State of Tennessee v. Adam F. Wester
An Anderson County Criminal Court jury convicted the appellant, Adam F. Wester, of first degree felony murder in the perpetration of aggravated child abuse, and the trial court sentenced him to life imprisonment. The appellant appeals, claiming (1) that the trial court erred by allowing the jury to hear about prior injuries to the victim; (2) that the trial court improperly admitted into evidence photographs of the victim's body; (3) that the trial court improperly instructed the jury on the mens rea element of the crime; (4) that the trial court erred by refusing to give a special jury instruction on "accident"; (5) that the trial court erred by giving sequential jury instructions; and (6) that the evidence is insufficient to support the conviction. Upon review of the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Anderson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Terrance Yves Smothers
Following a bench trial, the Defendant, Terrance Yves Smothers, was convicted by the Montgomery County Circuit Court of aggravated robbery, misdemeanor theft, and two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping. The Defendant received an effective twenty-year sentence for these convictions. The single issue presented for our review is whether the testimony of the accomplice was sufficiently corroborated. After a review of the record, we find that the evidence is insufficient to corroborate the accomplice's testimony and, therefore, reverse and dismiss the judgments of conviction. |
Montgomery | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Leonard Masonet v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Leonard Masonet, filed a pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus alleging that the length of his sentence contravened the Criminal Sentencing Reform Act of 1989 and was therefore void. The trial court summarily denied the petition without an evidentiary hearing, and Petitioner now appeals. After a review of the record, we affirm the trial court's dismissal of Petitioner's petition for writ of habeas corpus. |
Wayne | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Bruce M. Vann v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Bruce M. Vann, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, contending that the trial court erred in finding that counsel rendered effective assistance at trial. Upon review, we conclude that the sole issue raised by the petitioner on appeal has been waived for failure to support it with argument or citations to the appellate record. Therefore, we affirm the denial of post-conviction relief, pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
James Stroud, et al. v. Shelby County Civil Service Commission
Shelby County terminated the employment of Eric Thomas and James Stroud. Upon writ or certiorari, the Shelby County Chancery Court reversed, and Shelby County appeals. We reverse. |
Shelby | Court of Appeals | |
Victor Thompson v. David Mills, Warden, et al.
The petitioner, Victor Thompson, appeals the denial of habeas corpus relief contending that: (1) his sentence was outside the applicable range and was, therefore, illegal; and (2) that the indictment was fatally defective. Upon review, we conclude that the defendant’s sentence was within the agreed range and that the remaining issue is waived, as it is raised for the first time on appeal. Therefore, we affirm the denial of habeas relief in accordance with Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. |
Lauderdale | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Shannon A. Holladay - Concurring
I agree with the majority that this case is not properly before this court for an appeal as of right pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Appellate Procedure 3 and that it does not qualify as an extraordinary appeal under Tennessee Rule of Appellate Procedure 10. I write separately because it is my view that the dismissal of the state appeal might imply that evidence obtained from a vehicle's event data recorder (the air bag sensor module) is generally inadmissible. |
Anderson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Shannon A. Holladay
An Anderson County grand jury indicted the defendant, Shannon A. Holladay, for one count of vehicular homicide by intoxication, a Class B felony, and one count of vehicular homicide by recklessness, a Class C felony. Before trial, the defendant filed a motion to suppress the evidence obtained from the air bag sensor module in the defendant’s car, which the Anderson County Criminal Court granted. The state appeals, contending that the trial court erred in granting the defendant’s motion to suppress. We dismiss this case for lack of jurisdiction. |
Anderson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee, Department of Children's Services, v. T.M.B.K.
In this appeal, T.M.B.K. ("Mother") contends that the trial court erred in terminating her parental rights and that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate the initial child custody proceeding. After careful review of the evidence and applicable authorities, we hold that the trial court had subject matter jurisdiction and the evidence does not preponderate against the trial court's finding by clear and convincing evidence of abandonment and substantial noncompliance with the permanency plan. We futher hold that the evidence preponderates against the trial court's finding by clear and convincing evidence of a failure to remedy persistent conditions. Therefore, we affirm in part and reverse in part. |
Hamilton | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. James H. Carter
The defendant, James H. Carter, pled guilty to two counts of burglary, Class D felonies; two counts of vandalism over $1,000 but less than $10,000,Class D felonies; and one count of resisting arrest a Class B misdemeanor. The trial court imposed Range I sentences of four years for each burglary, which were to be served consecutively, and four years for each vandalism, to be served concurrently. The six-month sentence for resisting arrest was also ordered to be served concurrently. The effective sentence is, therefore, eight years. In this appeal, the defendant asserts that the trial court erred by ordering his sentences for the two burglary convictions to be served consecutively. The judgments of the trial court are affirmed. |
Grundy | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Alejandro Gonzalez
The defendant, Alejandro Gonzalez, appeals a certified question of law following his guilty plea to possession of cocaine, within 1000 feet of a school, with intent to sell or deliver, an offense for which he received an eight-year sentence to be served in a community corrections program. The question certified for appeal is whether a Metro Nashville police officer had sufficient cause to search a grocery bag the defendant was carrying, in which the officer found 26 grams of cocaine. Because we hold that the search was lawful and that the fruits thereof were admissible, we affirm. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Anthony Howard Skelton
This is a direct appeal from the order of the trial court revoking the Defendant's probation and ordering him to serve his five-year sentence in the Department of Correction. The Defendant, Anthony Howard Skelton, raises two issues on appeal: 1) there was insufficient evidence to establish that he violated his probation, and 2) the trial court abused its discretion in ordering the Defendant to serve his entire sentence in the Department of Correction. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Wayne | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Michael Ortiz
The defendant, Michael Ortiz, was found guilty by a Shelby County Jury of possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, to wit: cocaine over 300 grams. He was sentenced as a Range I, standard offender to twenty years in the Department of Correction. On appeal, he argues the trial court erred in denying: (1) his motion to suppress evidence obtained from a search of his vehicle; and (2) his motion to suppress his statement given to police. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Lorenzo Porter v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Lorenzo Porter, appeals the trial court's denial of his motion to reopen his postconviction or, in the alternative, requesting habeas corpus relief. The State has filed a motion requesting that this Court affirm the trial court's denial of relief pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. The Petitioner has not established that he is entitled to habeas corpus relief. Moreover, this Court is not vested with jurisdiction to entertain a request for an appeal of a denial of a motion to reopen a post-conviction petition. Accordingly, we grant the state's motion and affirm the judgment of the lower court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Brenda Woods, Tawana Polk, Jonathan Joy, and Clifton Polk v. Cathy N. Jones, Administrator of Elections, Hardeman County Election Commission, et al.
This is an election contest. The plaintiffs were unsuccessful candidates for office in a municipal election held on May 19, 2005. On June 3, 2005, they filed this election contest. The defendants filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit based on the special ten-day statute of limitations for election contests, which is set out in T.C.A. § 2-17-105. The trial court granted the motion to dismiss. The plaintiffs now appeal. We reverse, concluding that, pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 6.01, intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays are excluded from the computation of the time in which the plaintiff must file suit. |
Hardeman | Court of Appeals | |
A.T. Pruitt v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, A.T. Pruitt, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, arguing his trial counsel was ineffective in communicating to him or preparing him for trial, which resulted in him entering guilty pleas that were neither knowing or voluntary. Following our review, we affirm the denial of the petition. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Robert Page
We granted the State’s application for permission to review this case pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Appellate Procedure 11 in order to determine the constitutionality of Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-18-110(c), which provides that failure to request a lesser-included offense instruction in writing waives the right to assign it as an issue in a motion for a new trial or on appeal. We conclude that section 40-18-110(c) renders the omission of instruction on lesserincluded offenses subject to the general rule that issues concerning instructions are considered waived in the absence of objection or a written request, unless they contain plain error. Under section 40-18-110(c), even absent a written request, the trial judge may still charge the jury on applicable lesser-included offenses and an appellate court may still review a lesser-included offense issue under the doctrine of plain error. We conclude, however, that the failure to instruct on lesser-included offenses in the present case does not constitute plain error. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeals. |
