State of Tennessee v, Tyrone Ralph Wright
A Coffee County jury convicted the Defendant, Tyrone Ralph Wright, of one count of theft of property under $500 and one count of forgery over $1000. The trial court sentenced the Defendant as a career offender to an effective sentence of twelve years. The Defendant appeals, arguing that: (1) the trial court erred when it denied his motion to suppress evidence obtained during the search of a vehicle in which the Defendant was a passenger; (2) the trial court erred when it admitted evidence of an uncharged forgery; (3) the trial court erred when it failed to charge the jury on a lesser included offense; (4) the identification of the Defendant submitted at trial violated the “physical facts rule;” (5) the evidence at trial was insufficient to sustain his convictions; (6) he was denied his right to allocution at the sentencing hearing; and (7) the trial court erred when it sentenced him. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we conclude that there is no error in the judgments of the trial court, and we affirm the trial court’s judgments. |
Coffee | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Julie Leamon Tomlin v. Nathan Leamon
This case arises from a dispute over which parent should be the primary residential parent of two minor children, Julian and Tristen (“the Children,” collectively). Julie Leamon Tomlin (“Mother”) and Nathan Leamon (“Father”) are the parents of the Children. Mother and Father divorced several years ago and both have since remarried. Some time after the divorce, Mother, with whom the Children spent the majority of their time, filed a petition for correct child support and to modify the existing permanent parenting plan in the Circuit Court for McMinn County (“the Trial Court”). Father filed an answer and counterclaim, requesting that he be made the primary residential parent, or, in the alternative, that he have equal parenting time with the Children. Following trial, the Trial Court found that a material change of circumstances had occurred and that it was in the Children’s best interests that Father be made primary residential parent of the Children. Mother appeals, arguing, in part, that no material change of circumstances had occurred that could support making Father the primary residential parent. We reverse the judgment of the Trial Court. |
McMinn | Court of Appeals | |
In Re Estate of Homer P. Norton
This lawsuit was filed by the decedent’s nephew and the nephew’s wife alleging that the caretakers of the decedent improperly influenced him to change his will. The proponents of the decedent’s will filed a motion for summary judgment, asserting that no confidential relationship existed between the decedent and the caretakers in regard to the will. The trial court granted the proponents’ motion, finding that proof of a confidential relationship was necessary to pursue a will contest on the ground of undue influence, and that no such confidential relationship existed between decedent and the caretakers. The contestants appeal. Finding no reversible error, we affirm. |
Sevier | Court of Appeals | |
Stephen Bernard Wlodarz v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, charged with first degree premeditated murder and other crimes, entered best interest guilty pleas and received an effective sentence of life without parole. After an unsuccessful petition for post-conviction relief challenging the effectiveness of his trial counsel, he filed a petition for a writ of error coram nobis alleging newly discovered, exculpatory ballistic evidence. The trial court denied the petition, and the Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed. Wlodarz v. State, No. E2008-02179-CCA-R3-CO, 2010 WL 1998766 (Tenn. Crim. App. May 19, 2010). We granted the application for permission to appeal to consider whether a petitioner who has entered guilty pleas may challenge his convictions by writ of error coram nobis pursuant to the terms of our statute. Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-26105(b) (2006). While we have determined that the petitioner did not forfeit the procedural remedy of writ of error coram nobis based on newly discovered evidence by entering the guiltypleas,the evidence in this instance does notqualifyas newlydiscovered. Accordingly, the judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeals is affirmed. |
Hawkins | Supreme Court | |
Stephen Bernard Wlodarz v. State of Tennessee - Concur
I concur with the majority’s conclusion that Mr. Wlodarz has not presented newly discovered evidence to support his effort to use a writ of error coram nobis to set aside his guilty plea. I write separately, however, because I cannot concur with the majority’s conclusion that Mr. Wlodarz is entitled to challenge his guilty plea using a writ of error coram nobis. |
Hawkins | Supreme Court | |
Shawn Harris v. Tennessee Department of Correction et al.
This is an appeal from a final judgment dismissing an inmate’s petition for writ of certiorari. Because the inmate did not file his notice of appeal with the trial court clerk within the time permitted by Tenn. R. App. P. 4, we dismiss the appeal. |
Hickman | Court of Appeals | |
Davis Jeremy Uselton v. Tennessee Department of Correction, et al.
