State of Tennessee v. Timothy Wakefield
W2003-00892-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge David H. Welles
Trial Court Judge: Judge James C. Beasley, Jr.

The Defendant, Timothy Wakefield, pled guilty to DUI, fourth offense, and was sentenced to two years in confinement, suspended after service of 150 days. The Defendant was placed on community corrections. A petition for the revocation of the Defendant’s community corrections sentence was subsequently filed and granted. The sole issue on appeal is whether the trial court erred by not allowing the Defendant full credit for the time that the Defendant had served in the community corrections program. We conclude that the trial court erred and remand to the trial court to modify its judgment to reflect ninety-eight days of credit for time served.

Dudley Stovall v. William Thomas Bagsby
M2002-01901-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Sr. Judge William H. Inman
Trial Court Judge: Russell Heldman
This twice-tried boundary line litigation, spanning five years, involves a small square-footage of a long-existing private roadway, five surveyors-engineers, and a host of lay witnesses. The Chancellor adopted the expert opinion of one of the surveyors with respect to the precise location of a crucial corner of the roadway. We affirm except as modified with respect to discretionary costs, which requires a remand for determination.

Admiralty Suites And Inns, LLC, et al. v. Shelby County, Tennessee et al.
W2002-02155-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Alan E. Highers
Trial Court Judge: Chancellor D. J. Alissandratos

This case involves the constitutionality of Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-4-1425, which governs occupancy taxes on hotels and motels. After conducting a hearing on the matter, the lower court found the statute constitutional. For the following reasons, we affirm in part and reverse in part the finding of the trial court.

State of Tennessee v. Jasper Turner
W2002-02159-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Trial Court Judge: Judge Roy B. Morgan, Jr.

Following a jury trial, Defendant, Jasper Turner, was convicted of identity theft, a Class D felony. He was sentenced to twelve years incarceration as a career offender. On appeal, Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support the conviction, argues that the trial court erred in sentencing him, and contends that it was plain error for the trial court to allow the State to refer to the victim being attacked at the time the victim’s wallet and credit cards were taken. After a thorough review of the evidence, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

State of Tennessee v. Detrick Cole
W2002-01254-CCA-R3-DD
Authoring Judge: Judge Joe G. Riley
Trial Court Judge: Judge Joseph B. Dailey

Capital defendant Detrick Cole appeals as of right his sentence of death resulting from the October 2000 murder of Santeife Thomas. A Shelby County jury found the defendant guilty of premeditated first degree murder. Following a separate sentencing hearing, the jury unanimously found the presence of one statutory aggravating circumstance, i.e., the defendant had previously been convicted of one or more violent felony offenses; determined that this aggravating circumstance outweighed any mitigating circumstances; and imposed a sentence of death. The defendant now appeals, presenting for our review the following issues: (1) whether the evidence is sufficient to support premeditated first degree murder; (2) whether the trial court erred in permitting the state to introduce a photograph of the victim while he was alive; (3) whether the trial court erred in permitting the introduction of post-mortem photographs of the victim; (4) whether the fingerprinting of the defendant in the presence of the jury at the penalty phase was constitutional error; (5) whether the trial court erroneously prohibited the defendant from introducing hearsay evidence during the penalty phase; (6) whether the trial court's instructions to the jury as to the (i)(2) aggravating circumstance were contrary to the United States Supreme Court's holdings in Apprendi v. New Jersey and Ring v. Arizona; (7) whether there is a reasonable probability that the instruction on victim impact evidence coerced the death sentence from the jury; (8) whether the evidence is sufficient to establish the defendant had previously been convicted of one or more violent felony offenses; (9) whether the jury verdict form was clear as to whether the jury found the aggravating circumstance relied upon by the state; (10) whether the Tennessee death penalty statutory scheme is constitutional; and (11) whether the sentence of death imposed in this case is disproportionate. Upon review, we question, but need not determine, whether the trial court in the penalty phase had the authority under Apprendi and Ring to find the defendant's prior felony convictions were crimes of violence and to instruct the jury that these prior convictions were crimes of violence; however, we conclude that if there were error, any error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Thus, we discern no error of law requiring reversal. Accordingly, we affirm the defendant's conviction for first degree murder and the jury's imposition of the sentence of death.

State of Tennessee v. Calvin Reginald Edwards
W2003-00077-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Gary R Wade
Trial Court Judge: Judge Joseph H. Walker, III

The defendant, Calvin Reginald Edwards, entered a plea of guilt to simple possession of marijuana, explicitly reserving a certified question of law challenging the legality of an investigatory stop. See Tenn. R. Crim. P. 37(b)(2)(i). Because the stop was based upon a reasonable and articulable suspicion, the judgment is affirmed.

State of Tennessee v. Richard Dilling
W2002-02547-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Trial Court Judge: Judge William B. Acree

Following a bench trial in the Circuit Court of Obion County, Defendant, Richard Dilling, was convicted of misdemeanor reckless endangerment. He was sentenced to serve 11 months and 29 days, with all but 30 days to be suspended. He now appeals, challenging both the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the conviction and the sentence imposed by the trial court. After a careful review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Carolyn Diane Brown v. State of Tennessee
E2002-02760-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Gary R Wade
Trial Court Judge: Judge Richard R. Baumgartner

The petitioner, Carolyn Diane Brown, appeals the trial court's denial of post-conviction relief. In addition to a challenge of the sufficiency of the convicting evidence, the petitioner alleges that she was denied the effective assistance of counsel. The judgment is affirmed.

Sandra Kay Terrell v. Sterling Plumbing Group
W2002-01489-WC-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: D. J. Alissandratos, Sp.J.
Trial Court Judge: Michael Malone, Chancellor
The employer in this workers'compensation case has appealed the trial court's decision awarding the claimant twelve percent (12%) permanent partial disability to both arms. This award was made despite the absence of any impairment rating to the left arm and despite the absence of medical evidence establishing permanency of any injury to the left arm. The Panel has concluded that the evidence preponderates against the trial court's finding of a work-related injury to the left arm. Accordingly, we reverse the trial court's finding as to the left arm, but we affirm the trial court's award of 12% permanent partial disability to the right arm.

State of Tennessee v. Reginald D. Hughes
M2003-00543-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge David G. Hayes
Trial Court Judge: Judge Donald P. Harris

The Appellant, Reginald D. Hughes, was convicted by a Williamson County jury of felony evading arrest and misdemeanor possession of cocaine. As a result of these convictions, Hughes was sentenced as a Range III persistent offender to an effective sentence of five years in the Department of Correction. The single issue presented for our review is whether the evidence was sufficient to support the verdicts. After review of the record, we find the evidence sufficient and affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Antuan J. Foxx v. James Neely, et al
M2003-01634-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Frank Clement, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Irvin H. Kilcrease, Jr.
This is an appeal by a former employee whose unemployment compensation benefits were denied on the basis of work-related misconduct, specifically for allegedly refusing to perform certain work as requested by a supervisor. The claim for benefits was denied by the Employment Security Division of the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The employee filed a petition with the Chancery Court for judicial review. The Chancery Court affirmed. The employee asserts that the denial of his claim is not supported by substantial and material evidence. We find there is substantial and material evidence to support the denial of benefits and affirm the trial court.

State of Tennessee v. Garrett Nicholas Sons
E2003-01082-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge John Everett Williams
Trial Court Judge: Judge E. Eugene Eblen

The defendant pled guilty to aggravated robbery and felony evading arrest. The trial court ordered the sentences for the offenses committed in Loudon County to be served consecutively to a sentence for robbery in Knox County. The defendant contends on appeal that the trial court erred in imposing consecutive sentencing. The trial court did not err in imposing consecutive sentencing because the defendant was on probation when the current offenses were committed. The judgments of the trial court are affirmed.

Melinda Anderson vs. Brett Wilder
E2003-00460-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Houston M. Goddard
Trial Court Judge: Harold Wimberly
This case involves a dispute between members of a limited liability company ("LLC") entitled FuturePoint Administrative Services, LLC. The Plaintiffs were expelled from the LLC by a vote of the Defendants, who together owned 53% of FuturePoint. The Plaintiffs received a buyout price of $150.00 per ownership unit in FuturePoint after they were expelled, pursuant to the operating agreement of the LLC. Shortly after the expulsion, the Defendants sold 499 ownership units, amounting to a 49.9% interest in the LLC, to a third party at a price of $250.00 per ownership unit. Plaintiffs filed this action, alleging, among other things, that the Defendants' actions violated their fiduciary duty and duty of good faith to Plaintiffs. Defendants moved for summary judgment, arguing that their actions were authorized by the operating agreement and that they acted in good faith in expelling the Plaintiffs. The Trial Court granted summary judgment in Defendants' favor. We vacate the order of summary judgment and remand.

Cynthia Cooper vs. James Cooper
W2002-00595-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge David R. Farmer
Trial Court Judge: W. Michael Maloan
Petitioner sought an order from the trial court to require his former wife to turn over to him property awarded in the divorce action. Following a hearing, the trial court ruled that the Petitioner had not sustained his burden of proof and that Petitioner's former wife did not have in her possession any personal property granted to Petitioner in the divorce decree. The record is before this Court on Petitioner's appeal and absent a transcript or statement of the evidence. We affirm.

Carl Evans vs. Clarence Douglas
E2002-02191-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge Houston M. Goddard
Trial Court Judge: Howell N. Peoples
This is a suit by Carl Evans and his wife Sharon Evans against Clarence Douglas, Heritage Realty, Care Free Home Center, Inc., and Rick McManus. The suit sought damages because a lot they supposed they were buying from Mr. Douglas was not the lot they owned, but one adjacent thereto. Heritage Realty was sued as the employer of Mr. Douglas and Care Free Home Center, Inc., as the seller of a modular home which was placed on the wrong lot, and putting the Evanses in touch with Mr. Douglas. Rick McManus was the owner of the lot upon which the modular home was placed, although no relief was sought against him. Mr. McManus, however, did file a counter-complaint seeking rents from the Evanses for their use of his lot. The Trial Court awarded a judgment to the Evanses against Mr. Douglas only, under the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, and a judgment in favor of Mr. McManus against the Evanses for rental value of the property, as well as discretionary costs. We affirm as modified.

Thomas Moore v. Shoney's, Inc.
M2002-02635-WC-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Joe C. Loser, Jr., Sp. J.
Trial Court Judge: Carol L. Soloman, Judge
In this appeal, the employer questions the trial court's award of disability benefits and the admissibility of a medical expert's opinion. As discussed below, the panel finds no reversible error and concludes the evidence fails to preponderate against the findings of the trial court.

State of Tennessee v. Traci L. Crews
M2002-02908-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge John Everett Williams
Trial Court Judge: Judge Donald P. Harris

The defendant entered a best interest plea to theft over $10,000, as a Range I, standard offender. She was sentenced to six years, with eight months of confinement and the remainder suspended with ten years of intensive probation. Restitution was included. On appeal of her sentence, the sentence was modified to three years and the remaining terms of the sentence affirmed in all respects.

State of Tennessee v. William O. Ewerling
M2002-02459-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge David G. Hayes
Trial Court Judge: Judge Carol L. Soloman

The Appellant, William O. Ewerling, appeals his conviction by a Davidson County jury for driving under the influence of an intoxicant (DUI), first offense. On appeal, Ewerling raises three issues for our review: (1) whether the trial court's admission of certain evidence at trial was error; (2) whether the evidence was sufficient to support his conviction; and (3) whether Ewerling's refusal to submit to a breath alcohol test was protected by his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Because the record on appeal fails to include either a transcript of the evidence from Ewerling's trial or a statement of the evidence as permitted by Tenn. R. App. P. 24, we find that these issues are procedurally defaulted. Accordingly, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

State of Tennessee v. Teresa Gail Presson
M2002-03090-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Joseph M. Tipton
Trial Court Judge: Judge Robert E. Burch

The defendant, Teresa Gail Presson, appeals from the Dickson County Circuit Court's order revoking her probation that she received upon her guilty plea to theft of property valued more than $10,000 but less than $60,000. The defendant contends that although she violated her probation, the trial court erred by ordering her to serve the remainder of her sentence in confinement. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Frank Crittenden v. State of Tennessee
M2002-01856-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge David G. Hayes
Trial Court Judge: Judge J. Randall Wyatt, Jr.

The Appellant, Frank Crittenden, appeals the Davidson County Criminal Court's dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief. Crittenden pled guilty to eight counts of aggravated rape and, following a sentencing hearing, received an effective one-hundred-year sentence in the Department of Correction. On appeal, the single issue presented for our review is whether Crittenden was denied the effective assistance of counsel. Following a review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court dismissing the petition.

Michael Anderson Peek v. State of Tennessee
E2003-00449-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Robert W. Wedemeyer
Trial Court Judge: Judge Douglas A. Meyer

A Hamilton County jury convicted the Petitioner, Michael Anderson Peek, of four counts of aggravated rape, one count of attempted aggravated rape, three counts of rape, one count of aggravated robbery, two counts of robbery, and three counts of aggravated burglary. The trial court imposed an effective sentence of ninety-nine years in prison. On direct appeal, this Court affirmed the convictions, and the Tennessee Supreme Court denied the Petitioner's application for permission to appeal. The Petitioner then sought post-conviction relief, alleging that he was denied effective assistance of counsel. Following a hearing on the post-conviction petition, the trial court dismissed the petition, and this appeal ensued. We affirm the trial court's dismissal of the petition.

Debbie Legens v. Darin Marshall D/B/A Marshall Recovery
W2003-00005-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Alan E. Highers
Trial Court Judge: William B. Acree

Richard Rehagen v. State of Tennessee
W2003-00894-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge David H. Welles
Trial Court Judge: Judge John P. Colton, Jr.

The Defendant, Richard Rehagen, pled guilty to one count of first degree murder, one count of attempted first degree murder, and one count of aggravated arson. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for the murder, and to twenty-five years for each of the other two offenses, to run concurrently. The Defendant subsequently challenged his pleas by filing a petition for post-conviction relief. The trial court denied the Defendant’s petition after an evidentiary hearing, and the Defendant now appeals. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Ira Miles v. State of Tennessee
W2003-00784-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge David H. Welles
Trial Court Judge: Judge Chris B. Craft

The Defendant, Ira Miles, brings this appeal from the trial court’s denial of post-conviction relief. The Defendant pled guilty to especially aggravated robbery and received an agreed sentence of seventeen years to be served at one hundred percent. In this appeal, he argues that he is entitled to post-conviction relief because he was denied the effective assistance of counsel during the course of his plea. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Terry Baker Smithson v. James Alvin Smithson, Jr.
W2003-00204-COA-R3-CV
Authoring Judge: Judge David R. Farmer