Shelby | Supreme Court | |
Connie J. Ottihnger v. Patricia E. Stooksbury
Connie J. Ottinger ("Plaintiff") sued Patricia E. Stooksbury ("Defendant") seeking, among other things, to quiet title to a thirty foot easement. Defendant answered the complaint and filed a counter-claim asserting, in part, that her right to use the easement is exclusive and that Plaintiff has no right to use the easement. The case was tried without a jury and the Trial Court entered a final order holding, inter alia, that Defendant is permanently enjoined from interfering with Plaintiff's right to use the easement located on Plaintiff's property. Defendant appeals claiming that the Trial Court erred by considering parol evidence and by requiring Defendant to prove her case by clear evidence. Defendant also argues that the evidence preponderates against the Trial Court's finding that the original grantors did not intend to create an exclusive easement in favor of Defendant. We affirm. |
Knox | Court of Appeals | |
Jeremy D. Shivers v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Jeremy D. Shivers, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. In this appeal, he asserts that his trial counsel was ineffective and that, as a result of counsel's deficient performance, his guilty pleas were not knowingly and voluntarily entered. The judgment of the post-conviction court is affirmed |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Joseph D. Gaines v. Kevin Myers, Warden
The petitioner appeals the summary dismissal of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. In this appeal, he asserts that the judgments are void because the indictment was defective. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed. |
Wayne | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Larry McKay v. State of Tennessee
This matter is before the Court upon the State's motion to affirm the judgment of the trial court by memorandum opinion pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. The petitioner has appealed the trial court's order summarily dismissing the petition for the writ of habeas corpus. In that petition, the petitioner argues that his indictments were void because the applicable statute under which he was indicted did not "define the use of a deadly weapon as an element of first degree murder." Upon a review of the record in this case we are persuaded that the trial court was correct in summarily dismissing the habeas corpus petition and that this case meets the criteria for affirmance pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Accordingly, the State's motion is granted and the judgment of the trial court is affirmed. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Charlene Sinor v. Timothy Barr
Charlene Sinor ("Petitioner") filed a petition for contempt seeking, in part, to have Timothy Barr ("Respondent") found in criminal contempt for his failure to pay child support as ordered. After a trial, the Trial Court held Respondent in criminal contempt finding six violations of the Trial Court's orders. Respondent appeals to this Court claiming that his conviction of criminal contempt was based upon an improper evidentiary presumption and insufficient evidence. We reverse. |
Davidson | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Ryan Sandson
The defendant, Ryan Sandson, was found guilty by a Shelby County jury of aggravated robbery, a Class B felony, and was sentenced as a standard offender to eleven years, six months in the Department of Correction. On appeal, he raises two issues: (1) whether the evidence was sufficient to support his conviction; and (2) whether his sentence was excessive. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
In the Matter of Deshundra Yvonne Hunt Shelly Bryant v. Juan Hunt
This appeal stems from a custody dispute between a mother and father over their minor daughter. In this appeal, we are asked to determine whether the circuit court erred when it dismissed the appeal of two juvenile court orders denying the mother’s petition for permanent custody and the mother’s amended petition to reconsider. The mother argues that both orders were related to an original dependency and neglect proceeding that transferred custody of her minor daughter from her to the daughter’s father. The circuit court found that both orders were not related to the dependency and neglect proceedings and dismissed the mother’s appeal. Also on appeal, the mother asserts that the circuit court erred when it dismissed her appeal of the order regarding the original dependency and neglect proceedings as not being timely filed. The mother has also requested that this Court vacate the original order regarding the dependency and neglect proceedings because of several due process violations that occurred during the hearing. We dismiss the appeal of the issue requesting that we vacate the original order from the dependency and neglect proceedings and affirm the portion of the circuit court’s order dismissing the appeal of the order stemming from the original dependency and neglect proceedings. We vacate portion of the order dismissing the appeal of the two juvenile court orders filed September 24, 2004 and remand to the trial court for the entry of an order transferring the appeal of the two orders to the Court of Appeals for processing and disposition. |
Madison | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Robert Fluellen
Following a bench trial, the Defendant, Robert Fluellen, was convicted of one count of burglary of a building, a Class D felony. The Defendant was sentenced as a multiple offender to six years in the workhouse. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the evidence presented at his bench trial is not sufficient to sustain his conviction. Finding no reversible error, we affirm the trial court’s judgment. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals |