State of Tennessee v. Steven Brian Wooley
W2003-00976-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Joe G. Riley
Trial Court Judge: Judge Roy B. Morgan, Jr.

A Madison County jury convicted the defendant, Steven Brian Wooley,1 of theft of property over $10,000. The trial court sentenced him to four years in confinement as a Range I standard offender. On direct appeal, the defendant contends he received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial. We affirm the judgment of the trial court

Kennedy Woods v. Nashville and Davidson County
M2001-03143-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge William B. Cain
Trial Court Judge: Irvin H. Kilcrease, Jr.
This case involves an Administrative Procedures Act appeal from the chancery court's determination of Appellant's Petition for Judicial Review. The petition sought review of the Civil Service Commission's final order affirming Appellant's termination for violation of the Metro Nashville Fire Department's Zero-Tolerance Policy on Substance Abuse. We affirm the order of the trial court.

Kevin Demers v. Karen Demers
M2002-01970-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Holly M. Kirby
Trial Court Judge: Ross H. Hicks
This involves a post-divorce petition to reduce child support. The mother and father were divorced in 1998, and the mother was awarded custody of the parties' three children. The father was ordered to pay child support plus private school tuition, based on substantial annual earnings from self-employment. In December 2000, the father filed a petition to have his child support payments reduced based on a decline in his business. The father later liquidated the assets of his business and quit work. He subsequently amended his petition, asserting that he had earned no income since the liquidation of his business. After a bench trial, the trial court rejected the father's petition for a reduction in child support, finding that the father was willfully underemployed. The father now appeals. We affirm, finding that the evidence does not preponderate against the trial court's determination that the father was willfully underemployed.

Lorraine Miller v. Bruce Miller
M2002-02731-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Patricia J. Cottrell
Trial Court Judge: R.E. Lee Davies
The trial court awarded a divorce to a sixty-four year old woman with multiple health problems, and ordered her former husband to pay her $700 per month as alimony in futuro. The husband argues on appeal that the trial court erred, because the wife was capable of working, and was therefore only entitled to rehabilitative alimony. We affirm the trial court.

State of Tennessee v. Melissa A. Mellinger
M2002-01029-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Trial Court Judge: Judge John D. Wootten, Jr.

The appellant, Melissa A. Mellinger, was convicted by a jury in the Wilson County Criminal Court of two counts of first offense driving under the influence (DUI), Class A misdemeanors. The trial court merged the convictions, imposed a three hundred fifty dollar ($350) fine, and sentenced the appellant to eleven months and twenty-nine days to be suspended upon serving two hundred seventy-three (273) days in the county jail. The trial court also suspended the appellant's driver's license for one year. On appeal, the appellant argues that the sentence imposed by the trial court was excessive. Upon review of the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

State of Tennessee v. Kenneth E. Coffey
E2002-02794-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Robert W. Wedemeyer
Trial Court Judge: Judge Lynn W. Brown

The Johnson County Grand Jury indicted the Defendant, Kenneth E. Coffey, for possession with intent to sell and deliver 241.1 grams of marijuana, in violation of Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-17-417 (Supp. 2000). Following the trial court's denial of the Defendant's motion to suppress evidence, the Defendant pled guilty to Possession of Marijuana for Purpose of Sale. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to one year in prison and imposed a $2,000.00 fine. The Defendant reserved the right to appeal a certified question of law regarding the trial court's denial of his motion to suppress. Finding no error, we affirm the trial court's judgment.

Claude E. Helton, Jr. v. Town of Rogersville
E2003-00311-WC-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Roger E. Thayer, Sp. J.
Trial Court Judge: Hon. Kindall T. Lawson, Circuit Judge
The trial court awarded the employee 4 percent permanent partial disability to the left leg. The employer has appealed contending the evidence preponderates against the court's finding the City had actual notice of the injury and that the award is excessive. The judgment is affirmed.

State of Tennessee v. Kenneth Pence
W2003-00639-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Joe G. Riley
Trial Court Judge: Judge Clayburn L. Peeples

The defendant pled guilty to aggravated assault in exchange for a three-year sentence to be served on supervised probation with the trial court to determine the amount of restitution. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court ordered the defendant to pay approximately $7,900.00 in restitution. In this appeal, the defendant argues: (1) the trial court erred in refusing to allow proof at sentencing regarding the circumstances surrounding the offense; and (2) the trial court erred in imposing restitution for the victim’s lost wages, attorney’s fees, and bond expenses, the latter two expenses resulting from the victim’s defending himself against baseless criminal charges brought by the defendant. We affirm the trial court’s decision regarding the admissibility of evidence and its order requiring the defendant to pay restitution for the victim’s lost wages; we reverse the portion of the judgment which requires the defendant to pay restitution for the victim’s attorney’s fees and bond expenses.

Corwyn E. Winfield v. State of Tennessee
W2003-00889-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Joe G. Riley
Trial Court Judge: Judge James C. Beasley, Jr.

The petitioner appeals the denial of post-conviction relief relating to his conviction for second degree murder. He argues: (1) the trial court at his original trial improperly instructed the jury regarding the definition of “knowing”; (2) the prosecutor committed misconduct during closing argument at the original trial; and (3) he did not receive the effective assistance of counsel at trial and on appeal. We affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Darrow Lynn Williams v. State of Tennessee
W2002-03150-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge J. Curwood Witt, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Joseph H. Walker, III

The petitioner, Darrow Lynn Williams, seeks post-conviction relief from his 2001 second degree murder conviction. The Tipton County Circuit Court denied post-conviction relief, and now on appeal, the petitioner claims that his trial counsel was ineffective in failing to prepare and devise a trial strategy. Because the record supports the lower court’s decision, we affirm the dismissal of the post-conviction petition.

Dwan L. Crisp v. State of Tennessee
W2002-01661-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Trial Court Judge: Judge William B. Acree

The petitioner, Dwan L. Crisp, pled guilty in the Obion County Circuit Court to one count of rape and was sentenced to eight years incarceration in the Tennessee Department of Correction.  Subsequently, the petitioner filed for testing of human biological evidence under the Post-Conviction
DNA Analysis Act of 2001. The post-conviction court denied the petition and the petitioner timely appealed. Upon review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

State of Tennessee v. Joseph Scott Hayes
M2002-01871-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Trial Court Judge: Judge Timothy L. Easter

Defendant, Joseph Scott Hayes, was indicted for two counts of aggravated assault, one count of stalking and one count of coercion of a witness. Following a bench trial, Defendant was convicted of two counts of aggravated assault and one count of coercion of a witness. The trial court found the evidence insufficient to sustain a conviction on the charge of stalking. The trial court sentenced Defendant to four years imprisonment on each count of aggravated assault and three years imprisonment for his conviction for coercion of a witness. The trial court ordered Defendant's sentences for aggravated assault to run consecutively, and his sentence for coercion of a witness to run concurrently with his aggravated assault convictions for an effective sentence of eight years. Defendant now appeals challenging the sufficiency of the convicting evidence. Following a review of the record, we affirm the trial court's judgments.

State of Tennessee v. Fred Elliot Hunter
M2002-02128-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Jerry L. Smith
Trial Court Judge: Judge Seth W. Norman

The appellant, Fred Elliot Hunter, was convicted by a jury of conspiracy to possess with the intent to deliver three hundred (300) grams or more of a substance containing cocaine, a Class A felony. The appellant was sentenced to twenty-one (21) years as a Range I Standard Offender and fined $2,000. The trial court denied the appellant's motion for new trial, and he appeals, arguing: (1) that the trial court erred in failing to grant the appellant's motion for judgment of acquittal; (2) that the trial court erred in failing to grant the appellant's motion to dismiss for want of a speedy trial; (3) that the evidence was insufficient to sustain the conviction; (4) that the trial court erred in admitting the appellant's manslaughter conviction; (5) that the trial court erred in failing to consider appropriate mitigating factors in sentencing; and (6) that the trial court failed to order alternative sentencing. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

State of Tennessee v. Morgan L. Ray
M2002-02910-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge John Everett Williams
Trial Court Judge: Judge Lee Russell

The defendant pled guilty to driving while under the status of a habitual motor offender; two counts of driving under the influence, seventh offense; two counts of driving on a revoked license, eighth offense; and violation of the implied consent law. The trial court gave the defendant an effective sentence of nine years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. The defendant contends on appeal that the trial court erred by not granting him alternative sentencing. Plain error requires us to vacate the judgment of conviction for driving on a revoked license (count three) because of double jeopardy prohibitions. The other judgments from the trial court are affirmed in all respects.

State of Tennessee v. Carlos Curry
M2002-03022-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Jerry L. Smith
Trial Court Judge: Judge Donald P. Harris

The Appellant, Carlos A. Curry, was convicted by a jury of first offense driving under the influence of an intoxicant. However, the jury acquitted the Appellant of four counts of vehicular homicide. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court ordered the Appellant to serve eleven months and twenty-nine days in the county jail. Because we find that the trial court did not err in sentencing the Appellant, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Thomas E. Dunn v. State of Tennessee
E2003-00002-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Alan E. Glenn
Trial Court Judge: Judge Mary Beth Leibowitz

The petitioner appeals the summary dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief as time-barred, arguing that he made out a prima facie case of mental incompetence and should therefore have been granted an evidentiary hearing to determine whether due process required that the statute of limitations be tolled. Based on our review, we affirm the post-conviction court's dismissal of the petition.

Linda Meadows v. WaUSAu Insurance Company
E2002-02828-WC-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: John K. Byers, Sr. J.
Trial Court Judge: Jeffrey F. Stewart, Chancellor
In this appeal, the defendant, Wausau Insurance Company, insists that the trial court erred in determining Wausau was liable for the plaintiff's compensation, and that the trial court erred in allowing the plaintiff to voluntarily dismiss co-defendant, Legion Insurance Company.

State of Tennessee v. Shawn Hodge
E2002-01794-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge J. Curwood Witt, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Mary Beth Leibowitz

Convicted by a jury of first degree murder, the defendant, Shawn Hodge, appeals and claims (1) the evidence is insufficient to support the conviction, (2) the trial court erred in denying a jury view of the crime scene, (3) the trial court erroneously excluded evidence of a threat made against a defense witness, (4) the defendant was prejudiced by an attempt by the state to pay a prosecution witness, (5) the court inadequately instructed the jury on the elements of the offense, and (6) the court erroneously admitted the testimony of an allegedly incompetent defense witness. We affirm the lower court's judgment.

State of Tennessee v. Dewayne Jordan
W1999-01693-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Robert W. Wedemeyer
Trial Court Judge: Judge Joseph B. Dailey

The Defendant, Dewayne Jordan, was found guilty by a Shelby County jury of first degree premeditated murder of one victim, first degree felony murder of a second victim and aggravated robbery. The Defendant was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for the murder convictions and to ten years imprisonment for the aggravated robbery conviction. The ten-year sentence was to be served concurrently with the two life sentences. The Defendant now appeals his convictions, raising the following issues: (1) whether there was sufficient evidence to convict the Defendant of first degree premeditated murder, first degree felony murder and aggravated robbery, (2) whether the trial court properly admitted the Defendant's statement into evidence, and (3) whether the trial court properly ordered that the Defendant's two life sentences be served consecutively. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Clessie Jaco, Jr. v. State of Tennessee
M2001-02150-SC-R11-PC
Authoring Judge: Chief Justice Frank F. Drowota, III
Trial Court Judge: Judge Robert L. Jones

We granted permission to appeal in this post-conviction case to determine whether the Court of Criminal Appeals erred in holding that Mr. Jaco's guilty plea was knowingly and voluntarily entered even though he was not informed of the psychiatric certification mandated by Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-35-503(c) for sex offenders before release on parole. We hold that Mr. Jaco's guilty plea met the standard of knowing and voluntary. A defendant need not be informed of all criteria that affect his possible release on parole in order for his guilty plea to be constitutionally sound. Accordingly, the holding of the Court of Criminal Appeals is affirmed.

David L. Robinson, Jr. v. State of Tennessee
M2002-01814-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Joseph M. Tipton
Trial Court Judge: Judge John A. Turnbull

The petitioner, David L. Robinson, appeals the Putnam County Criminal Court's denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his conviction for first degree murder and resulting sentence of life imprisonment. He claims he received the ineffective assistance of counsel because his trial attorneys (1) failed to challenge the fact that no African-Americans were on the jury, (2) failed to appeal an issue properly regarding a state witness's testimony, (3) failed to file a motion to sever his case from his codefendant's case, and (4) failed to call a potential defense witness to testify. We affirm the trial court's denial of the petition.

State of Tennessee v. Bobby Blair
M2002-02376-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Joseph M. Tipton
Trial Court Judge: Judge Robert E. Burch

The defendant, Bobby Blair, appeals as of right the sentence imposed by the Humphreys County Circuit Court following his plea of nolo contendere to the sale of methamphetamine, a Class B felony. The trial court sentenced him as a Range I, standard offender to ten years in the Department of Correction consecutive to an effective sixteen-year sentence for prior convictions for manufacturing methamphetamine and felonious possession of methamphetamine. The defendant contends that the trial court erroneously imposed consecutive sentences. We affirm the trial court's judgment of conviction.

William Perrin v. Gaylord Entertainment, Company, et al.
M2001-01585-SC-WCM-CV
Authoring Judge: Justice E. Riley Anderson
Trial Court Judge: Chancellor Irvin H. Kilcrease, Jr.

We granted review to determine whether the employee's action for reconsideration of his workers' compensation benefits was filed too late pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-241(a)(2) (1999). The trial court found that the employee's action to reconsider his prior award was untimely because it was filed more than one year after his employment with his pre-injury employer had ended and also found that the employee's settlement with his pre-injury employer had waived his right to reconsideration. The Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel affirmed the trial court's ruling on the ground that the action was untimely. After reviewing the record and applicable authority, we agree that the employee's action to reconsider his award of benefits was untimely because it was not filed within one year of his loss of employment with his pre-injury employer as required by Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-241(a)(2). Accordingly, we affirm the findings of fact and conclusions of law of the Panel.

State of Tennessee v. Charity H. Keith
M2002-02386-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Trial Court Judge: Judge Timothy L. Easter

Defendant, Charity H. Keith, appeals from the revocation of her probation, arguing that the trial court erred in ordering her original sentence to run consecutively to her subsequent sentences in Davidson County. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

State of Tennessee v. Jaye Wesley Mitts
E2002-00016-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge John Everett Williams
Trial Court Judge: Judge E. Shayne Sexton

The State appeals contending the trial court erred in allowing the defendant to receive jail credit from an unrelated charge against the 150-day mandatory minimum sentence he received in his plea to sixth offense D.U.I. Also, the State alleges error in the trial court modifying the defendant's payment plan for paying fines and costs to less than the defendant agreed to pay when the trial court accepted the defendant's plea agreement. We conclude it was error to allow this defendant to receive any jail credit toward his mandatory minimum of 150 days for his sixth D.U.I. offense where the credit accumulated on an unrelated charge. We further conclude the trial court was within its discretion to modify the payment plan, not the overall fine, upon determining the defendant did not have the ability to pay. We reverse in part and affirm in part the judgments of the trial court and remand for entry of a corrected judgment consistent with this opinion.