APPELLATE COURT OPINIONS

Defendant, Aaron Dean Whitman, was convicted by a Blount County jury of violating the sex offender registry, for which he received a sentence of 391 days’ incarceration. On appeal, Defendant argues that the trial court erred by denying his motion to stipulate to his prior convictions, for which he was required to register as a sex offender. Upon review, we conclude that the trial court erred by allowing evidence of the named offenses for which Defendant was convicted; however, we determine that the error was harmless and affirm Defendant’s conviction. 

Following a trial, a jury convicted Defendant, Joshua Adam Hill, on two counts of aggravated rape, one count of incest, and one count of sexual battery by an authority figure, for which he was sentenced to an effective twenty-five years’ incarceration. On appeal, Defendant contends that the evidence at trial was insufficient to support his convictions for aggravated rape and sexual battery by an authority figure and that the trial court committed plain error when it instructed the jury on the elements of those offenses. Following a thorough review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The defendant, Martinez Carter, appeals the order of the trial court revoking his probation and ordering him to serve his eight-year sentence in confinement. Upon our review of the record, the parties’ briefs, and oral arguments, we affirm the revocation and disposition of the defendant’s probation.

The Defendant, Asata Lowe, appeals from the Blount County Circuit Court’s dismissal of
his Tennessee Criminal Procedure Rule 36 and Rule 36.1 motions for their failure to state
colorable claims. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the trial court erred in summarily
dismissing the motions because he stated colorable claims. We affirm the judgment of the
trial court.

Alexander Vance, Petitioner, appeals from the denial of post-conviction relief after this Court and the Tennessee Supreme Court affirmed his convictions. See State v. Vance, 596 S.W.3d 229 (Tenn. 2020). On appeal, he argues that the post-conviction court erred in finding that he received effective assistance of counsel at trial despite several alleged areas of deficient performance. After a review of the record and applicable authorities, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

A Hancock County jury found Defendant, Michael J. Hite, guilty of driving under the influence, first offense. The trial court imposed
a sentence of eleven months, twenty-nine days, with Defendant to serve sixty days in confinement and the rest of his sentence on
probation. On appeal, Defendant contends the trial court imposed an excessive sentence. After review, we affirm the judgment of
the trial court.

The Defendant, Keith Harding Miller, was convicted by a Rhea County Circuit Court jury
of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a Class C felony. See T.C.A. § 39-13-
102(A)(1)(A)(iii) (Supp. 2019) (subsequently amended). The trial court sentenced him to
three years in the Department of Correction. On appeal, he contends that: (1) the State
violated Brady v. Maryland by failing to disclose material evidence, (2) a juror imparted
extraneous information which impacted the verdict, and (3) the trial court erred in denying
judicial diversion and in imposing incarceration. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The Petitioner, Darius Markee Alston, appeals the Lauderdale County Circuit Court’s denial of his untimely petition for writ of error coram nobis. Upon review, we affirm.

The Defendant, Lawrence E. Hampton, appeals the trial court’s summary dismissal of his third motion to correct an illegal sentence pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 36.1. Specifically, the Defendant argues that the trial court’s entry of corrected judgment forms changing the order of consecutive service of sentences constituted an ex parte sentencing in violation of Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 43(a)(3). Following our review, we affirm.

A Greene County jury found the Defendant, Mr. Vikash Patel, guilty of one count of driving under the influence of an intoxicant (DUI). The trial court sentenced the Defendant to a term of eleven months and twenty-nine days, which was suspended after service of ten days in confinement. In this appeal, the Defendant argues that the evidence is legally insufficient to sustain his conviction. He also asserts that the State failed to establish a proper chain of custody for his blood sample and that, as such, the analysis of this sample should not have been admitted. Upon our review, we respectfully affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The Defendant, Eric Lamar Caffey, was convicted by a Montgomery County jury of second degree murder. He raises two issues on appeal: (1) whether his due process rights to a fair trial were violated by the State’s failure to correct false testimony given by a material witness; and (2) whether the evidence was sufficient to sustain his conviction. Based on our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The defendant, William Roger Campbell, was convicted by a Montgomery County jury of two counts of premeditated first-degree murder, and the trial court imposed consecutive life sentences. On appeal, the defendant argues that the trial court erred in admitting one of the victim’s cellphone records into evidence; the evidence is insufficient to sustain his convictions; and the trial court erred in ordering his life sentences be served consecutively. Following a thorough review of the record, the briefs, and oral arguments of the parties, we affirm the defendant’s convictions. However, we reverse the imposition of consecutive sentences and remand to the trial court for a new sentencing hearing for consideration of the consecutive sentencing factors outlined in State v. Wilkerson, 905 S.W.2d 933 (Tenn. 1995).

Defendant, Cedric Taylor, was indicted for possession with intent to deliver 26 grams or more of cocaine (count one), possession with intent to deliver between one half ounce and ten pounds of marijuana (count two), and resisting arrest (count three). He entered an open guilty plea as charged in counts one and three, and the State agreed to nolle prosequi count two. The trial court imposed concurrent sentences of fourteen years for count one and six months for count two to be served in confinement as a Range II multiple offender. 1 On appeal, Defendant argues that the trial court abused its discretion denying his request for community corrections. Following our review of the entire record and the briefs of the parties, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

A Shelby County jury convicted the Defendant, Francisco Oliva, of second degree murder, and the trial court ordered him to serve a twenty-year sentence. On appeal, the Defendant asserts that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction. After review, we affirm the trial court’s judgment.

Defendant, Jackie Lee Kirby, was convicted after a bench trial of attempted aggravated kidnapping. On appeal, Defendant argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction and that structural constitutional error occurred when the trial court left the bench three times while defense counsel refreshed the victim’s recollection using audio recordings. Following a thorough review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The Petitioner, Jimmy Moats, appeals from the Coffee County Circuit Court’s denial of post-conviction relief from his guilty-pleaded convictions to kidnapping and evading arrest. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that the post-conviction court erred by denying relief on his ineffective assistance of trial counsel claim, which he asserts resulted in unknowing and involuntary guilty pleas. We affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Defendant Kavaris Javon Booker and Defendant Clifton Donnell Craig were each charged in separate indictments of first degree premeditated murder (count one), felon in possession of a firearm (count two), and aggravated assault resulting in death (count three). The trial court granted the State’s motion to join the two cases and in a joint trial, a jury convicted Defendant Booker as indicted in count two but convicted him of the lesser-included offense of facilitation of first degree murder in count one and facilitation of aggravated assault in count three. The jury convicted Defendant Craig of all the indicted charges. Defendant Booker received an effective seventeen-year sentence; Defendant Craig received a sentence of life imprisonment. In this consolidated appeal, Defendant Booker claims that the trial court denied him a speedy trial, the trial court erred in denying his motion to sever his case from Defendant Craig, and that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction for facilitation of first degree murder. Defendant Craig likewise claims the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions and that the trial court failed to instruct the jury on the weight afforded to circumstantial evidence. Following our review of the entire record, the briefs of the parties, and applicable authority, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The Petitioner, Harold Thomas Centers, Jr., pled guilty to aggravated assault and received a sentence of six years. After that, he filed a petition for post-conviction relief, alleging that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance in failing to conduct an adequate investigation before the plea. The post-conviction court denied the petition by finding that trial counsel was not ineffective. On appeal, the Petitioner argues that the post-conviction court erred in dismissing his petition, asserting that he proved his allegations by clear and convincing evidence. Upon our review, we respectfully disagree and affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

The Appellant was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to twenty-five years' imprisonment. On appeal, she argues: (1) the evidence is insufficient to support her conviction because the State failed to establish she acted knowingly; and (2) the trial court erred by admitting evidence of three prior acts of domestic violence against the victim. After review, we affirm the trial court's judgment.

The Petitioner, Jah’quie Brown, appeals the post-conviction court’s dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief as untimely. He argues he is entitled to tolling of the statute of limitations because his trial counsel failed to inform him of his right to file a direct appeal or petition for post-conviction relief. After review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

The Appellant, Melvin Hudson, pleaded guilty to attempted aggravated sexual battery and violating the sexual offender registry act. The trial court imposed an agreed-upon sentence of eight years and denied the Appellant’s request for alternative sentencing. On appeal, the Appellant argues this denial was an abuse of discretion. After review, we affirm the trial court’s judgments.

The Petitioner, Kristina Cole, appeals the Shelby County Criminal Court’s summary denial of her petition for a writ of error coram nobis, claiming newly discovered evidence of an improper ex parte communication between the assistant district attorney general and the trial court about her case. Based upon our review of the oral arguments, the record, and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the coram nobis court.

In 2020, the Defendant, Dominque Justice, entered an open plea to twenty-eight counts of
rape of a child, twenty counts of aggravated statutory rape, and forty-eight counts of incest.
Eight months later, the Defendant filed a motion to withdraw his plea which the trial court
denied. At the subsequent sentencing hearing, the trial court imposed an effective sentence
of one hundred and five years. On appeal, the Defendant contends that his motion to
withdraw his guilty plea should have been granted and that the trial court erred when it
sentenced him. After review, we affirm the trial court’s judgments.

In 2006, the Defendant, Alejandro Avila-Salazar, pled guilty to second degree murder and attempted aggravated rape. Seventeen years later, he filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea or, alternatively, to modify his sentences. The trial court denied the motion, finding it to be untimely. On appeal, the Defendant raises different issues. He argues that an amended judgment for his attempted aggravated rape conviction is improper because the sentence is expired. He also asserts that his conviction for second degree murder is invalid because it violated the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. Upon our review, we conclude that the Defendant did not raise these issues in the trial court and has thus waived them on appeal. We respectfully affirm the trial court’s judgment.

Pursuant to a plea agreement, Petitioner, Michael D. Lewis, pleaded guilty to four counts of statutory rape by an authority figure and received an effective sentence of twenty years’ incarceration. Thereafter, Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief, which the post-conviction court denied after a hearing. On appeal, Petitioner claims that trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance because counsel: (1) was unprepared for trial and failed to develop a defense; (2) failed to inform Petitioner “of the potential merits of his motion to suppress the State’s evidence” before Petitioner entered a plea agreement; and (3) failed to contact material witnesses named by Petitioner that may have benefited his defense. We affirm the post-conviction court’s denial of relief.