State of Tennessee v. Laythaniel Haney

The Defendant was indicted for sale and delivery of less than .5 grams of a Schedule II controlled substance, both Class C felonies. A jury acquitted the Defendant of the sale of a Schedule II controlled substance but convicted him of the lesser-included offense of simple possession or casual exchange of a Schedule II controlled substance. The jury also convicted the Defendant of delivery of a Schedule II controlled substance. The trial court sentenced the Defendant as a career offender to fifteen years confinement for the delivery conviction. In his appeal as of right, the Defendant raises five issues for this court's review: (1) whether the verdicts were inconsistent; (2) whether the convictions for simple possession or casual exchange merge with the delivery conviction; (3) whether the Defendant received a fair trial when jurors were found sleeping during the presentation of evidence; (4) whether the evidence was sufficient to convict the Defendant of delivery of a Schedule II controlled substance; and (5) whether the Defendant received a fair trial when he was intoxicated and unable to assist trial counsel at the time of trial. We conclude that the issues regarding the sleeping jurors and the Defendant's alleged intoxication are waived because the Defendant failed to file a timely motion for a new trial. Following our review, we conclude that the verdicts were not inconsistent and that the evidence was sufficient to support his convictions. However, we conclude that the judgments do not properly reflect the jury's verdict or the trial court's merger of the offenses Therefore, we remand the case for correction of the judgments.