This is an appeal from a final judgment dismissing an inmate’s petition for common law writ of certiorari. Because the inmate did not file his notice of appeal with the trial court clerk within the time permitted by Tenn. R. App. P. 4, we dismiss the appeal. |
Wayne | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Christopher M. Foster
The appellant, Christopher M. Foster, pled guilty in the Blount County Circuit Court to robbery and received a five-year sentence to be served on supervised probation. Subsequently, the trial court revoked his probation and ordered that he serve his sentence in confinement. On appeal, the appellant contends that the trial court abused its discretion by not granting him another alternative sentence. Based upon the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Blount | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Khalfani S. Marion v. State of Tennessee
The pro se petitioner, Khalfani Marion, appeals the summary dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief, arguing that he should have been afforded an evidentiary hearing to consider whether due process tolled the statute of limitations in his case. The State concedes that an evidentiary hearing should have been held to determine whether the statute of limitations should be tolled due to the petitioner’s trial counsel’s having failed to timely inform him of our supreme court’s denial of his application for permission to appeal. We agree. Accordingly, we reverse the summary dismissal of the petition and remand for an evidentiary hearing to determine whether the circumstances require that the statute of limitations be tolled in this case. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Gerald Lee Powers v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Gerald Lee Powers, appeals the judgment of the Shelby County Criminal Court denying his petition for post-conviction relief. In 1998, he was convicted of first degree felony murder and aggravated robbery. His convictions and death sentence were affirmed on direct appeal by the Tennessee Supreme Court. See State v. Powers, 101 S.W.3d 383, 387 (Tenn. 2003), cert. denied, 538 U.S. 1038, 123 S. Ct. 2083 (2003). On appeal, the petitioner presents a number of issues: trial counsel were ineffective in selection of jurors; the trial court erred in not allowing individual voir dire and limiting counsel’s voir dire questioning; trial counsel were ineffective because they had excessive caseloads and did not object to long trial days; trial counsel failed to investigate certain evidence; trial counsel were ineffective as to expert witnesses; trial counsel were ineffective in presentation of other suspects to the homicide; trial counsel were ineffective in their witness interviews and failed to locate certain relevant witnesses; the trial court erred in instructing the jury as to reasonable doubt; the State failed to produce exculpatory evidence and to preserve certain evidence; the trial court should have disqualified itself; trial counsel failed to object to the applicability of Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-13-204(c); and imposition of the death penalty is unconstitutional. We have carefully reviewed each of these claims and conclude, as did the post-conviction court, that they are without merit. Accordingly, we affirm the order of that court denying the petition for post-conviction relief. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Carol Crisel v. Thomas Crisel
This appeal involves the “spousal impoverishment” provision of the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988 (“MCCA”). Thomas Crisel (“Husband”) was placed in a nursing home for health-related problems. Subsequently, Carol Crisel (“Wife”) filed a complaint against Husband in which she sought spousal support in the form of a transfer of the family residence and all of his income. The trial court granted Wife’s request and filed an order reflecting its decision. Upon receiving notice of the order, the Tennessee Department of Human Services (“TDHS”) filed a motion to intervene and to set aside the order pursuant to Rule 60.02 of the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure. The trial court denied the motion. TDHS appeals. We reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand with instruction to the trial court to reconsider Wife’s complaint for spousal support with TDHS participating as an intervening party. |
Jefferson | Court of Appeals | |
In Re: Alexia R.L.H. and Tristan S.M.R.
In this case the grandparents were awarded temporary custody of the mother's two minor children after the Court determined the children were dependent and neglected in the mother's care. Subsequently, the Trial Court set child support payments from the mother to the grandparents based on the mother's social security disability benefits income. The mother has appealed to this Court, and argues that the Trial Court erred in setting the amount of the mother's child support payments and contends that social security benefits are not subject to garnishment. We affirm the Trial Judge on all issues and remand. |
Bradley | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee ex rel. Charmaine Eason v. Phillip L. Swinger
Father appeals from his conviction of eighteen counts of criminalcontempt for willful failure to pay bi-weekly child support obligations over a thirteen-month period. The record demonstrates that Father was hospitalized and incarcerated for a portion of the relevant period, and unable to make some of the payments, but the evidence proves his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt to sixteen (16) counts. We therefore, affirm the conviction of sixteen (16) of the eighteen (18) counts of criminal contempt and revise the total sentence from 180 days to 160 days. |
Davidson | Court of Appeals | |
FSGBank, N.A. v. Sushan K. Anand
In this action based on a contract, the Trial Court granted plaintiff summary judgment and ultimately certified the judgment as final, pursuant to Tenn. R. Civ. P. 54.02. Defendant had filed a counterclaim against plaintiff based on the same contracts that was the basis of plaintiff's summary judgment. Defendant has appealed, insisting the Trial Court abused its discretion in certifying the judgment as final. We hold the Trial Court abused its discretion in certifying the judgment as final and dismiss the appeal. |
Hamilton | Court of Appeals | |
Alstom Power, Inc. v. Sue Ann Head, Administrator, Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Workers' Compensation Division, et al.
Plaintiff employer confronted with a worker's compensation claim by its employee filed an action for declaratory judgment, injunction relief, and a petition for certiorari against the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development and the employee. Plaintiff's principal contention was that the Department of Labor prepared an order for medical benefits directing the employer to provide the employee with additional panels of physicians from which he could choose for treatment, and concluded by averring that it was threatened with a $10,000 penalty if it did not comply. The Trial Court initially issued a restraining order, but the Trial Court ultimately concluded that it did not have jurisdiction over the issues because suit had been filed before the administrative review process was exhausted. Plaintiff appealed and we affirm the Judgment of the Trial Court, and remand. |
Hamilton | Court of Appeals | |
Bernie Cheatham d/b/a Universal Builders, et al. v. The Federal Materials Company, LLC, et al.
