Joseph Edward Rich, M.D. v. Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners
This is an appeal from an administrative hearing wherein the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners suspended a physician’s medical license for one year and imposed other conditions after finding that, among other things, the physician had violated Tennessee Code Annotated sections 63-6-214(b)(1),(4), and (12) (2010). Upon review, the trial court affirmed the Board’s ruling; however, because the Board failed to articulate the applicable standard of care in its deliberations, the Court of Appeals reversed the Board’s ruling. We agree with the Court of Appeals that the Board was required to articulate the standard of care in its deliberations. Therefore, we vacate the ruling of the trial court to the extent that it affirms the Board’s decision that the physician violated Tennessee Code Annotated sections 63-6-214(b)(1),(4), and (12). However, rather than reversing the Board’s decisions, we are remanding the matter to the Board and instructing it to conduct deliberations based on the existing record and articulate the applicable standard of care as required by the statute. |
Davidson | Supreme Court | |
Joseph Edward Rich, M.D. v. Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners - Dissenting
The majority asserts that the Board must “articulate what the standard of care is in its deliberations.” Tenn. Code Ann. § 63-6-214(g)(2010). To this end, the majority today has found “the standard of care” to be unambiguous. I also find this language to be unambiguous. My reading of Tennessee Code Annotated section 63-6-214(g), however, compels a different conclusion. |
Davidson | Supreme Court | |
James L. Lessenberry v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, James L. Lessenberry, appeals the Madison County Circuit Court’s denial of post-conviction relief from his convictions for nine offenses: rape, a Class B felony; incest, a Class C felony; four counts of sexual battery by an authority figure, Class C felonies; and three counts of attempted rape, Class C felonies. Under the plea agreement, he is to serve twelve years for rape as a violent offender and six years as a Range I offender for each of the remaining convictions, with all sentences to be served concurrently with each other and consecutively to a previous drug conviction for which the trial court revoked his five-year community corrections sentence. On appeal, the Petitioner contends the trial court erred in denying his post-conviction claim that he did not receive the effective assistance of counsel. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Marceline Lasater v. Kenneth J. Hawkins, et al.
A contract for the sale of a sixty-four acre tract of land provided that a vacant house on the tract and the lot immediately surrounding it would automatically revert to the seller if the buyers did not install a water line across the property within a year of the contract’s execution. The same condition was set out in the warranty deed. The buyers failed to install the water line, but the seller, a Texas resident, did not immediately attempt to retake possession of the house and lot. Five years after the contract was signed, the seller filed a “notice of automatic reverter of title,” followed by a declaratory judgment suit to quiet title and to recover damages. The trial court granted partial summary judgment to the seller, ruling that the contract and the deed created a fee simple determinable and, therefore, that ownership of the disputed property reverted to her by operation of law one year after the contract of sale was executed. A hearing on damages resulted in an award to the seller of about $142,000 in compensatory damages, which included income that the buyers had collected from renting out the house prior to the filing of the notice of reverter. Buyers contend on appeal that the estate created by the contract of sale was not a fee simple determinable, but rather a fee simple subject to a condition subsequent, a form of future interest under which the property does not revert to the seller until the seller takes some action to retake possession of the property. Such an interest would result in a much smaller award of damages against the buyers under the circumstances of this case. We affirm the trial court’s holding that the contract of sale created a fee simple determinable, but we modify its award of damages to correct an error. |
Wilson | Court of Appeals | |
Tyson Foods (Re: Sandra Gibson) v. Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development, Workers' Compensation Division
Employer filed a petition for common law writ of certiorari to challenge the order of the Tennessee Department of Labor, issued pursuant to the Request for Assistance protocol, that it provide temporary disability and medical workers’ compensation benefits. Upon the motion of the Departmentof Labor,the trial court dismissed the petition on two grounds: that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to review the Department’s decision and that the employer possessed another adequate remedy at law under Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6238(b)(6). We affirm. |
Davidson | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Deangelo M. Radley
The defendant, Deangelo M. Radley, pleaded guilty in the Davidson County Criminal Court to one count of unlawful possession of a weapon, see T.C.A. § 39-17-1307 (2006), and attempted to reserve the right to appeal a certified question of law, see Tenn. R. Crim. P. 37(b)(2), concerning the legality of the vehicle stop leading to his arrest. Following our review, we conclude that the defendant failed to properly certify a question of law that is dispositive of the case. Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
In Re: Askia K. B.
This appeal concerns the termination of parental rights. While the appellant father was incarcerated, the child was taken into protective custody because of the mother’s drug use. The mother surrendered her parental rights. The father remained incarcerated. After a trial, the father’s parental rights were terminated on several grounds, including failure to comply with the permanency plan. The father appeals, and on appeal the State waives all grounds except for failure to comply with the permanency plan. After review of the record, we conclude that this ground for termination was not established because the record does not show clear and convincing evidence that the Department of Children’s Services made reasonable efforts to assist the father and to reunify parent and child. Therefore, we reverse. |
Shelby | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Walter Andrew Ware
An Obion County jury convicted the Defendant, Walter Andrew Ware, of aggravated child abuse, aggravated child neglect, and aggravated child endangerment. The trial court merged the convictions and sentenced him to sixteen years, to be served at 100%. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the evidence presented, which was circumstantial, is insufficient to sustain his conviction and that the trial court made an improper ruling during voir dire. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the trial court’s judgment. |
Obion | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Lori Ann Stiles Estes v. Randy Lee Estes
The trial court granted a divorce to the parents of three minor children. The permanent parenting plan incorporated into the decree of divorce designated the mother as the primary residential parent of the parties’ twin sons and younger daughter and granted the father standard visitation. The parties lived in Warren County prior to the divorce, in close proximityto the school the children attended. Two years after divorce, Father filed a petition to modify the permanent parenting plan, and Mother moved to another county. The children all testified in chambers that they wanted to spend half the time with their father and to remain enrolled in the Warren County schools. The court concluded that there had been a material change of circumstances and that it was in the best interest of the two boys that their parenting be shared equally between the parties, with custody alternating weekly. The residential plan for the nine year-old girl was left unchanged. Mother argues on appeal that the trial court erred in ruling that there had been a material change of circumstances, and she asks us to restore the previous parenting plan. We affirm the trial court, but modify the judgment to designate Father as the primary residential parent of the parties’ sons. |
Warren | Court of Appeals | |
Berchie Marie Wiser v. Raymond Winfred Wiser
The husband and wife had separated, and the wife then filed for an Order of Protection against the husband, which was granted by the Trial Court. The wife then filed a Complaint for divorce, which was ultimately granted and in the final divorce decree the Trial Court incorporated the Marital Dissolution Agreement which contained a mutual restraining order which restrained the parties from coming about, harassing or threatening or assaulting each other. Subsequently, the wife filed a motion in this case to extend the Order of Protection, and after an evidentiary hearing, the Trial Court extended the Order of Protection for five years, as allowed by statute. The husband appealed, and on appeal argues that the divorce decree, voided the Order of Protection. We hold that the Trial Judge acted in accordance with the statute in extending the Order of Protection, and the divorce decree did not remove jurisdiction from the Trial Court to issue the extended Order of Protection. |
Smith | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Valentino L. Dyer
The defendant, Valentino L. Dyer, was convicted by a Rhea County jury of especially aggravated burglary, especially aggravated robbery, reckless endangerment, and aggravated assault. The trial court modified the conviction for especially aggravated burglary to aggravated burglary, merged the convictions for aggravated assault and reckless endangerment into the especially aggravated robbery conviction, and sentenced the defendant as a Range II, multiple offender to concurrent terms of eight years at thirty-five percent for the aggravated burglary conviction and thirty-two years at 100 percent for the especially aggravated robbery conviction, with the sentences to be served consecutively to the defendant’s sentences in another case. The defendant raises the following issues on appeal: (1) whether the indictment was defective for failing to state sufficient facts; (2) whether he adequately waived his right to testify in his own defense; (3) whether the trial court erred by disallowing evidence of the victims’ alleged activity as drug dealers to show their reputation for dishonesty; (4) whether the evidence was sufficient to sustain the convictions; and (5) whether the trial court properly sentenced him as a Range II offender and whether the sentences were excessive. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Rhea | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Will Rogers Salmon
The defendant, Will Rogers Salmon, pled guilty in the Sevier County Circuit Court to DUI, first offense, and violation of the implied consent law and was sentenced to eleven months, twenty-nine days in the county jail, suspended to supervised probation following the service of forty-eight hours. As a condition of his guilty pleas, the defendant attempted to reserve the following two certified questions of law: (1) whether reasonable suspicion, based on specific and articulable facts, justified his traffic stop and detention; and (2) whether the arresting officer’s intrusion into his vehicle constituted a custodial environment that required the suppression of any post-arrest statements pursuant to Miranda v. Arizona. 384 U.S. 436 (1966). Based on our review, we agree with the State that the trial court properly found that the traffic stop and detention were justified. We further agree that the defendant’s second certified question of law is not dispositive of his case and, thus, is not properly before this court. Accordingly, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Sevier | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Tobias Senter, a/k/a Toby Senter
The defendant, Tobias Senter, a/k/a Toby Senter, was convicted by a Cocke County Circuit Court jury of first degree premeditated murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, to be served consecutively to a life sentence imposed by a federal district court. On appeal, he challenges the sufficiency of the evidence and the trial court’s imposition of a consecutive sentence. After review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Cocke | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Arthur Donahue
The defendant, Arthur Donahue, appeals the revocation of his community corrections sentence, arguing that the trial court abused its discretion by basing its revocation decision on his mere technical violations of the sentence. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jackie F. Curry v. Howard Carlton, Warden
The petitioner, Jackie F. Curry, appeals the Johnson County Circuit Court’s summary dismissal of his pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus. Following our review, we affirm the summary dismissal of the petition. |
Johnson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
In Re: Tiphani H.
This is a parental termination case. The juvenile court terminated the parental rights of mother and father on the grounds of persistence of the conditions that required the child’s removal and substantial noncompliance with the terms of the permanency plans. Both parents appealed. The mother and father argue the Department of Children’s Services did not clearly and convincingly prove grounds for termination of parental rights and did not clearly and convincingly prove termination of parental rights was in the best interests of the child. The mother also argues the trial court erred in determining she waived her right to appear at the termination hearing. We affirm. |
Hamilton | Court of Appeals | |
Corey Hennings v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Corey Hennings, appeals the dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief from his attempted first degree murder conviction, arguing that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel and that his guilty plea was unknowing and involuntary. Following our review, we affirm the dismissal of the petition. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Kenneth D. Hubanks
A Hardin County grand jury indicted the Defendant, Kenneth D. Hubanks, for possession with intent to sell more than .5 grams of cocaine, possession with intent to sell more than one-half ounce of marijuana, and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. The Defendant filed a motion to suppress the evidence, obtained by execution of a search warrant upon his residence, which the trial court denied. The Defendant entered a plea of nolo contendre to all of the charges but reserved a certified question of law pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 37(b)(2) as to whether the search warrant established probable cause to search his residence. After review, we conclude that the Defendant has failed to comply with the strict requirements of Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 37(b)(2). Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed. |
Hardin | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Paul Leon Cox
The defendant, Paul Leon Cox, filed a motion to suppress evidence derived from a traffic stop conducted by a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) officer outside of TVA property. The trial court granted the motion, and the State appeals the trial court’s ruling. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Hardin | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Majid Farraj
The defendant, Majid Farraj, pled guilty to theft of property valued between $10,000 and $60,000, a Class C felony, and was sentenced as a Range I offender to five years in the workhouse. On appeal, the defendant challenges the trial court’s denial of his request for probation. After review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
W. Allen Barrett v. Giles County, et al.
The losing candidate filed an election contest alleging that the election commission made a mistake byplacing the candidate who eventually won the election on the ballot. The election commission admitted iterred in determining thatthe candidate who later won had a sufficient number of valid signatures on her nominating petition. The trial court found that the losing candidate failed to carry his burden of proof and dismissed the case. He appealed. We affirm, finding that this was not a proper election contest and that a challenge to a person’s appearance on a ballot should ordinarily be filed before the election. |
Giles | Court of Appeals | |
In Re: Brittany M. A.
The petition filed by the father asked that the father become primary residential parent of the child, and that child support be set pursuant to Tennessee child support guidelines. At an evidentiary hearing, the Trial Judge granted the father temporary custody of the child and gave the mother parenting time with the child on two weekends each month. The father's obligation of child support was suspended, and the Trial Court set the matter for further hearing five months later. At the conclusion of that hearing the Trial Court determined that the mother's income was "not less than $90,000.00 per year" and ordered child support and a back judgment pendente lite for child support. The mother appealed. We hold the Trial Court's Judgment should be modified because the evidence does not support income at the level set by the Trial Court. We modify the amount downward to $52,000.00 a year and remand for the purposes of establishing child support in accordance with these guidelines. |
Wilson | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Willie March Richardson
The appellant, Willie Michael Richardson, pled guilty in the Warren County Circuit Court to initiating a process intended to result in the manufacture of methamphetamine, promoting the manufacture of methamphetamine, and evading arrest. The trial court merged the first two convictions and sentenced the appellant to twelve years in confinement. For the evading arrest conviction, the trial court sentenced the appellant to eleven months, twenty nine days to be served consecutively to the twelve-year sentence. On appeal, the appellant contends that his twelve-year sentence is excessive and that consecutive sentencing is improper. Based upon the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Warren | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Malcolm Dudley Thomas
A Williamson County Circuit Court jury convicted the appellant, Malcolm Dudley Thomas, of aggravated sexual battery, a Class B felony, and the trial court sentenced him to eight years in confinement. On appeal, the appellant contends that (1) the trial court erred by ruling that the State’s rebuttal witnesses could testify about the victim’s character for truthfulness and (2) the State committed prosecutorial misconduct throughout the trial by placing or attempting to place prejudicial and irrelevant facts before the jury. Based upon the oral arguments, the record, and the parties’ briefs, we conclude that the trial court committed reversible error by allowing the State’s rebuttal witnesses to testify about the victim’s character for truthfulness. Therefore, the appellant’s conviction is reversed, and the case is remanded to the trial court for a new trial. |
Williamson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jason Wayne White
The defendant, Jason Wayne White, appeals the revocation of his probation, claiming that the trial court abused its discretion by revoking his probation and ordering execution of the original sentence. Discerning no error, we affirm. |
Robertson | Court of Criminal Appeals |