Jacob Scott Hughes v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner-Appellant, Jacob Scott Hughes, appeals from the denial of his petition seeking post-conviction relief from his convictions of first-degree felony murder and aggravated child abuse, for which he was sentenced, respectively, to life and twenty-five years’ imprisonment, to be served consecutively, as a result of the death of the sixteenmonth- old daughter of his girlfriend. State v. Jacob Scott Hughes, No. M2016-01222- CCA-R3-CD, 2017 WL 3724457, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App. Aug. 29, 2017), no perm. app. filed. In this appeal, the Petitioner argues that he was denied effective assistance of counsel based on trial counsel’s failure to pursue plea negotiations, failure to obtain a forensic pathologist to provide expert testimony, and failure to prevent a reference to the phrase, “Hammer Skin” during trial. 1 Upon our review, we affirm. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Kirsten Janine Williams
The Defendant, Kirsten Janine Williams, was convicted by a jury of aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, and aggravated burglary. She received an effective 15-year sentence to be served at 100-percent. On appeal, the Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting her convictions, arguing that there was no proof she ever held a gun, that the victim was free to leave, and that she entered the victim’s residence with consent. Following our review of the record and applicable authorities, we find the evidence sufficient to support the Defendant’s convictions and affirm. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Bryant Jackson Harris v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Bryant Jackson Harris, appeals the Hawkins County Criminal Court’s denial of his post-conviction petition, seeking relief from his convictions of first degree premeditated murder, first degree felony murder, and aggravated burglary and resulting effective sentence of life in confinement. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that he received the ineffective assistance of trial counsel. Based upon the oral arguments, the record, and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Hawkins | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Nicholas J. Walden
Defendant, Nicholas J. Walden, appeals the trial court’s order revoking his probationary sentence for theft of property valued between $1,000 and $10,000 and ordering him to serve his original four-year sentence in confinement. Following our de novo review of the entire record and the briefs of the parties, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Wilson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. NICHOLAS J. WALDEN
Defendant, Nicholas J. Walden, appeals the trial court’s order revoking his probationary sentence for theft of property valued between $1,000 and $10,000 and ordering him to serve his original four-year sentence in confinement. Following our de novo review of the entire record and the briefs of the parties, we affirm the judgment of the trial court
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Wilson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
STJ, L.P. v. Wanda Kaye Duke Frensley et al.
This case involves a decedent’s alleged wrongful transfer of real property, without fair consideration, out of a limited partnership in which he had served as general partner. Presently at issue is the trial court’s dismissal of claims brought against the personal representative of the decedent’s estate and the decedent’s wife. Although the partnership appeals the decision of the trial court and challenges, among other things, the trial court’s determination that a claim involving breach of fiduciary duty by the decedent is timebarred, we affirm the trial court’s judgment for the reasons stated herein.
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Davidson | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Kevin Dewayne Stinnett
A Marshall County Circuit Court jury convicted the Defendant-Appellant, Kevin Dewayne Stinnett, of possession of heroin with the intent to sell or deliver, possession of .5 grams or more of cocaine with the intent to sell or deliver, simple possession of methamphetamine, simple possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia, and the trial court imposed an effective sentence of eighteen years’ incarceration. See Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-17-417(a)(4), -418(a), -425(a)(1). On appeal, Stinnett argues: (1) the evidence is insufficient to sustain his convictions; (2) the trial court erred in denying his motion to continue his trial; and (3) the trial court erred in imposing partially consecutive sentences and in denying an alternative sentence. We affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Marshall | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
In Re Aiden W.-L.
In this custody case, Appellant/Mother asserts that the trial court erred in its best interest analysis by failing to consider the preference of the minor child under Tennessee Code Annotated section 36-6-106(a)(13). As such, she contends that the trial court erred in designating Father/Appellee the primary residential parent. Discerning no error, we affirm. |
Shelby | Court of Appeals | |
Joe Edward Daniels v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Joe Edward Daniels, appeals as of right from the Jackson County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, wherein he challenged his convictions for first degree premeditated murder, tampering with evidence, abuse of a corpse, and various traffic violations. On appeal, Petitioner asserts that he received ineffective assistance of counsel based on trial counsel’s failure to: (1) conduct a reasonable investigation or utilize a criminal defense investigator; (2) object when the trial court indicated it would not charge the jury with attempt; and (3) request a jury instruction on facilitation of a felony. Petitioner contends that the cumulative effect of trial counsel’s deficient performance rendered his trial fundamentally unfair and justifies the granting of a new trial. Following a thorough review, we affirm. |
Jackson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Terry Lynn Nuchols
A Blount County jury convicted Defendant, Terry Lynn Nuchols, of four counts of identity theft and one count of forgery, as alleged in four separate indictments. By agreement, all indictments were consolidated for trial. The trial court sentenced Defendant as a Range III, persistent, offender to 12 years for each of the identity theft convictions and 15 years for the forgery conviction. All sentences were aligned consecutively for an effective 63-year sentence. Defendant appeals, arguing that: 1) the trial court erred by not suppressing hearsay testimony of probation officer Holly King; 2) Defendant’s right to cross-examine witnesses pursuant to the Confrontation Clause was violated by the State’s failure to call the victim as a witness at trial; 3) the evidence was insufficient to sustain Defendant’s convictions; and 4) Defendant’s sentence was excessive. Having reviewed the entire record and the briefs of the parties, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Blount | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Richard William Phillips
A Cocke County jury found Defendant, Richard William Phillips, guilty of aggravated statutory rape. On appeal, he contends that the trial court erroneously “set[] a one-hour deadline for the jury to continue deliberations” and gave supplemental jury instructions after the jury foreperson indicated that the jury was deadlocked. Defendant claims that the trial court’s remarks had a coercive effect on the jury’s decision-making. After a thorough review of the record, arguments of counsel, and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Cocke | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Nikki Leanne Miles v. James Kurt Miles
This case involves a long-standing and highly contentious custody matter. Upon competing petitions to modify the existing parenting plan, the trial court determined that it was in the best interest of the child for Mother to remain the child’s primary residential parent. Father appealed, arguing that the trial court did not properly weigh the best interest factors as it pertained to the child in reaching its decision. Finding no error, we affirm. |
Henderson | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Ryan Winston
The Defendant-Appellant, Ryan Winston, was convicted of two counts of felony murder and one count each of first-degree premeditated murder, especially aggravated robbery, and aggravated burglary. The trial court merged the murder convictions and imposed an effective sentence of life imprisonment. On appeal, the Defendant asserts that: 1) the evidence is insufficient to support the convictions; 2) the State’s late disclosure of cell phone records warranted either a continuance of the trial or the exclusion of the records; and 3) the trial court erred in failing to exclude the cell phones of the Defendant and the co-defendants and the records resulting from the extractions of the cell phones because the State failed to establish the chain of custody for the cell phones. After careful review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Edward Barber
A Shelby County jury convicted the Defendant, Edward Barber, of rape of a child and the trial court imposed a twenty-eight year sentence. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction. After review, we affirm the trial court’s judgment. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
In Re Tennessee Bond Company
Pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-11-125, the Dickson County Circuit Court suspended Tennessee Bonding Company as a company authorized to write bail bonds in the Twenty-Third Judicial District. The trial court found that the company had not paid a final forfeiture and had made and filed semi-annual reports containing false statements. On appeal, Tennessee Bonding Company challenges these rulings. We respectfully affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Dickson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Nathan G. Fleming v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Nathan G. Flemming, appeals from the Knox County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his convictions for attempted first degree murder, especially aggravated robbery, aggravated robbery, employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, carjacking, and employing a firearm during the commission of carjacking, for which he is serving an effective sixty-eight-year sentence.1 On appeal, the Petitioner contends that: (1) the post-conviction court erred in applying an incorrect legal standard to deny relief on the Petitioner’s ineffective assistance of counsel claim, and (2) the Petitioner is entitled to relief under the cumulative errors doctrine. We affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
In Re Estate of Mona J. Small
The trial court awarded the estate of Mona Small (“the Estate”) a judgment in the amount of $26,515 against appellants Kevin J. Elliott and Heather R. Elliott, based on its finding that the Elliotts converted that amount when Ms. Small was residing with them. Because the Elliotts’ brief was untimely filed and wholly fails to comply with the applicable Rules of Appellate Procedure, we dismiss this appeal. We also grant the Estate’s request to find this appeal frivolous, and we remand to the trial court for a determination of reasonable attorney’s fees on appeal to be awarded to the Estate. |
Wilson | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Bobby Hansard
Following a Knox County jury trial, Defendant, Bobby Hansard, was convicted of one count of first degree murder, three counts of attempted first degree murder, and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm. On appeal, Defendant alleges that the trial court improperly limited defense counsel’s opening statement after counsel referenced various prior bad acts of one of the victims, and that the trial court abused its discretion in denying his motion for a mistrial and his motion for a judgment of acquittal. After a thorough review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Joshua Beadle
The Defendant, Joshua Beadle, was convicted by a Shelby County Criminal Court jury of aggravated rape. The trial court sentenced him to serve twenty-five years and to community supervision for life. On appeal, he contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Deborah R. Chase v. Christopher W. Chase
This appeal involves matters of alimony and valuation of marital property upon the divorce of the parties, who were married for twenty-four years. Following its valuation of certain marital assets, the trial court distributed the parties’ substantial marital assets in near-equal shares. The trial court awarded to the wife rehabilitative alimony and alimony in futuro based on its determinations that the wife had demonstrated a need for alimony and that the husband had the ability to pay. The husband has appealed. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm the trial court’s spousal support award in its entirety. We also affirm the trial court’s value placed on the husband’s medical practice. Exercising our discretion, we decline to award attorney’s fees to the wife on appeal. |
Hamilton | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Quinton Devon Perry
In this appeal, we address principles governing the imposition of consecutive sentencing for “an offender whose record of criminal activity is extensive.” Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-115(b)(2) (2019). Quinton Devon Perry pleaded guilty to twenty-four counts of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor that took place during the years 2016 and 2017, stemming from the discovery that he had uploaded 174 images or videos comprising child pornography or child erotica to his electronic file sharing account. Although Mr. Perry had no prior criminal convictions, the trial court imposed partial consecutive sentencing after finding that he qualified as an offender whose record of criminal activity was extensive. A divided panel of the Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed. State v. Perry, No. W2019-01553-CCA-R3-CD, 2021 WL 2563039, at *7 (Tenn. Crim. App. June 22, 2021), perm. app. granted, (Tenn. Nov. 18, 2021). The dissenting judge, citing a lack of proof that Mr. Perry engaged in a continuous course of downloading and uploading materials over the alleged time period, concluded that the record did not establish him as an offender whose record of criminal activity was extensive. Id. at *6–7 (McMullen, J., dissenting).1 Mr. Perry sought permission to appeal, arguing that the lower courts improperly found him to be an offender whose record of criminal activity was extensive based solely on the number of offenses to which he pleaded guilty. We accepted Mr. Perry’s appeal. In this opinion, we clarify certain principles for imposing consecutive sentencing under Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-35-115(b)(2) and set forth a non-exclusive list of considerations to aid determining whether a defendant qualifies as an offender whose record of criminal activity is extensive. Based on our review, we have determined that the trial court adequately articulated the reasons for ordering consecutive sentencing on the record. Affording the trial court’s decision a presumption of reasonableness, we conclude that the trial court did not err in imposing partial consecutive sentencing. Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the Court of Criminal Appeals. |
Madison | Supreme Court | |
Betty Ross ET AL. v. Alisie Jackson ET AL
Plaintiffs were involved in an automobile accident with Defendant and allegedly sustained personal injuries. Plaintiffs filed suit in the Shelby County General Sessions Court but were unable to get personal service on Defendant. Ultimately, Plaintiffs issued service by publication. Defendant, having never been personally served, did not appear for trial in the General Sessions Court, and Plaintiffs obtained a judgment against her. The General Sessions Court judgment was not timely appealed and became final. Plaintiffs made a demand on Defendant's insurance carrier to pay the judgment. Counsel purporting to represent Defendant on behalf of her insurance carrier subsequently filed a writ of certiorari to the Circuit Court. Plaintiffs objected to counsel's standing to appear on behalf of Defendant, but the Circuit Court granted the writ of certiorari and later granted counsel's motion to dismiss the case, finding that counsel had standing to litigate on behalf of Defendant pursuant to the court's interpretation of a contract of insurance that was not in evidence. We conclude that the trial court's conclusion as to standing was erroneous. Accordingly, we vacate the orders entered by the trial court in the proceedings and dismiss the writ. Tenn. |
Shelby | Court of Appeals | |
Keith Lamont Farmer v. Tennessee Department of Corrections
Keith Lamont Farmer (the “Petitioner”), an inmate in the West Tennessee State Penitentiary (“WTSP”), filed suit against Tennessee Department of Correction (“TDOC” or “the State”) after Petitioner received a disciplinary infraction. Petitioner filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the Chancery Court for Lauderdale County (the “trial court”) seeking review of the disciplinary proceedings. The State filed a motion to dismiss, claiming that Petitioner’s case was barred by Tennessee Code Annotated section 41-21-812. The trial court granted the State’s motion, and Petitioner appealed to this Court. Discerning no error, we affirm. |
Lauderdale | Court of Appeals | |
Newt Carter v. State of Tennessee
In 2008, a Madison County jury convicted the Petitioner, Newt Carter, of aggravated rape and aggravated burglary. The trial court imposed an effective sentence of twenty-five years. Multiple filings ensued, the last of which was a motion to reopen post-conviction proceedings. The trial court held a hearing and denied relief. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that his motion to reopen should have been granted based on newly discovered evidence that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel. After review, we dismiss the appeal. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Elijah Garrison
The Defendant, Elijah Garrison, was convicted by a Madison County Circuit Court jury of first degree murder and unlawful possession of a firearm. T.C.A. §§ 39-13-202 (2018) (first degree murder); 39-17-1307(b)(1)(A) (2018) (unlawful carrying or possession of a weapon). The trial court imposed an effective sentence of life plus ten years’ confinement. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his first degree murder conviction because it was based on the uncorroborated testimony of accomplices. We affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals |