Derrann William Estill v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Derrann William Estill,appeals the Davidson County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his conviction of especially aggravated kidnapping and resulting seventeen-year sentence. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel at trial and on appeal, that he is entitled to relief based upon cumulative error, and that the post-conviction court failed to address adequately his claims of due process violations. Based upon the oral arguments, the record, and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
In the Matter of: Jaylen J. (d.o.b. 10/1/08) and Justin A. (12/1/05)
This appeal arises from a dependency and neglect petition originally filed by the Department of Children’s Services in the Juvenile Court for Shelby County in May 2010. We dismiss the matter for lack of jurisdiction. |
Shelby | Court of Appeals | |
Walter Word v. Metro Air Services, Inc., et al.
In this interlocutory appeal, we must decide whether a trial court has subject matter jurisdiction over a workers’ compensation case when the time stamp on the complaint is earlier than the “time noted” on the Benefit Review Conference Report, pursuant to Benefit Review Process Rule 0800-2-5-.09(2). Because a workers’ compensation action may not be filed under Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-225(a)(2)(A) (2008) until exhaustion of the benefit review conference process, we hold that when subject matter jurisdiction over a workers’ compensation case depends upon the issuance of a Benefit Review Conference Report, the “time noted on the Report” is controlling. Moreover, we hold that the time stamp on the complaint,if unambiguous,maynotbe impeached with extrinsic evidence. Therefore, we reverse the trial court’s denial of the employer’s motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and dismiss this action. |
Wilson | Supreme Court | |
State of Tennessee v. Melissa L. Grayson
A Davidson County Grand Jury indicted appellant, Melissa Grayson, for aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated robbery, and two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping. Following jury verdicts of guilty on all five counts, the trial court sentenced appellant to an effective seventeen-year sentence. Appellant claims the following errors at trial: 1) the trial court erred in declaring a witness unavailable and allowing the State to introduce his preliminary hearing testimony; 2) the trial court erred in permitting the State to elicit improper character evidence from a witness; and 3) the evidence was insufficient to sustain the convictions. The State contends that appellant has waived the first two issues because her motion for new trial was untimely. We have concluded that the State is correct with respect to its waiver argument and further, that the evidence was sufficient to sustain the verdicts. Accordingly, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
In Re: Application of Tony Cox (seeking to qualify as agent for Memphis Bonding) and State of Tennessee v. Cheryl D. Gray and Samuel R. Brisco
In this consolidated appeal, Petitioner Tony Cox appeals the trial court’s order denying his application to qualify as a bondsman’s agent to write cash bonds in the Criminal Courts of the Thirtieth Judicial District, and Petitioner Samuel R. Brisco appeals the trial court’s revocation of his authorization to write bonds in the Criminal Courts of the Thirtieth Judicial District. In both of these cases, the trial court determined that the Petitioners’ restoration of citizenship rights following their felony convictions did not remove the civil disability preventing them from serving as a bondsman or bondsman’s agent. On appeal, the Petitioners argue that they are entitled to serve as bond agents pursuant to Attorney General Opinion 04-143. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Albert Evans v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Albert Evans, appeals from the Shelby County Criminal Court’s denial of post-conviction relief from his convictions for first degree murder and especially aggravated robbery, for which he is serving life without the possibility of parole plus twenty-four years. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that he did not receive the effective assistance of counsel. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee ex rel. Ronda M. Letner v. Raymond T. Carriger
Raymond T. Carriger (“Carriger”) filed a petition to terminate his child support obligation in the Chancery Court for Meigs County (“the Trial Court”). The State of Tennessee ex rel. Ronda M. Letner (“the State”) opposed Carriger’s petition. Carriger argued that he suffered from a disability and, as a result, was unable ever to pay off the arrearages he had accumulated. The Trial Court granted Carriger’s petition and absolved him of his child support arrearages. The State appeals, arguing that such a retroactive modification of child support is prohibited under Tennessee law. We reverse the judgment of the Trial Court. |
Meigs | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Cody Rickey Cofer
A Cumberland County jury convicted the Defendant, Cody Cofer, of two counts of felony murder and one count of attempted especially aggravated robbery. The trial court imposed consecutive life sentences for the felony murder convictions, ordering those sentences to run concurrently with the twelve-year sentence it imposed for the attempted especially aggravated robbery conviction. On appeal, the Defendant argues that: (1) the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions; (2) the trial court erred when it allowed the jury to determine whether a witness was an accomplice; (3) the trial court erred by refusing to give a missing witness instruction to the jury; (4) the State’s closing argument was improper; and (5) the trial court erred when it imposed consecutive life sentences. Following our review, we affirm the trial court’s judgments. |
Cumberland | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Melissa L. Grayson
A Davidson County Grand Jury indicted appellant, Melissa Grayson, for aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated robbery, and two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping. Following jury verdicts of guilty on all five counts, the trial court sentenced appellant to an effective seventeen-year sentence. Appellant claims the following errors at trial: 1) the trial court erred in declaring a witness unavailable and allowing the State to introduce his preliminary hearing testimony; 2) the trial court erred in permitting the State to elicit improper character evidence from a witness; and 3) the evidence was insufficient to sustain the convictions. The State contends that appellant has waived the first two issues because her motion for new trial was untimely. We have concluded that the State is correct with respect to its waiver argument and further, that the evidence was sufficient to sustain the verdicts. Accordingly, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Davidson | ||
State of Tennessee v. James Randall Roskam
A Davidson County Criminal Court Jury convicted the appellant, James Randall Roskam, of aggravated robbery, a Class B felony, and the trial court sentenced him as a Range II, multiple offender to twenty years in confinement. On appeal, the appellant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support the conviction and that the State impermissibly elicited testimony from its witnesses about his prior bad acts in violation of Rule 404(b), Tennessee Rules of Evidence. Based upon the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Johnny Marvin Highsmith, II
On January 31, 2011, Appellant, Johnny Marvin Highsmith, II, entered guilty pleas to one count each of theft of property over $1,000, identity theft, and theft of property over $500 with an effective sentence of eight years. He was placed on community corrections with all but 165 days of his sentence suspended. The trial court issued a violation of community corrections warrant on May 2, 2011, and amended that warrant on June 3, 2011. The trial court held a hearing and revoked Appellant’s community corrections sentence and ordered that he serve his original sentence in incarceration. On appeal, Appellant argues that the trial court abused its discretion in ordering him to serve his sentence in incarceration. After a thorough review of the record, we determine that the trial court did not abuse it discretion. Therefore, we affirm the decision of the trial court. |
Blount | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. O'Dell Taylor Wisdom
Appellant, Odell Wisdom, pled guilty in Sullivan County to the charge of felony failure to appear in exchange for a five-year sentence as a Range III, persistent offender. The trial court held a sentencing hearing specifically for the purpose of addressing Appellant’s request for probation or alternative sentencing. The trial court denied Appellant’s request and ordered Appellant to serve the sentence in confinement. Appellant appeals, arguing that the trial court erred in denying an alternative sentence. However, after a thorough review of the record, we conclude that the trial court properly denied probation or alternative sentencing. Therefore, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Robert Keith Ward v. State of Tennessee
Following his jury conviction of aggravated rape, the petitioner filed an untimely petition for post-conviction relief alleging that his conviction resulted from the ineffective assistance of counsel and that due process considerations should toll the statute of limitations. The post-conviction court ruled that the petitioner failed to establish a basis for due process tolling and summarily dismissed the petition. Discerning no error, we affirm the order of the post-conviction court. |
Sevier | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
In Re: Alexis M.M.
Jason C. (“Putative Father”) appeals the termination of his parental rights to his minor child, Alexis M.M. (“the Child”). The Department of Children’s Services (“DCS”) pursued termination after Putative Father was incarcerated and the Child was adjudicated dependent and neglected in the care of her mother, LeAnn M. (“Mother”). Following a bench trial, the court applied Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-1-113(g)(9)(A), applicable to non-legal parents, and terminated Putative Father’s rights based upon multiple grounds, including the failure to provide child support, to visit, or to establish his paternity. Putative Father challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting each of these grounds. We affirm. |
Sullivan | Court of Appeals | |
Sidney Cleve Metcalf v. David Sexton, Warden
The Petitioner, Sidney Cleve Metcalf, appeals the Johnson County Criminal Court’s summary dismissal of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. In this appeal, the Petitioner claims entitlement to habeas corpus relief because of alleged defects in the indictment. The crux of his argument is that his indictment is invalid because it did not allege all of the elements of the offense of aggravated rape, i.e., that the penetration of the victim was accomplished while being armed with a weapon. He also contends that he is entitled to relief because the grand jury foreman did not sign the indictment. We conclude that there is no error in the judgment of the habeas corpus court and affirm. |
Johnson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Edward Wooten Titus
Defendant, Edward Wooten Titus, pled guilty to vehicular assault pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement to receive the minimum sentence of two years. The manner of service of the sentence was to be determined by the trial court. A charge of driving without a license was dismissed pursuant to the agreement. The trial court ordered alternative sentencing, with Defendant to serve the sentence in the community corrections program. Included was fifty days of incarceration with periodic confinement so that Defendant’s receipt of social security disability payments would not be jeopardized. On appeal, Defendant argues that the trial court erred by failing to grant him full probation. From the record we glean that no pre-sentence report was prepared. Therefore, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand for a new sentencing hearing. |
Washington | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
John J. Campbell Co., Inc., et al. v. Juan M. Beltran
An employee received workers’ compensation benefits for a traumatic brain injury he suffered while working for his employer. The employee’s claim was settled for 21% permanent partial disability to the body as a whole. After experiencing additional difficulties, the employee sought reconsideration of those benefits. The trial court awarded the employee 55% permanent partial disability to the body as a whole. The employee has appealed, contending that the award was inadequate. After a review of the record, we affirm the trial court’s judgment. |
Shelby | Workers Compensation Panel | |
Bobby Joe Strader v. David Osborne, Warden
The Petitioner, Bobby Joe Strader, appeals as of right from the Morgan County Criminal Court’s summary dismissal of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. The Petitioner contends (1) that the habeas corpus court erred by not appointing counsel and not allowing him to amend his petition with the assistance of counsel prior to its dismissal and (2) that the habeas corpus court erred by summarily dismissing his petition. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the habeas corpus court. |
Morgan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Brian Raines v. Vought Aircraft Industries, Inc. et al.