Builder was hired to construct a commercial building, and it purchased the concrete for the building’s concrete slab from Supplier. The concrete slab developed major cracks, which led to this lawsuit between Builder and Supplier. After a two-day bench trial, the trial court found that Supplier had delivered defective concrete, and it entered judgment in favor of |
Weakley | Court of Appeals | |
Vonetta Mousseau v. Davita, Inc.
The employee, a registered nurse, injured her neck and lower back when she slipped and fell in a pool of water. She had surgical fusions of the cervical and lumbar spine. She continued to have serious symptoms for which she received numerous medications. Her treating physician testified that she was incapable of performing any nursing functions, including those that required only sedentary work. The trial court found her to be permanently and totally disabled. Her employer has appealed, contending that the evidence preponderates against the trial court’s finding on disability and that the employee should be held to have been offered a meaningful return to work. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Hardeman | Workers Compensation Panel | |
State of Tennessee v. Terry Maples
A Blount County jury convicted the Defendant of theft of properly valued between $1,000 and $10,000, and the trial court sentenced him to three years on supervised probation. The Defendant’s probation officer filed a probation violation warrant, alleging that the Defendant had violated his probation by, among other things, committing new offenses. The trial court agreed and ordered him to serve 90 days in jail and then return to probation. The Defendant then pled guilty to forgery and identity theft and, pursuant to a plea agreement, was sentenced to probation. The Defendant’s probation officer then filed another probation violation warrant alleging that the Defendant had violated his probation in both cases by, among other things, committing theft. Following a hearing, the trial court revoked the Defendant’s probation and ordered him to serve his sentences in confinement. On appeal, the Defendant contends the trial court erred when it ordered him to serve his sentences in confinement. After reviewing the record, we affirm the trial court’s judgment. |
Blount | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Angela M. Merriman
The State of Tennessee appeals as of right the Warren County Circuit Court’s dismissal of three counts of an indictment charging the defendant, Angela M. Merriman, with driving under the influence (DUI), second offense; felony reckless endangerment; and reckless driving. Following our review of a destruction of evidence issue under an abuse of discretion rather than a de novo standard, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Warren | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jamaal M. Mayes v. State of Tennessee
In 2006, the Defendant, Jamaal M. Mayes, pled guilty to one count of attempted second degree murder and one count of especially aggravated robbery, and the trial court entered the agreed upon sentence of fifteen years in the Tennessee Department of Correction, to be served as a multiple offender. In 2011, the Defendant filed a pro se “motion; application to void the judgment.” The trial court denied the motion, finding that it lacked jurisdiction. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the trial court erred when it denied his motion. After a thorough review of the record and applicable authorities, we affirm the trial court’s judgment. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Grover L. Parks
A Polk County jury convicted the Defendant, Grover L. Parks, of theft of property valued over $10,000 and less than $60,000, and the trial court sentenced him to five years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the Defendant contends: (1) the evidence is insufficient to sustain his conviction; and (2) the trial court erred when it failed to disqualify the special prosecutor from prosecuting the case. After a thorough review of the record and applicable authorities, we conclude there exists no error. We, therefore, affirm the trial court’s judgment. |
Polk | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State Of Tennessee, Department Of Children's Services v. Misty Byrd; In The Matter Of: Morgan R., DOB 12/14/02; Braden R., DOB 6/22/05; Zakary R., DOB 9/23/08
This appeal arises out of dependency and neglect proceedings regarding three minor children. The circuit court found all three children dependent and neglected, and it found the youngest child had been severely abused. We affirm |
Tipton | Court of Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Charles Jackson and Willis Holloway
A Shelby County Criminal Court Jury convicted each of the appellants, Charles Jackson and Willis Holloway, of two counts of aggravated robbery, a Class B felony; two counts of aggravated kidnapping, a Class B felony; and one count of aggravated burglary, a Class C felony. After a sentencing hearing, they received effective forty-four-year sentences. On appeal, the appellants contend that (1) the trial court erred by refusing to allow them to cross-examine a co-defendant about her engaging in prostitution before the crimes; (2) the trial court erred by admitting the co-defendant’s complete written statement into evidence; (3) the trial court erred by giving each juror a copy of the statement; (4) the trial court erred by failing to redact the statement; and (5) the evidence is insufficient to support the convictions. Based upon the oral arguments, the record, and the parties’ briefs, we conclude that the trial court erred by admitting the co-defendant’s complete statement into evidence but that the error was harmless. Therefore, the appellants’ convictions are affirmed. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Tony Scott Walker v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Tony Scott Walker, appeals the Circuit Court of Gibson County’s dismissal of his pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus. The State has filed a motion requesting that this Court affirm the trial court’s judgment pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Following our review, we grant the State’s motion and affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Gibson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. LeDarren S. Hawkins
A Madison County jury convicted the Defendant, LeDarren S. Hawkins, of first degree murder and tampering with evidence, and the trial court sentenced him to serve an effective life sentence in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions and that the trial court refused to instruct the jury regarding the defense of a third person as an affirmative defense. After a thorough review of the record and the applicable law, we affirm the trial court’s judgments. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals |