In Re: The Adoption of A.E., E.E., and E.E.
This case involves a parental termination proceeding where Father originally consented to termination of his parental rights, but now appeals on the ground that his surrender was procedurally deficient and made under duress. Father also alleges that the trial court erred when it failed to grant him leave to conduct discovery on opposing counsel and when the trial court failed to recuse itself. On appeal we find no error; the trial court properly granted Mother’s petition to terminate parental rights, Father failed to present any proof that he was under duress when he consented to the motion to terminate or that he was entitled to depose opposing counsel, and the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying appellant’s motion for recusal. We, therefore, affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Madison | Court of Appeals | |
Kentrail Sterling v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Kentrail Sterling, appeals the Shelby County Criminal Court’s summary dismissal of his “Amended and Supplemental Petition for Post-Conviction Relief, and/or Petition for Writ of Error Coram Nobis, and/or Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus,” as well as his “Additional Amended and Supplemental Petition to Reopen Petition for Post-Conviction Relief.” The lower court summarily dismissed the petition, finding that: (1) it was outside the statute of limitations for both post-conviction and error coram nobis relief; (2) the issues raised had been previously determined or were waived; and (3) the convictions were not void. On appeal, the petitioner asserts that the lower court erred in dismissing his “petition for post-conviction relief without an evidentiary hearing” because “due process claims nessetates [sic] setting aside the statute of limitations.” Following review, we affirm the summary dismissal of the petition. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Mario Bateman a.k.a. Mario Woods
The defendant, Mario Bateman, a.k.a. Mario Woods, was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. The defendant appeals his conviction and argues that the trial court erred by (1) admitting the victim’s dying declarations in violation of his Sixth Amendment right to confrontation, (2) permitting the prosecution to inquire into a witness’s prior felony convictions on direct examination, and (3) allowing a witness to read his entire statement to police on redirect examination. Following our review of the parties’ briefs, the record, and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Marvin Anthony Matthews v. Tony Parker, Warden (State of Tennessee)
The petitioner, Marvin Anthony Matthews, appeals the lower court’s denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. The state has filed a motion requesting that this court affirm the lower court’s denial of relief pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. We grant the state’s motion and affirm the judgment of the lower court. |
Lauderdale | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Shane Dean Cross v. Pemberton Truck Lines, Inc., et al.
This workers’ compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers’ Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting to the Supreme Court of findings of fact and conclusions of law. On appeal, Employer contends that the trial court erred in finding that Employee’s expert and lay testimony established that his injuries arose out of and in the scope of his employment. Because the evidence does not preponderate against the findings, we affirm the trial court’s judgment. |
Cumberland | Workers Compensation Panel | |
State of Tennessee v. Shane Kent Rogers
The Defendant, Shane Kent Rogers, pled guilty to one count of violating a motor vehicle habitual offender order, a Class E felony, and one count of vandalism over five-hundred dollars, also a Class E felony. The trial court sentenced the Defendant as a multiple offender to two concurrent three-year sentences to be served in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the Defendant claims that the trial court erred when it did not grant him alternative sentencing. After a thorough review of the record and the applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Billy Walls dba B.S. Walls Construction v. Jeffrey S. Conner, et al.
This litigation arises out of the renovation of and addition to a 100-year old house. While suit was pending, the plaintiff, Billy S. Walls dba B.S. Walls Construction (“Contractor”) failed to respond to interrogatories with respect to requested information regarding experts. He likewise did not respond to a motion to compel responses to the interrogatories and an order of the court compelling responses. As a consequence of Contractor’s inaction, the trial court refused to allow his two expert witnesses to testify. At trial, Contractor objected to the testimony of an expert tendered by the defendants, Jeffrey S. Conner and Tresia Conner (“Homeowners”). The trial court overruled the objection. Contractor argues in this court that the trial court abused its discretion when it refused to allow his experts to testify and when it held that Homeowners’ expert was qualified to testify. We affirm. |
Knox | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee Department of Children's Services v. V.N., et al.
The State of Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (“DCS”) filed a Petition to Terminate Parental Rights of V.N. (“Mother”), T.W., and any unknown father to the minor child K.B.N. (“the Child”). T.W. signed a Waiver of Interest and Notice waiving any rights he may have to the Child. After a trial, the Juvenile Court entered an order finding and holding, inter alia, that clear and convincing evidence of grounds existed to terminate Mother’s parental rights to the Child under Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 36-1-113(g)(1), (g)(2), and (g)(3), and that it was in the best interest of the Child for Mother’s parental rights to be terminated. Mother appeals the termination of her parental rights to this Court. We affirm. |
Greene | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Denver L. Brown, III
The defendant, Denver L. Brown, III, was convicted in the Sullivan County Criminal Court on his guilty plea to aggravated robbery, a Class B felony. As part of the plea agreement, the defendant accepted a sentence of eight years with the understanding that the offense of which he was convicted was statutorily ineligible for probation, but he reserved the right to have the manner of service of the sentence determined by the trial court and sought community corrections. The trial court imposed incarceration. The defendant appeals, contending that the trial court erred in determining that he was statutorily ineligible for community corrections and that he should have received a community corrections sentence. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Taft Arkey Murphy
The defendant, Taft Arkey Murphy, was convicted by a jury in the Criminal Court for Davidson County of possession with intent to sell three hundred or more grams of cocaine in a school zone, a Class A felony; possession with intent to sell twenty-six or more grams of cocaine in a school zone, a Class A felony; sale of twenty-six or more grams of cocaine in a school zone, a Class A felony; two counts of sale of twenty-six or more grams of cocaine, a Class B felony; and possession of a handgun by a felon, a Class E felony. He was sentenced to eighteen years for each Class A felony, nine years for each Class B felony, and two years for the Class E felony, to be served concurrently. The defendant appeals and contends: (1) that the evidence is insufficient to convict him of possessing a handgun as a felon, and (2) that he was improperly prejudiced by testimony that the defendant had a murder charge. We affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Roland R. Smith v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Roland R. Smith, was convicted of four counts of statutory rape and three counts of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor. The trial court imposed an effective sentence of fifteen years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. Subsequently, he filed a petition for post-conviction relief, alleging that his trial counsel was ineffective and that the sentence imposed violates the dictates of Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S. Ct. 2531 (2004). The post-conviction court denied the petition, and the petitioner now appeals. Upon our review, we conclude that the petition for post-conviction relief was filed outside the statute of limitations; therefore, the appeal is dismissed. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Antonio Braden
The Defendant, Antonio Braden, was convicted of one count of attempted second degree murder, a Class B felony. He was sentenced to serve twelve years in the Department of Correction. In this direct appeal, the Defendant contends (1) that the evidence at trial was insufficient to support his conviction; and (2) that the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury on aggravated assault as a lesser included offense of attempted second degree murder. We conclude that these contentions lack merit, and we accordingly affirm. |
Williamson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Homer Alson Maddin, III v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Homer Alson Maddin, III, appeals the Davidson County Criminal Court’s dismissal of his 2007 petition for post-conviction relief in which he had challenged his four 2004 jury-imposed convictions of aggravated rape. This court affirmed the convictions on November 1, 2005. See State v. Homer Alson Maddin, III, No. M2004-02298-CCA-R3-CD (Tenn. Crim. App., Nashville, Nov. 1, 2005), perm. app. denied (Tenn. 2006). The petitioner’s counseled petition raised various claims of the ineffective assistance of trial and appellate counsel. On appeal, the petitioner claims that his trial counsel was ineffective in neither communicating with the petitioner nor preparing him for trial, failing to explain the potential punishment the petitioner faced, failing to communicate a plea offer from the State, failing to investigate the case, failing to adequately cross-examine witnesses, failing to properly impeach State witnesses, and failing to object to improper prosecutorial argument and to the use of certain evidence. The petitioner also claims that his appellate counsel was ineffective in failing to raise certain issues on appeal. We affirm the order of the post-conviction court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Mario Ward
The defendant, Mario Ward, was convicted by a Shelby County jury of criminal attempt to commit voluntary manslaughter, a Class D felony, and aggravated assault, a Class C felony, and was subsequently sentenced to concurrent six-year sentences as a Range II offender. On appeal, the defendant raises the single issue of whether the evidence is sufficient to support the convictions. Following review of the record, we affirm the judgments of conviction as entered. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
In Re: D. F., S. F., T. F., L. F., A. F., A. F, D. F., K. F., Children Under Eighteen (18) Years of Age
This is a termination of parental rights case. The juvenile court terminated Mother’s parental rights to her eight children based on persistence of conditions and upon finding that she is incompetent to adequately provide for their care and supervision. Father’s parental rights were terminated based on persistence of conditions. Both Mother and Father appeal. We affirm. |
Madison | Court of Appeals | |
Anwar Proby v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Anwar Proby, appeals the Shelby County Criminal Court’s dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief as time-barred. On appeal, the petitioner characterizes his petition as a motion to reopen and argues that it was timely filed because it was filed within one year of our supreme court’s holding in State v. Gomez, 239 S.W.3d 733 (Tenn. 2007) (“Gomez II), which the petitioner claims announced a new rule of law that is entitled to retroactive application. The State has filed a motion requesting that this court affirm the post-conviction court’s dismissal pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Review of the record indicates that the petition in this case was not a motion to reopen but, rather, the first petition for post-conviction relief filed in this case. Because the petitioner has failed to establish that the petition was timely filed or that a recognized exception to the rule applies, we grant the State’s motion and affirm the judgment of the Shelby County Criminal Court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Marcus Nigel Davis
The defendant, Marcus Nigel Davis, appeals from the judgment of the Knox County Criminal Court, revoking his probation and reinstating his original sentence of six years. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the court. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
James Wilson v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, James Wilson, appeals the Madison County Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. The State has filed a motion requesting that this court affirm the lower court’s denial of relief pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Because the petitioner has failed to prove his allegations by clear and convincing evidence, we conclude that the State’s motion is well-taken. Accordingly, we affirm the lower court’s denial of post-conviction relief. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jonathan Bradford Dunn v. State of Tennessee
Appellant, Jonathan Bradford Dunn, was indicted by the Bedford County Grand Jury for one count of theft of property valued at more than $1,000 but less than $10,000, and one count of filing a false report. After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted on both counts as stated in the indictment. The trial court sentenced Appellant to three years as a Range II multiple offender for theft of property and six years as a Range II multiple offender for filing a false report. The sentences were ordered to run consecutively to each other and to the sentence in Bedford County Case Number 15560. After the denial of a motion for new trial, Appellant initiated the appeal herein, presenting the following issues for our review: (1) whether the evidence was sufficient to support the conviction for filing a false report; and (2) whether the sentence imposed by the trial court was excessive. We determine that the evidence is sufficient to support the conviction and that the trial court properly sentenced Appellant. Consequently, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Bedford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jacqueline Huls, et al. v. Jason N. Alford, et al.
This lawsuit was filed by Jacqueline and Jonathan Huls (“Petitioners”) seeking court-ordered visitation with their grandson pursuant to Tennessee’s Grandparent Visitation Act, Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-306. The lawsuit was filed against Jason Alford (“Father”) and Leeanna Alford (“Mother”), the biological parents of Petitioners’ grandson. At trial, both parents testified that they had not and still did not oppose visitation between Petitioners and Petitioners’ grandson. Although comments made by the Trial Court support an implicit finding by the Trial Court that the parents did not oppose visitation, there was no express determination made on this particular issue. Following the trial, the Trial Court entered an order granting the petition and establishing a visitation schedule for Petitioners. We conclude that the testimony at trial preponderates in favor of a finding that the parents did not and do not oppose visitation. We further hold that in order for Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-306 to be implicated, visitation by grandparents must be “opposed by the custodial parent or parents.” Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-6-306(a). Because we find that the parents do not oppose visitation, the statute is not implicated, and the Trial Court erred by not dismissing this case. We, therefore, reverse the judgment of the Trial Court, and this case is dismissed. |
Coffee | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee, ex rel. Teresa Garrison v. Larry L. Scobey
This is a child support case. The trial court determined Respondent Father had the ability to earn minimum wage and entered a temporary order of support ordering him to pay child support based upon a minimum wage income. Father filed a motion to set aside the order and failed to pay the ordered support. The State, acting ex rel. Mother, filed a petition for contempt, a petition for retroactive child support, and a petition to set permanent child support. Following a hearing, the trial court denied Father’s motion to set aside the temporary support order, affirmed the finding that Father was capable of earning minimum wage, and held Father in criminal contempt. The trial court also ordered Father to pay retroactive child support. The trial court stayed its order sentencing Father to jail for criminal contempt pending appeal to this Court. Father appeals the order finding him in contempt, the denial of his motion to set aside the temporary order of support, and the order of retroactive child support. We reverse the order on contempt and dismiss the remainder of Father’s appeal for failure to appeal a final judgment. |
Dyer | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Aquellis Quintez Tucker
A Hardeman County jury convicted the defendant, Aquellis Quintez Tucker, of one count of first degree felony murder, one count of first degree premeditated murder, one count of attempted first degree murder, one count of aggravated assault, and one count of especially aggravated burglary. The trial court merged the two first degree murder convictions, and it also merged the defendant’s attempted first degree murder and aggravated assault convictions. The trial court sentenced the defendant to life in prison on the first degree murder conviction, fifteen years on the attempted first degree murder conviction, and eight years on the especially aggravated burglary conviction, with all sentences to be served concurrently. The defendant appeals, asserting that the evidence produced at trial was insufficient to support his convictions. After reviewing the record, we conclude that no error exists with respect to the defendant’s allegations. However, we further conclude that the defendant’s especially aggravated burglary conviction was precluded by statute. Accordingly, we modify that conviction to one for aggravated burglary and remand the case to the trial court for sentencing on that offense. |
Hardeman | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Robert Jonathan Harrison
This appeal involves the procedure for discovering the records of a clinical psychologist whom the defendant intends to call as an expert witness at a pretrial competency hearing in a criminal case. After the defendant filed a petition in the Circuit Court for Chester County requesting to be declared incompetent to stand trial, the State obtained a judicial subpoena under Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-17- 123 (2006) directing the defendant’s psychologist to produce “[a]ny and all records” related to his examination of the defendant. The trial court declined to quash the subpoena but granted the defendant an interlocutory appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeals. The intermediate appellate court held that the trial court erred by issuing a subpoena under Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-17-123 but, characterizing the competency hearing as “in the nature of a civil proceeding,” ordered the production of the materials sought in accordance with Tenn. R. Civ. P. 35.02. State v. Harrison, No. W2006-00483-CCA-R9-CD, 2007 WL 906730, at *4 (Tenn. Crim. App. Mar. 2, 2007). We granted the defendant’s application for permission to appeal to address the application of Tenn. R. Civ. P. 35.02 to pretrial competency hearings in criminal cases. We concur with the Court of Criminal Appeals’ conclusions that the trial court erred by granting the judicial subpoena and that the State is entitled to discover the report of the expert testifying for the defendant in the competency hearing. However, we have also determined that Tenn. R. Civ. P. 35.02 does not apply to pretrial competency hearings in criminal cases. Exercising our inherent supervisory authority over Tennessee’s judicial system, we adopt a temporary procedure for the disclosure and use of evidence relating to competency to stand trial in criminal cases. |
Chester | Supreme Court | |
James Gleaves v. Shelby County, Tennessee, et al.
A former sheriff’s deputy appeals his termination. The Shelby County Civil Service Merit Board upheld the termination, and upon review, the chancery court found substantial and material evidence to support the decision. We affirm. |
Shelby | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Markese Alexander Brooks
The defendant, Markese Alexander Brooks, was convicted by a Shelby County Criminal Court jury of first degree felony murder and attempted especially aggravated robbery and was sentenced by the trial court to concurrent terms of life and ten years, respectively. In a timely appeal to this court, he challenges the sufficiency of the convicting evidence and argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress his statement to the police and in allowing inadmissible hearsay testimony from a State’s witness. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals |