State of Tennessee v. Ronald Andrew Archey
In this interlocutory appeal, the State asks us to review the trial court’s pretrial suppression of data from the Defendant’s cell phone. Before searching the cell phone, law enforcement officers sought and obtained a search warrant, which a magistrate authorized based upon its finding that probable cause existed to support the search warrant. The Defendant filed a motion to suppress the evidence found on the phone, and the trial court granted the motion. The State asked for, and the trial court granted, an interlocutory appeal to review the trial court’s ruling on the motion. After review, we reverse the trial court’s order granting the Defendant’s motion to suppress. |
Coffee | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jeremy Allen Stephens
In 2023, the Defendant, Jeremy Allen Stephens, entered a guilty plea to two counts of aggravated child abuse. Subsequently, the Defendant filed a motion to withdraw his plea, which the trial court denied. At the subsequent sentencing hearing, the trial court imposed an effective sentence of fifty years. On appeal, the Defendant contends that his motion to withdraw his guilty plea should have been granted and that the trial court erred when it imposed consecutive sentences. After review, we affirm the trial court’s judgments. |
Fentress | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Barbara Ellen Lee v. Deanna Lynn Peavy
After an unfavorable judgment in a detainer action for real property in general sessions court, the Plaintiff sought relief in Davidson County Circuit Court. Two and a half years later, after numerous resettings, the court dismissed the action for failure to prosecute. The Plaintiff appeals. We affirm the trial court’s judgment. |
Davidson | Court of Appeals | |
Robin M. McNabb v. Gregory H. Harrison
This appeal addresses constitutional residency requirements for Tennessee municipal court judges. Article VI, Section 4 of the Tennessee Constitution requires inferior court judges to be “elected by the qualified voters of the district or circuit to which they are to be assigned [and] have been a resident . . . of the circuit or district one year” prior to election. Tenn. Const. art. VI, § 4. The appellant, Robin McNabb, proceeding pro se, filed an election contest against the appellee, Gregory Harrison, contending that he was constitutionally ineligible to be elected as Lenoir City Municipal Judge. Ms. McNabb asserted that “district” in Article VI, Section 4 refers to Lenoir City, and that Mr. Harrison had not lived within city limits in the year preceding. The trial court found that “district” as used in Article VI, Section 4 refers to the modern-day judicial district. Because Mr. Harrison resided in the Ninth Judicial District, the trial court found him to be eligible to serve as Lenoir City Municipal Judge. The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court, but modified the trial court’s judgment, finding that Article VI, Section 4 required Mr. Harrison to be a resident of Loudon County, rather than the Ninth Judicial District. McNabb v. Harrison, No. E2022-01557-COA-R3-CV, 2023 WL 7019872, at *8 (Tenn. Ct. App. Oct. 25, 2023), perm. app. granted, (Tenn. Apr. 11, 2024). The Court of Appeals reasoned that because the Lenoir City Municipal Court has concurrent jurisdiction with the Loudon County General Sessions Court, “district” as used in Article VI, Section 4 means Loudon County. Id. We respectfully disagree. We hold that Article VI, Section 4 requires a candidate running for a municipal judgeship to be a resident of the same municipality to which they will be assigned. Therefore, Article VI, Section 4 of the Tennessee Constitution required Mr. Harrison to reside in Lenoir City. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeals and remand to the Chancery Court for Loudon County. |
Loudon | Supreme Court | |
State of Tennessee v. Davarious Montral Taylor
The defendant, Davarious Montral Taylor, was convicted by a Tipton County Circuit Court jury of second-degree murder and sentenced to twenty-five years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the defendant challenges the sufficiency of the convicting evidence and the sentence imposed by the trial court. After review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Tipton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Sergei Aleksandrovich Novikov
The Defendant, Sergei Aleksandrovich Novikov, was convicted by a Davidson County Criminal Court jury of attempted second degree murder, a Class B felony, and aggravated assault, a Class C felony. The trial court merged the aggravated assault conviction into the attempted second degree murder conviction and sentenced the Defendant as a Range I, standard offender to ten years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence and argues that the trial court erred in ordering a sentence of confinement without making proper findings that the Defendant was not entitled to alternative sentencing. Based on our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Clarence Willis Moore v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Clarence Willis Moore1 , appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his Class B felony drug convictions, arguing that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel due to trial counsel’s failure to review videotape evidence with him or to convey the State’s plea offer, and that the post-conviction court erred by concluding that the Petitioner was not a credible witness. Because the Petitioner’s claim that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel was previously determined by the trial court in the Petitioner’s motion for new trial, we conclude that the issue is waived. Accordingly, we affirm the denial of post-conviction relief. |
Wilson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Marcus Fitts
The pro se Defendant, Marcus Fitts, attempts to appeal the Sumner County Criminal Court’s summary dismissal of his motion to remove the sexual offender registry requirement from his judgment of conviction for attempted aggravated sexual battery. Because the Defendant has no grounds to appeal the summary dismissal of his motion, we dismiss the appeal. |
Sumner | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Sonny Edmund Hudson, Jr.
A Madison County jury convicted the defendant, Sonny Edmund Hudson, Jr., of two counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of especially aggravated robbery, for which he received an effective sentence of twenty-three years in confinement at 100%. On appeal, the defendant contends the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support his conviction for the attempted first-degree murder of James Theus. After reviewing the record and considering the applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Dale Muhlenberg v. Neva Muhlenberg
This is an appeal from an order entered on January 2, 2025. The appellant filed her notice of appeal on February 24, 2025, together with a motion requesting an extension of time within which to file the appeal. Because the thirty-day time limit for filing a notice of appeal is jurisdictional and cannot be waived, we deny the motion for extension and dismiss the appeal. |
Sumner | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Royce Scott Earley
The Defendant, Royce Scott Earley, confessed to multiple acts of rape against his eightyear- |
Anderson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. William Rimmel, III
This appeal arises from a road-rage incident in Marion County involving the defendant, William Rimmel, III, and the victim, Bobbie Burke. While riding his motorcycle, Rimmel aggressively pursued Burke on the interstate and eventually broke the passenger window of Burke’s car by pounding on it with the slide of a loaded handgun. Rimmel never fired the handgun or pointed it in Burke’s direction, however, and Burke was unaware that the object used to break the window was a gun. A jury convicted Rimmel of attempted aggravated assault and felony reckless endangerment with a handgun. Rimmel challenges the sufficiency of the evidence for both convictions. Because we conclude that Rimmel intended to place Burke in reasonable fear of serious bodily injury by using his handgun and took a substantial step toward doing so, we affirm his conviction for attempted aggravated assault. But because the evidence does not establish that Rimmel’s handgun-related conduct placed Burke in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death, we reverse his conviction for felony reckless endangerment. |
Marion | Supreme Court | |
Jolene Renee Scholl v. Michael Ray Scholl
This is an appeal from a final judgment entered on December 10, 2024. The appellant filed his notice of appeal with the appellate court clerk on March 3, 2025, together with a Motion to Accept Late Filing. Because the thirty-day time limit for filing a notice of appeal with the appellate court clerk is jurisdictional and cannot be waived, we deny the Motion to Accept Late Filing and dismiss the appeal. |
Montgomery | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Herbert Eugene Ewing
Herbert Eugene Ewing, Movant, filed a motion pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
City of Memphis v. Malcom Gary
This appeal arises from the denial of line of duty disability benefits to the appellee by a pension board. The denial went before an administrative law judge who reversed the decision of the pension board and determined the appellee was entitled to benefits. The appellant filed a petition for judicial review in the chancery court, which affirmed the ruling of the administrative law judge. This appeal followed. Because the record does not contain evidence showing that the board entered a final determination, we are without subject matter jurisdiction. Accordingly, this appeal is dismissed. |
Shelby | Court of Appeals | |
Tatum M. Campbell v. T.C. Restaurant Group, LLC et al.
The Plaintiff sued a musician and the establishment where he performed for negligence after the Plaintiff climbed on stage and sustained a concussion as a result of a fall from the stage while being escorted therefrom. The jury found that the Defendants were not at fault. On appeal, the Plaintiff claims reversible error because of defense counsel’s statement during opening argument that Plaintiff hoped to be a “lottery lawsuit winner” and error in admitting evidence of medical leave benefits Plaintiff obtained from her work. We affirm. |
Davidson | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Clarence M. Porter
Defendant, Clarence M. Porter, was convicted by a Loudon County jury of two counts of felony murder, one count of theft of property under $1,000, and one count of especially aggravated robbery. He was also charged with possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, but following a bifurcated trial, that charge was dismissed by the trial court. The trial court imposed an effective life sentence for the felony murder, theft, and especially aggravated robbery convictions. Defendant argues that the trial court erred in admitting a hearsay statement by a co-defendant because the State failed to prove that Defendant was involved in a conspiracy with co-defendants; that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions because there was no independent proof to corroborate accomplice testimony and the State failed to prove that he was criminally responsible for the actions of his co-defendants or that he independently possessed any criminal intent to commit the charged offenses; that the trial court erred in allowing the State’s lead investigator to reference the Chattanooga Police Department’s “street gangs unit;” and that the State committed prosecutorial misconduct during closing argument. Following our review of the entire record and the oral arguments and briefs of the parties, we determine that the trial court erred in admitting hearsay evidence. Further, following State v. Thomas, 687 S.W.3d 223, (Tenn. 2024), because the accomplice testimony was not sufficiently corroborated, we find that the evidence is insufficient to sustain Defendant’s convictions. Accordingly, we reverse the judgments of the trial court and dismiss the charges against Defendant. |
Loudon | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Rhonda Lawson v. Judge Randy Kennedy Et Al.
A mother sought the recusal of the juvenile court judge overseeing a custody case involving her minor child. After the judge denied two recusal motions, the mother filed a petition for a writ of mandamus in the circuit court. The circuit court determined that it lacked authority to issue the writ of mandamus and dismissed the petition. The mother appealed. We affirm. |
Sullivan | Court of Appeals | |
Dallas K. Hurley, Jr. v. Ryan B. Pickens Et Al.
In this healthcare liability action, the trial court excluded the plaintiff’s proffered expert witness after concluding that the witness failed to satisfy the competency requirements in Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-26-115(b). Discerning no abuse of discretion, we affirm the trial court’s decision. |
Knox | Court of Appeals | |
Antwain Tapaige Sales v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Antwain Tapaige Sales, appeals from the Hardeman County Circuit Court’s order summarily dismissing his third state petition for writ of habeas corpus. On appeal, Petitioner asserts that his sentence is void and that he is entitled to habeas corpus relief. After review, we affirm the judgment of the habeas corpus court. |
Hardeman | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Mustafa Malik Slater and Tramell Rasha Sparkman
In this interlocutory appeal, at issue is the appropriate jury instruction to be given in a murder case for a crime committed in 2015 but tried in 2024. In the time between the murder and trial, the Tennessee Supreme Court released an opinion, State v. Thomas, 687 S.W.3d 223 (Tenn. 2024), which abrogated the old common-law accomplice-corroboration rule. The State requested the new jury instruction pursuant to Thomas, and the trial court ruled that fairness concerns required the old common-law instruction. The State sought and obtained an interlocutory appeal. On appeal, it asserts that the trial court erred and that the jury should be instructed pursuant to Thomas. After review, we conclude that the Thomas court intended that the new law apply to trials commencing after March 7, 2024. Because the trial for this matter has not yet commenced, the jury in this case shall be instructed in accordance with Thomas and its conclusion regarding the jury instruction about accomplice testimony. Accordingly, the order of the trial court is reversed, and this case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. |
Hickman | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jeffery Lynn Lane, Jr.
The Defendant, Jeffery Lynn Lane, Jr., was convicted in the Madison County Circuit Court of possession of a firearm after having been convicted of a felony crime of violence, driving without a license, and driving without proof of insurance and received an effective twelve-year sentence to be served at eighty-five percent release eligibility. On appeal, he claims that the evidence is insufficient to show he possessed the firearm, that the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress evidence, and that the trial court committed plain error by allowing the State to introduce evidence of uncharged offenses. Based upon the oral arguments, the record, and the parties’ brief, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Dale Steven White
The Defendant, Dale Steven White, was charged with twelve offenses resulting from his fleeing from the police on three separate occasions on June 13, December 11, and December 13, 2021. The Defendant entered a "blind" plea to each charge on November 16, 2023, and following a sentencing hearing, the trial court imposed an effective sentence of twenty-two years' incarceration. On appeal, the Defendant argues that his sentence is excessive, that the trial court erred in imposing partially consecutive sentences, and that his judgment forms contain clerical errors. Following our review, we remand for entry of corrected judgments consistent with the trial court's pronouncement of the Defendant's sentence at the sentencing hearing. We otherwise affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Court of Criminal Appeals | ||
George W. Cosey v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, George W. Cosey, pleaded nolo contendere to Class E felony theft and received an agreed one-year sentence. Petitioner subsequently filed a petition for post-conviction relief, which the Davidson County Criminal Court denied after a hearing. On appeal, Petitioner argues that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel because counsel did not inform him that, between the time of the offense and Petitioner’s plea, the theft grading statute had been amended. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Southern Roofing & Renovations, LLC v. Aron Austin, et al.
In this case that began as a breach of contract action, the defendant property owner attempts to appeal from two cases that were not consolidated in the trial court but resulted in the entry of a single order in favor of the plaintiff roofing company. Because the order appealed from did not adjudicate all of the claims of all of the parties, we dismiss this appeal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. |
Shelby | Court of Appeals |