Pursuant to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 51, this workers’ compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers’ Compensation Appeals Panel for a hearing and a report of findings of fact and conclusions of law. The employee filed this action for reconsideration of a 2006 workers’ compensation settlement pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-241(d)(1)(B)(i)(2008). The settlementwas based on a 2005 injuryconsisting of lumbar disc herniations that resulted in a 12% anatomical impairment rating to the body as a whole. The employee made a meaningful return to work, and his recovery was therefore capped at 1.5 times the impairment rating—18%. The cited statute allows reconsideration when the employee is no longer employed by his pre-injury employer, as occurred in this case when his employer was acquired by another company in 2010. The trial court found the original settlement adequately compensated the employee for his vocational disability and declined to award additional benefits. We affirm the trial court’s judgment. |
Davidson | Workers Compensation Panel | |
State of Tennessee v. Mel Lindsay Atwell
The Defendant, Mel Lindsay Atwell, pled guilty to driving under the influence fourth offense, a Class E felony, and aggravated assault, a Class C felony. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to five years for the aggravated assault conviction and two years for the felony driving under the influence conviction and ordered that the sentences run consecutively, for an effective sentence of seven years. On appeal, the Defendant argues that the trial court erred when it imposed consecutive sentences because the State had not met its burden of proof to support that decision. After a thorough review of the record and the applicable law, we affirm the trial court’s judgments. |
Grundy | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jermaine Bradford v. Ronald Colson, Warden
Petitioner, Jermaine Bradford, filed a petition for habeas corpus relief in the Circuit Court of Davidson County. He sought habeas corpus relief from his conviction in the Criminal Court of Davidson County for especially aggravated kidnapping. The habeas corpus court dismissed the petition without a hearing. Petitioner appeals, and we affirm the judgment of the habeas corpus court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jason R. Williams v. David Sexton, Warden
Petitioner, Jason R. Williams, appeals from the denial of a petition for writ of habeas corpus in which he complained that the McMinn County trial court did not have jurisdiction to impose concurrent sentences. After the timely filing of a notice of appeal, Petitioner argues in this Court that the habeas petition was improperly dismissed and that Tennessee Code Annotated section 29-21-101, which limits the grounds for habeas corpus relief, is unconstitutional. After a review of the record, we conclude that Petitioner has not provided an adequate record demonstrating his sentences were illegal. Thus, we chose not to address the constitutionality of the statute. Accordingly, the judgment of the habeas corpus court is affirmed. |
Johnson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Carl Baker v. Antoinette Welch
Plaintiff in case alleging legal malpractice appeals the trial court’s grant of summary judgment to defendant attorney. Finding no error, we affirm. |
Davidson | Court of Appeals | |
Irtira Herbert v. Jerald L. Harding
The mother of an eleven year old boy asked his father to take care of the child for a few weeks because she was moving out of her apartment. The mother did not find a place of her own for the next six months. Meanwhile, the father enrolled the child in school, boy scouts and football, and filed a petition for change of custody. The father alleged that there had been a change of circumstances in that the mother’s unstable home life and frequent moves adversely affected the child at school and elsewhere, and that the child’s grades and his attitudes had greatly improved while he was under the father’s care. After a hearing, the trial court transferred custody of the child to the father. The mother argues on appeal that, contrary to the trial court’s finding, there had not been a material change of circumstances, and that the trial court’s decision placed too much emphasis on an incident when she was arrested for shoplifting in the presence of the child. We affirm the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Appeals | |
Mario Pendergrass v. State of Tennessee
In a bench trial, petitioner, Mario Pendergrass, was convicted of two counts of first degree murder,especially aggravated kidnapping,and especially aggravated robbery. The trial court sentenced him to an effective sentence of life in prison plus forty-four years. Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief raising the following issues:(1) whether trial counsel was ineffective for failing to develop mental health evidence; (2) whether trial counsel denied petitioner his right to testify at trial; and (3) whether petitioner voluntarily waived his right to a trial by jury. The post-conviction court denied relief following a full evidentiary hearing. Finding no error, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals |