State of Tennessee v. Jeffery Lee Mason
The defendant, Jeffery Lee Mason, was indicted for attempted first degree murder, felony escape and theft over $1000. He was convicted by a jury of attempted voluntary manslaughter and theft over $1000. He entered a plea of guilty to felony escape. The trial court imposed sentences of four years for attempted voluntary manslaughter, four years for theft over $1000, and two years for felony escape, to be served consecutively for an effective sentence of ten years. In this appeal of right, he asserts (1) that the evidence is insufficient to support the convictions for attempted voluntary manslaughter and theft over $1000; (2) that the trial court erred by instructing the jury on attempted voluntary manslaughter as a lesser included offense of attempted first degree murder; and (3) that the sentence is excessive. The judgments of the trial court are affirmed. |
Giles | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jeffery Lee Mason - Dissenting
I am unable to join with the majority in concluding that the evidence is sufficient to support the defendant’s conviction for attempted voluntary manslaughter and that an instruction on this offense was warranted under the facts of this case. I find nothing in the record which establishes that, at the time of the attempted homicide, the defendant was “in a state of passion produced by adequate provocation sufficient to lead a reasonable person to act in an irrational manner.” Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-211(a) (2003). Accordingly, I respectfully dissent on the majority’s application of both the law and facts |
Giles | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Cary Ray Davis
The Tipton County Grand Jury indicted the defendant for one count of aggravated assault. After a jury trial, the defendant was found guilty of aggravated assault. He was sentenced to three years as a Range I Standard Offender. The trial court ordered the defendant to serve 180 days in incarceration and the balance of the sentence in community corrections. 1 The defendant argues two issues in his appeal: (1) there was insufficient evidence to convict him of aggravated assault because he was acting in self-defense; and (2) the trial court erred in denying the defendant full probation. We affirm the actions of the trial court. |
Tipton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Clay Jones
The Appellant, Clay Jones,1 appeals from the judgment of the Madison County Circuit Court revoking his community corrections sentences. In May of 2001, Jones pled guilty to two counts of sale of a counterfeit controlled substance. Pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement, Jones received concurrent two-year sentences with placement in the Community Corrections Program. On October 22, 2002, a warrant was issued alleging violations of his behavioral contract. However, the warrant only listed one indictment number. Following a revocation hearing, he was found in violation of his community corrections sentences under both indictment numbers. On appeal, Jones raises the following issues for our review: (1) whether, prior to waiver of his right to counsel and subsequent inculpatory admissions at the revocation hearing, due process required the trial court to inform him that he could be resentenced to consecutive terms if his sentences were revoked; (2) whether lack of proper notice of revocation deprived him of due process; and (3) whether resentencing him to consecutive terms was proper. After review, we affirm the trial court’s revocation of Jones’ sentence in the case in which notice was received. However, with regard to revocation of his sentence in which no notice was received, we find that the proceedings failed to afford fundamental due process protections and reverse the trial court’s order of revocation. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Clay Jones - Concurring
I concur in the result reached by the majority, but my reasoning differs somewhat. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Leroy Mosby, et al., v. Memphis Area Transit Authority, et al.
This case arises out of a motor vehicle accident, which resulted in the death of Deceased, a farepaying passenger of a bus. Plaintiffs, Deceased’s heirs, brought a wrongful death action against the driver of the Cadillac in the bus/car collision and Defendants, the driver of the bus and the Memphis Area Transit Authority. At the close of Plaintiffs’ proof, the trial court granted Defendants’ motion for involuntary dismissal pursuant to Rule 41.02(2) of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure. For the reasons stated below, we affirm the decision of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Appeals | |
First National of North America v. Michael Marks
Plaintiff First National of North America, LLC (FNNA) brought a claim for unjust enrichment against Michael Marks. Marks had refinanced his home mortgage through Morgan International, which was owned by Jerry Levine. The purpose of the refinancing was to pay off an existing mortgage owing to a third party and to obtain net proceeds of approximately $44,000 for Marks’ other needs. Unknown to Marks, the funds for Marks’ loan were provided to Levine by FNNA pursuant to a Commercial Loan and Servicing Agreement between FNNA and Levine. The refinancing transaction closed and Marks received net proceeds of $44,394 at the closing; however, National Bank. For almost a year Marks was unaware that the pre-existing mortgage was not paid making the payments, First American initiated foreclosure proceedings against Marks. Marks paid the arrearage and maintained the mortgage with First American. Marks sued Levine and Morgan International. FNNA intervened as a party plaintiff against Levine and Marks. FNNA obtained a judgment based on contract against Levine but Levine was discharged in bankruptcy without any recovery to FNNA. Thereafter, FNNA obtained a judgment against Marks for $38,000, on the theory of unjust enrichment, plus pre-judgment interest. Marks appealed claiming he had a contractual relationship with FNNA that precluded a recovery under unjust enrichment. We affirm. |
Davidson | Court of Appeals | |
First National of North America v. Michael Marks - Dissenting
WILLIAM C. KOCH, JR., P.J., M.S., dissenting. Both First National of North America, LLC and Michael Marks were victimized by Jerry Levine’s shady mortgage brokering. When the dust settled, Mr. Levine did not effectively assign Mr. Marks’s note and deed of trust to First National, thereby leaving First National with no security. At the same time, Mr. Levine did not pay off Mr. Marks’s existing mortgage, leaving him even deeper in debt than he was before. The majority has decided that Mr. Marks should bear the brunt of Mr. Levine’s defalcations by requiring him to partially indemnify First National. I disagree. |
Davidson | Court of Appeals | |
Tonya Patrice Ray v. William Martin Ray v. Stephen Eric Staggs
Natural father of minor twin children appeals trial court's final order of custody and visitation on multiple grounds, alleging primarily that (1) the trial court erred in awarding visitation to stepfather; (2) the trial court erred in refusing to change children's surname to that of their natural father; and (3) the trial court improperly based its opinion on a sealed psychological report. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand. |
Davidson | Court of Appeals | |
Frank Bright, Jr. v. State of Tennessee
A Davidson County jury convicted the Petitioner, Frank Chester Bright, Jr., of possession with intent to deliver over twenty-six grams of a substance containing cocaine, a Class B felony, and facilitation of possession of a deadly weapon, a Class A misdemeanor. The trial court sentenced the Petitioner as a career offender to thirty years in prison on the possession count and eleven months and twenty-nine days in prison on the facilitation count, with the sentences to run concurrently. On direct appeal, this Court affirmed the conviction, and the Tennessee Supreme Court denied the Petitioner's application for permission to appeal. The Petitioner then filed a petition seeking post-conviction relief in the trial court, which the court dismissed. On appeal, the Petitioner asserts that the post-conviction court erred when it dismissed his petition finding that there was no merit to his claims that: (1) he was denied effective assistance of counsel at his sentencing hearing; (2) the prosecutor committed prosecutorial misconduct at the sentencing hearing; and (3) the trial court's instructions to the jury violated his due process rights. Finding no error, we affirm the post-conviction court's dismissal of the petition. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Frank Bright, Jr. v. State of Tennessee
A Davidson County jury convicted the Petitioner, Frank Chester Bright, Jr., of possession with intent to deliver over twenty-six grams of a substance containing cocaine, a Class B felony, and facilitation of possession of a deadly weapon, a Class A misdemeanor. The trial court sentenced the Petitioner as a career offender to thirty years in prison on the possession count and eleven months and twenty-nine days in prison on the facilitation count, with the sentences to run concurrently. On direct appeal, this Court affirmed the conviction, and the Tennessee Supreme Court denied the Petitioner's application for permission to appeal. The Petitioner then filed a petition seeking post-conviction relief in the trial court, which the court dismissed. On appeal, the Petitioner asserts that the post-conviction court erred when it dismissed his petition finding that there was no merit to his claims that: (1) he was denied effective assistance of counsel at his sentencing hearing; (2) the prosecutor committed prosecutorial misconduct at the sentencing hearing; and (3) the trial court's instructions to the jury violated his due process rights. Finding no error, we affirm the post-conviction court's dismissal of the petition. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Reginald Stacy Sudderth
In 1998, the defendant, through former counsel, entered into a letter agreement with the Blount County District Attorney General which provided that he would be granted immunity for the murder of Andre Jackson if he provided information and cooperated in the prosecution of the murder of Gary Huskey and passed a polygraph examination administered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI") as to the Huskey murder. The defendant subsequently was indicted for first degree murder and conspiracy to commit first degree murder. He then filed a motion to dismiss the indictment, claiming, inter alia, that the polygraph was unfair, that he had not failed the test, and that the State breached its agreement to provide another polygraph. Following hearings, the trial court dismissed the motion, and the defendant filed an interlocutory appeal. After review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court dismissing the motion, but remand for entry of corrected minutes reflecting that the trial court denied the defendant's motion to dismiss. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Carey Standford Richmond
The defendant, Carey Stanford Richmond, appeals from the Sullivan County Criminal Court's imposition of incarcerative sentencing for numerous conviction offenses and for an additional probation violation. She claims that she was entitled to alternative sentences, and because we disagree, we affirm. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Terry R. McCulloch
The defendant, Terry R. McCulloch, pled guilty to DUI, third offense, and driving on a revoked license, reserving as a certified question of law whether the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence obtained as a result of a driver's license roadblock stop. On appeal, he argues that the roadblock stop was unconstitutional. Following our review, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and dismiss the charges against the defendant. |
Loudon | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Nick Alfredo Santiago, et. al, v. Joy Cooper, et al.
Plaintiff, a minor student, brought suit for damages arising from an eye injury he sustained during recess at school. The Defendants, which are both governmental entities, moved for summary judgment, arguing that they are immune from suit and that Plaintiff cannot, as a matter of law, establish the elements of his negligence claim. After conducting a hearing, the trial court granted the Defendants summary judgment on both grounds. For the following reasons, we affirm the ruling of the lower court. |
Weakley | Court of Appeals | |
Donna Kilgore v. NHC Healthcare
We granted this appeal to determine whether the Chancellor had jurisdiction to hear the employee's appeal after diagnostic tests ordered by her physician were denied by the employer's utilization review program. The Chancellor found that the diagnostic tests were reasonable and necessary and ordered that they be provided by the employer. The employer appealed, arguing that the Chancellor did not have jurisdiction to hear the appeal because the employee's recourse was limited to review by the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development's utilization review program. The appeal was argued before the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-225(e)(3), but the appeal was transferred to the full Supreme Court prior to the Panel issuing its decision. After reviewing the record and applicable authority, we conclude that the Chancellor had jurisdiction to consider the employee's appeal of the decision to deny diagnostic tests made by the employer's utilization review program. We therefore affirm the judgment. |
Sequatchie | Supreme Court | |
State of Tennessee v. Shawn Hazeltine
A Marshall County jury convicted the Defendant, Shawn Edward Hazeltine, of three counts of aggravated assault and three counts of reckless endangerment. The trial court merged the reckless endangerment convictions with the aggravated assault convictions and then sentenced the Defendant to an aggregate seven years and seven months in prison. On appeal, the Defendant contends that: (1) insufficient evidence exists to support the convictions; (2) the trial court erred in not consolidating the three counts of reckless endangerment; and (3) the trial court erred by not ordering alternative sentencing and by ordering consecutive sentencing. We conclude that sufficient evidence exists in the record to support the Defendant's convictions and that the trial court did not err in sentencing the Defendant. However, we conclude that the trial court erred by failing to consolidate the three reckless endangerment convictions into one conviction. We further conclude that the trial court erred by entering a judgment form for Count 2 showing a conviction for reckless aggravated assault, because the trial court dismissed Count 2 of the indictment. Therefore, we remand the case to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. |
Marshall | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Dana Bryan Ellis v. Susan Lynn Ellis (Johnson)
Several years after Dana Bryan Ellis ("Father") and Susan Lynn Ellis (Johnson) ("Mother") were divorced, Mother filed a petition seeking to increase Father's child support payments. Father filed a counterclaim seeking a downward deviation in his child support payments claiming he was exercising visitation in excess of that contemplated by the Child Support Guidelines. After a trial, the Trial Court found Father's annual gross wages were $80,000 and set current child support payments based on that amount. The Trial Court also awarded retroactive child support to the date the petition for modification was filed and concluded the retroactive support also should be based on Father's current salary of $80,000. The Trial Court denied Father's request for a downward deviation after concluding it was in the best interests of the children not to reduce Father's child support payment. Father appeals. We affirm in part, vacate in part, and remand. |
Hamilton | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Bobby R. Dyer
Bobby R. Dyer appeals from his Williamson County Circuit Court convictions of aggravated burglary and theft of property valued at $1,000 to $9,999. He claims that his theft conviction is not supported by sufficient evidence and that he was improperly sentenced. Because we are unconvinced of reversible error, we affirm. |
Williamson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Harold Garland Mabry, Jr.
The appellant, Harold Garland Mabry, Jr., pled guilty in the Davidson County Criminal Court to possession of .5 grams or more of cocaine and possession of a firearm during a felony. Pursuant to the plea agreement, the appellant received a total effective sentence of eight years incarceration in the Tennessee Department of Correction. As a condition of his plea, the appellant reserved a certified question of law concerning the validity of the search warrant underlying the search of his residence. Upon our review of the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
James Ray Bartlett v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, James Ray Barlett, filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the Wayne County Circuit Court, alleging that his sentence was expired. After examining the record, the trial court dismissed the petition. The petitioner appeals. Upon review of the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Wayne | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Bernard Kane Johnson v. State of Tennessee
Following an evidentiary hearing on the issue whether Bernard Kane Johnson, the petitioner, had been denied effective assistance of counsel, the post-conviction court determined that no constitutional violation had been shown and that the petitioner's sexual battery, aggravated kidnapping, and aggravated assault convictions were not void or voidable. Finding no error, we affirm the post-conviction court's dismissal of the petition. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Brandon Shawn Jones
The defendant, Brandon Shawn Jones, pled guilty to burglary of a motor vehicle and possession of burglary tools. The Knox County Criminal Court ordered the defendant to serve an effective two-year sentence with 120 days in confinement followed by probation. The defendant appeals the denial of total probation. We affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Beverly Miller, et al., v. United Automax
Appellants sued Appellee on theories of common law misrepresentation and violation of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, arising from the sale of a used vehicle. A jury returned a verdict for Appellants on both theories and Appellants elected to take their remedy under the common law claim, which included an award of punitive damages. The trial court denied Appellants’ prayer for attorney fees, which were not available under the common law remedy but only under the Consumer Protection Act claim. Having been denied attorney fees, Appellants requested that they be allowed to amend their election of remedies. This request was denied. Appellants appeal. We affirm. |
Shelby | Court of Appeals | |
Troy Sterling Fuller v. Janie Marie Nicholson
This is primarily a child custody dispute. The father and mother lived together with their infant son and the mother's two older sons in the mother's house trailer before moving into a house purchased by the mother with a down payment provided by the father. When their son was approximately eight months old, the parties separated and thereafter began a contentious legal battle over his custody. Following a bench trial, the trial court awarded the mother primary custody, granted the father broad visitation rights, and denied the father's request for the return of his down payment and closing costs, finding there was no equity in the house. The father appeals the trial court's award of primary custody to the mother and its denial of his request for the return of his down payment and closing costs. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. |
Wilson | Court of Appeals |