. State of Tennessee
W1999-01490-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Joseph M. Tipton
Trial Court Judge: Judge Lee Moore

Jeffery L. Vaughn appeals from the Dyer County Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for postconviction relief following an evidentiary hearing. He contends that he was deprived of his constitutional right to a fair trial because jurors allegedly overheard a bench conference  egarding his prior criminal record. He also contends that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel at trial due to his counsels’ failure to inform him of the correct sentencing range, to have the cocaine independently weighed, to present the testimony of his drug counselor, and to move for an acquittal at the end of the proof. We affirm the trial court’s denial of the petition for post-conviction relief.

Dyer Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Robert H. Harper, Jr.
W1999-00492-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Joseph M. Tipton
Trial Court Judge: Judge C. Creed McGinley

The defendant, Robert H. Harper, Jr. appeals upon a certified question of law his conviction in the Hardin County Circuit Court for felonious possession of marijuana for which he received a three year sentence as a Range I, standard offender and a fine of five thousand dollars. The defendant asserts that the stop of his vehicle was not based upon reasonable suspicion and that the subsequent warrantless search was unlawful. We conclude that the stop and search were improper, and we reverse the judgment of conviction and dismiss the case.

Hardin Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Jeremy M. Batey
M1999-00245-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Jerry L. Smith
Trial Court Judge: Judge J. Randall Wyatt, Jr.

A Davidson County jury convicted the appellant, Jeremy M. Batey, of one count of reckless homicide, a Class D felony. The trial court sentenced the appellant as a Range I offender to three years incarceration in the local workhouse. On appeal the appellant contends that the trial court erred in denying him an alternative sentence solely on the basis that the crime involved a death. We hold that where the legislature has provided for alternative sentencing in certain homicide offenses, the denial of an alternative sentence solely on the basis of the victim’s death is erroneous. However, in the instant case the circumstances of the offense, including illegal drug and alcohol use which contributed to the offense, and the appellant’s history of alcohol and drug abuse, including the use of marijuana 2 ½ years after the offense and approximately four months prior to his trial justify the denial of alternative sentencing.

Davidson Court of Criminal Appeals

State vs. Michael A. Daniel
M1998-00092-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge David H. Welles

Davidson Court of Criminal Appeals

M1998-00323-CCA-R3-CD
M1998-00323-CCA-R3-CD

Montgomery Court of Criminal Appeals

State vs. Gregory Lavell Carson, Jr.
M1999-00315-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Sr. Judge L. Terry Lafferty
Trial Court Judge: J. Stephen Daniel

Rutherford Court of Criminal Appeals

M1999-01517-CCA-R3-PC
M1999-01517-CCA-R3-PC

Lincoln Court of Criminal Appeals

Michael Allen Hamlin vs. State
M1999-00936-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Joe G. Riley

Marshall Court of Criminal Appeals

State vs. Susan L. Adams a/k/a Shannon Adams
M1999-01200-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Sr. Judge L. Terry Lafferty
Trial Court Judge: Cornelia A. Clark

Williamson Court of Criminal Appeals

01C01-9807-CR-00298
01C01-9807-CR-00298
Trial Court Judge: Walter C. Kurtz

Davidson Court of Criminal Appeals

01C01-9905-CC-00180
01C01-9905-CC-00180
Trial Court Judge: Donald P. Harris

Court of Criminal Appeals

State vs. Daniel Phillips, Jr.
E1999-01104-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Joe G. Riley

Anderson Court of Criminal Appeals

State vs. Fred Edmond Dean
E1998-00135-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge David H. Welles

Sullivan Court of Criminal Appeals

01C01-9811-CC-00453
01C01-9811-CC-00453

Williamson Court of Criminal Appeals

John Hessmer vs. State
M2004-02818-CCA-R3-HC
Authoring Judge: Judge Jerry Smith
Trial Court Judge: Monte D. Watkins
This matter is before the Court upon the State's motion to affirm the judgment of the trial court by memorandum opinion pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. The petitioner has appealed the trial court's order summarily dismissing the petition for writ of habeas corpus. Upon a review of the record in this case, we are persuaded that the trial court was correct in summarily dismissing the habeas corpus petition and that 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 trial court is affirmed.

Davidson Court of Criminal Appeals

State vs. John Ruff
W1999-01457-CCA-R3-CD

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

W1999-01011-CCA-R3-PC
W1999-01011-CCA-R3-PC

Dyer Court of Criminal Appeals

State vs. Christopher Max Hall
M1998-00180-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge David G. Hayes
Trial Court Judge: Leon C. Burns, Jr.

Putnam Court of Criminal Appeals

State vs. James Higgins
W1999-01726-CCA-R3-PC

Madison Court of Criminal Appeals